Restructuring or change of role: where do we draw the line?

In a constantly evolving economic environment, the question arises as to how far an employer can go in restructuring its business without unilaterally changing an essential term of the employment contract.

In its judgment of 1 July 2026, the Brussels Labour Court of Appeal provides interesting guidance on the boundary between an employer’s freedom to organise its business and the unilateral modification of an employee’s role.

The facts

An employee had held the position of Congress & Event Coordinator for several years. Following a new restructuring, the employer informed her that she would henceforth take on the role of Customer Coordinator within a cross-functional team.

The employee considered this to be a demotion and served formal notice on her employer requiring her reinstatement in her former role. When the employer refused, she considered the employment contract to have been terminated by an act equivalent to dismissal. The employer, on the other hand, maintained that no essential term of the employment contract had been changed.

The decision

The Court reiterated that an employee’s role is an essential term of the employment contract. However, it emphasised that the role itself should not be confused with the various tasks it comprises. An employment contract does not necessarily establish an unchangeable list of tasks or a specific way of working.

The employer therefore retains the right to restructure its business and adjust the allocation of work.

To determine whether a restructuring crosses the line into a contractual modification, the Court does not merely consider a change in job title, a new position within the organisational chart or a move to a different structure. Instead, it compares the situation before and after the restructuring in practical terms, examining factors such as the nature of the duties, the level of responsibility and remuneration.

What can we learn from this?

A restructuring may therefore involve the following changes without necessarily constituting an act equivalent to dismissal:

• a change in job title;
• a change in reporting line or department;
• the introduction of an additional management level;
• an adjustment or redistribution of tasks.

The line is crossed when these changes substantially affect the very nature of the role or another essential term of the employment contract, such as the level of responsibility or remuneration.

The wording of the employment contract plays an important role in this respect. The more precisely the role is defined, the more limited the employer’s room for manoeuvre may be.

Ultimately, it is not the change in the organisational chart or job title that is decisive, but the actual substance of the role before and after the restructuring.