Noted for its ‘strong experience and know-how in the specialised labour law’ arena, DLA Piper’s employment practice covers the full spectrum of Belgian and international employment law, social security, health and safety, and pensions law. The team has deep experience in retail, logistics, life sciences, and technology sectors, and key focus areas include complex restructuring, pensions law, corporate investigations, contingent workforces, and pay transparency requirements, while leveraging its global network for multi-jurisdictional matters. Team head Laurent De Surgeloose ‘stands out for his pragmatic, business-focused approach’ and brings ’deep legal expertise’ to sensitive corporate investigations, insourcing and outsourcing projects with particular involvement in labour leasing issues, GDPR queries, and issues relating to HR. Another key practitioner is Pierre Dion, and the previous co-head of the practice, Eddy Lievens, retired in May 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Laurent De Surgeloose stands out for his pragmatic, business-focused approach, combining deep legal expertise with clear, jargon-free explanations. His availability and solution-oriented style make him a trusted adviser.’
- ‘Pierre Dion is a pragmatic, solution-oriented partner whose advice is consistently business-focused. His high reactivity and availability are a strong plus.’
- ‘The collaboration has been fantastic, very approachable and easy to work with, even on complex and intertwined issues extending beyond pure employment law.’
- ‘Very responsive, friendly, and easy to communicate with. Their flexibility is particularly valued, as they are pragmatic yet realistic about best practice and company needs.’
- ‘The DLA Piper team clearly shows strong experience and know-how in the specialised labour law framework our business operates in, approaching tasks from a very practical point of view with a stable, low-rotation team.’
- ‘Efficient team that is a pleasure to work with. To-the-point advice, commercially adept and highly reactive.’
- ‘I was very happy with the practice; the partners are proactive in explaining and sharing everything needed beforehand. The collaboration was smooth, easy, and enjoyable.’
- ‘The team has a broad knowledge of labour law issues, enabling them to efficiently identify risks and provide pragmatic advice that mitigates those risks. The team is always available and quick to act when the situation demands it.’
Key clients
- Synopsys Milcobel Supergroup CEPA Emirates Airlines Heidelberg Materials World Courier Belgium Vertex Resmed ymera International Revvity Netscout Nielsen GE Vernova Axalta Coatings CFP Energy Dentsu
Work highlights
Assisted Nielsen with all aspects of its collective dismissal.
Represented Netscout in obtaining a key judgment on the fact its channel managers do not have the rights typical for sales representative status.
Advised Milcobel on the harmonisation of the diverging policies on overtime work that applied at its different sites.
Practice head
Laurent De Surgeloose
Other key lawyers
Pierre Dion; Toon Smelts; Frederic Brasseur