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| Day | Date | Holiday | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | Jan-1 | New Year's Day | Day off must be given in lieu |
| Monday | Apr-18 | Easter Monday | |
| Sunday | May-1 | May Day | Day off must be given in lieu |
| Thursday | May-26 | Ascension Day | |
| Monday | Jun-6 | Whit Monday | |
| Thursday | Jul-21 | National Day | |
| Monday | Aug-15 | Assumption of Mary | |
| Tuesday | Nov-1 | All Saints Day | |
| Friday | Nov-11 | Armistice Day | Day off must be given in lieu |
| Sunday | Dec-25 | Christmas |
Papaya Offers Complete Payroll, PEO and Contractor Management Services For Belgium
See our guide to Belgium during COVID-19
Employer Payroll Contributions
Employee Payroll Contributions
Employee Income Tax
In Belgium, there is a GMMMI, a guaranteed average minimum monthly income, and an absolute minimal income level set at the national level (in the absence of a sectoral minimum wage). The GMMMI is based on monthly wage including other salary components received over the year, e.g. year-end bonus, variable pay, etc.
The new GMMMI figures are as follows:
In Belgium, the payroll frequency is monthly for work between the first and last day of the month and is typically paid on the last day of the month.
A 13th salary may apply depending on the Joint Labour Committee. For those employers who do pay a 13th-month bonus, it is typically paid at the end of the year. In addition, some employers also add half of a 14th month’s pay.
In the first and last year of employment, the 13th-month bonus is paid pro-rata, assuming the employee doesn’t work a full calendar year.
The standard working week in Belgium can be no longer than 38 hours. After 38 hours, workers must be paid overtime (this generally does not apply if the employee is a senior executive or manager). The maximum working time per week may be lower in some industry sectors based on a collective bargaining agreement. There are several statutory exceptions to this rule.
In the case of shift work, it is possible to work up to 11 hours per day (50 hours per week) and in the case of continuous work, even up to 12 hours. Under certain conditions, employers may introduce flexible working time schedules with a weekly working time exceeding 38 hours, provided that the quarterly or yearly average remains at 38 hours per week. The daily minimum working time is three hours, but statutory exceptions exist. Working hours at night, on Sundays, or during public holidays is only allowed under strict legal conditions.
If work time limits are passed, compensation of overtime is compulsory. Overtime work is strictly regulated and, in general, prohibited, although there are several exceptions to this rule. Where overtime is authorized, overtime pay is at least 150% of the employee’s regular rate of pay and 200% of the standard rate if the overtime occurs on a Sunday or a public holiday. Rules on overtime and working hours do not apply to some jobs such as sales, managerial roles, and trust roles.
In Belgium, an employee’s annual leave entitlement in a given year is determined by the number of days worked. Employees are entitled to 20 to 24 days of annual leave, depending on their working regime (i.e., For a 5-day week, the entitlement would be 20 days paid annual leave and for a 6-day week 24 days).
Employees are entitled to remuneration for ten official public holidays. If a public holiday falls on a Sunday or on a day the employee does not usually work, the employer must grant a replacement rest day.
There are 10 public holidays. An extra holiday may be applicable according to the Joint Labour Committee.
In case of illness or a personal accident, the employee continues to receive their regular salary for thirty days of which the employer pays. After 30 days, should the sick leave continue, the Health Insurance Fund will take over the payments. All sick leave must be certified by a medical professional.
In 2022 the government has set the goal of getting more long-term ill individuals back to work via several initiatives.
A pregnant employee is entitled to 15 weeks of Maternity Leave, with the potential to increase to 19 weeks in the case of complicated or multiple births.
Maternity leave consists of two periods: Prenatal leave and Postnatal Leave.
A mother must take a minimum of one week’s leave before the expected due date but can take up to a maximum of 6 weeks of leave before the due date; this is the Prenatal Leave. A mother must also take a further nine weeks of leave following the birth of a child, the Postnatal Leave.
Employees are forbidden to perform work during the seven days preceding the presumed delivery date and within the nine weeks that begin on the day of delivery. The employee may take the remaining weeks either before or after childbirth. The employee is required to notify her employer at the latest seven weeks before the expected date of delivery (or nine weeks when multiple births are expected), a medical certificate attesting to this date.
Women receive maternity benefits while on maternity leave. This benefit, paid by the social security system Health Insurance Fund, equals 82.00% of the employee’s salary for the first 30 days and then reduces to 75.00% of their regular pay (which will be capped). During this period, the employer is not obliged to make any payments to the employee.
The father is entitled to 15 days of paid Paternity Leave. The 15 days of paid leave can be taken separately, in a row, or split up into 30 half-days. The employee must take leave within the first four months of the birth of the child.
Parental leave can be requested at any time from the end of the post-natal maternity leave and can be taken once an agreement has been reached between the employee and employer, as follows:
An employee who takes in a child in his family as part of long-term foster care or adoption is entitled to an individual credit for Parental leave of up to six weeks. This credit for six weeks is not transferable to the other adoptive parent.
Depending on the various Joint Labour Committees, employees may be allowed additional leave types, once approved between the employer and employee.
Family care, to assist a seriously ill household or family member:
The termination process varies depending on the employment agreement; the strictest form of dismissal is dismissal with notice. Employees who have been employed for at least six months have the right to know the reason for the termination.
Some employees enjoy protection against dismissal, meaning that the employer may not dismiss them on some grounds; for example, pregnant women can not be dismissed because of their pregnancy. An employee cannot be dismissed except for specific reasons provided by law (e.g., employee representatives in the Works Council and Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work (CPPW)).
Some sectors have additional procedures (laid down in collective bargaining agreements) that could provide specific information and consultation rules, etc., which, even with multiple dismissals, do not fall under the European and national collective dismissal rules.
When the employment contract ends, all wages that are still due must be paid without delay; they are to be paid on the first payday following the date on which the employment contract ends at the very latest. (art. 11 of the Wage Protection Act).
When a certain percentage of the workforce in a business is made redundant, collective agreements generally entitle them to additional compensations over and above the average unemployment benefits. Employees dismissed for serious cause, or resigned employees will not (immediately) be entitled to unemployment benefits.
Notice periods are dependent on the length of service/employment:
Length of service Amount of notice
Less than 3 months of employment 2 weeks’ notice
3-6 months of employment 4 weeks’ notice
6-9 months of employment 6 weeks’ notice
9-12 months of employment 7 weeks’ notice
12-15 months of employment 8 weeks’ notice
15-18 months of employment 9 weeks’ notice
18-21 months of employment 10 weeks’ notice
21-24 months of employment 11 weeks’ notice
24-36 weeks of employment 12 weeks’ notice
36-48 months of employment 13 weeks’ notice
48-60 months of employment 15 weeks’ notice
60 months-19 years of employment 60 weeks’ notice + 3 weeks for every year exceeding 5 years
20-21 years of employment 62 weeks’ notice + 1 week for every year of employment
It is also possible to pay in lieu of notice.
Severance pay is only applicable when an employee has been terminated without notice; in this circumstance, the severance pay would be the same amount the employee would have earned if they had received notice.
An employer can choose to either terminate an employment contract granting a notice period or terminate the employment contract immediately with the payment of an indemnity in lieu of notice. A combination of both, where the employee serves the notice period, followed by the payment of an indemnity for the remainder of the notice period, is also a possibility.
The indemnity in lieu of notice is calculated based on the employee’s annual salary at the time of termination, including statutory and contractual fringe benefits.
Probation or Trial periods have been suppressed by the Unified Employment Status Act since January 2014 (except with students, temporary workers, and temporary agency workers).
EU nationals planning to stay in Belgium for less than three months should register with the relevant local authority upon arrival. If the period of stay is for more than three months, it will be necessary to obtain a registration certificate from your local authority.
After living in Belgium for three years, EU citizens will need to transfer their health and social security coverage to their host country to apply for permanent residency.
Citizens of non-EU countries require a visa and/or work permit. Short-term visas are for individuals staying less than 90 days in Belgium, while long-term visas are for those residing in Belgium for more than 90 days. The latter also requires a work permit, which the prospective employer must usually apply for, ideally many months in advance. The type of employee determines conditions and procedures for the application process. Applications are to be made in correlation to the region in which an employer will be working. An application must be submitted to the Economic Migration Department at least two months before the expiry date to extend a work permit.
The standard rate of VAT in Belgium is 21%.
What are you looking to do?
What is the rate of pay for the double holiday pay?
Depending on the collective bargaining agreement, some employees might be entitled to double holiday pay. This is usually paid out when the employee takes their main holiday or in many cases, employers choose to pay this amount out in May. The rate of pay is 92% of the gross monthly salary and any variables, including commissions, bonuses, or any other extra pay. In addition, if the employee is entitled to a mobile phone allowance, this is also included when calculating the double holiday pay. The gross monthly salary is determined by the average of the last 12 salaries before the employee takes the leave.
For the double holiday pay, if the employee has commissions, how are the commissions calculated for that pay? Is is the year’s total commission averaged out per month or is calculated on the total year’s commissions?
Hello Scott,
It’s important to note that in Belgium Holiday Allowance and Pay is based on the 12 months before the month of vacation i.e. it is accrued in advance.
Holiday pay in Belgium is calculated according to Belgian labor laws based on general notions of salary. These are all benefits of the work performed in executing the employment agreement. The remuneration that is not subject to social security contributions is excluded from this notion.
Commissions and bonuses are included in the calculation base.
The single holiday pay corresponds to the average variable remuneration earned during the 12 months before the month during which the main vacation is taken, divided by 20.83 (in case of a 5 days working week) and multiplied by 20 (if entitled to the complete 4 weeks of vacation).
The double holiday pay corresponds to 92% of 1/12th of the gross variable remuneration earned during the 12 months before the month during which the main vacation is taken.
Hi Emily, At what rates are the 13th month salary and double vacation pay taxed? Are they both subject to the same social security and net income tax rates as the regular gross salary?
Hi Tils, thank you for your question! This is correct, the 13th month salary and double vacation pay are taxed at the same rate as the regular gross salary is for both the employer and employee contributions. Hope this helps!
Are there mandatory annual salary increases?
Hi, good question! Yes, there is! It varies every year, and is different between different regions and job types. The percentage of the increase is announced at the end of the calendar year. For example, for 2021, the increases were between 1.23%-1.94%.
Do we know when the 2022/2023 mandatory annual salary increases will need to be applied please?
No, we usually only find out the increased amount on the month it is given.
How do I calculate the number of PTO days employees get if they joined less than a year ago?
The number of paid holiday days an employee earns is based on both the number of days worked per week and the number months worked over the past year, either for you or for a previous employer. An employee who works five days a week for 12 months earns 20 days of paid holiday. If the employee works less time over the past year, it can be calculated proportionately by that standard.
What is the maximum number of hours an employee can work in a week?
In general, rules on working hours are very strict, and a 38-hour workweek is the maximum. However, depending on various collective bargaining agreements and joint labor committees, the workweek may be shorter than 38 hours. In some cases, there are work schemes that allow for successive shifts that permit an 11-hour workday or 50 total in a week. Another exception is for technical work that otherwise would interrupt the operations of a company. In this case, a 12-hour workday is permitted or 50 hours per week, or alternatively, an 8-hour workday or 56 hours per 7 days.
For new employees joining, does Papaya declare the new person to social security services?
Hi, thank you for your question. Yes, Papaya works with our Employer of Record to ensure that your worker is being hired with full compliance with local labor laws and requirements. Our partners are fully vetted to ensure this. Please feel free to schedule a call with us to understand how we can assist you https://papayaglobal.com/schedule-a-demo/.
Hi , If you can help to understand the payouts norms Belgium laws. We want to appoint XYZ as Manager Finance. Our offer for him is 55000 Euro per annum. Your advise is require to help and to understand how we can bifurcate into CTC components as per Belgium payout norms.
Hi Jamuna, This is very specific and the setup will vary depending on the setup of the client, the joint committee, etc. For example, under our EOR ICP, the salary will be 12 regular salaries + an additional 100% salary as 13 salary + 14th salary at 92% salary. It’s important to seek specific guidance to understand what will impact your workers.
Hello,
Hope you are well?
I am located in the UK and I have just agreed on a monthly net salary with a Belgian company. I would like to know about the holiday pay. Is this something supposed to be paid to me as an extra? Or should this be included in the net salary. Could you kindly let me know?
Hi Mel, It depends on what was agreed on during the contract signing.
Hi Erez, thanks for the answer. There was no mention about this, so I believe they included this in the net salary without letting me know.. 🙂
HI I would kindly ask what rules apply about travel costs, to my understanding:
If an employee commutes by train (over any distance), the employer makes a contribution towards the employee’s season ticket. The contribution is set at a flat rate, based on the cost of a season ticket at 2019 prices (the flat rate is renegotiated every two years).
• If an employee commutes by another form of public transport, over a distance of at least five kilometres each way (one kilometre each way, from 1 July 2020), the employer makes a contribution towards the employee’s season ticket. This flat-rate contribution is the same as that for rail transport but is capped at either 71.8% or 75% (depending on how the price is set) of the actual cost of the public transport.
based on this I am not sure if we need to reimburse the train ticket and also to what extent. so does an employee need to bring a train ticket monthly or once is enough?
According to section 8 of the COLLECTIVE WORK AGREEMENT N° 19/9, “The employer’s contribution to the transport costs borne by the workers is paid once a month for workers with a monthly subscription, or during the period of payment which is customary in the company in with regard to tickets that are valid for three months, one year or for part-time tickets”. http://www.cnt-nar.be/CCT-COORD/cct-019-09.pdf https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/remuneration/intervention-de-lemployeur-dans-les-frais-de-deplacement-domicile-lieu-de
Hello,
Regarding overtime for part-timers during normal office hours would it be calculated as 125% of the basic salary ?
Additionally, for paternity leave are employees entitled to full pay for the fifteen days or how would it be calculated ?
Kind regards,
Overtime pay should be at least 150% of the employee’s regular rate and 200% of the standard rate for overtime on Sundays or public holidays. For the first three days of paternity leave, fathers and co-parents receive their full salary from their employers. The employees’ mutual insurance fund will pay 82% of the capped gross salary for the remaining period.
Hello, I started a job in BE in January, coming from another EU country. I have 20yrs of work experience, but my current employer does not want to grant me any holiday days except for the 1/ month. At the same time seems I am not eligible for the 0.92 holiday payment either since I did not previously work in Belgium. Is this correct?
It depends on the Collective Bargaining Agreement in Belgium, but as a general rule, holiday entitlements are based on what was accrued the previous year; therefore, if someone didn’t work in Belgium before starting a job, they would likely not be entitled to regular paid leave during the first year.
Could someone shed more info on wage categories and its difference >
We are not aware of specific wage categories, if you could provide more context, we would be happy to share more information on this.