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Euro is the official currency of Belgium. Its currency symbol is €, EUR.
Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German.
The population of Belgium is 11.59 million
Salaries in Belgium are generally paid on a monthly
To start growing your team in Belgium, you must establish a local entity-including an account with a local bank, a local office and an address registered as a subsidiary. This allows you to manage payroll, tax, benefits and compliance for your employees, but can take several months. Emerald can hire and payroll your workers, quickly and compliantly, with their ready to go entity. Make growing your team simple with Emerald as a global partner.
Emerald can hire and payroll your workers, quickly and compliantly with their ready to go entity. Make growing your team simple with Emerald as a global partner.
Belgium offers many advantages to organisations that decide to expand there. It is recognised as one of the world’s top exporters with no trade restrictions. It is also known to be significantly easier to set up a business there than in other countries.
Belgium’s workforce is ranked fourth in the world for its education levels. The country’s workforce is known for its high productivity and highly qualified workers, making it an attractive destination for businesses to expand their workforce.
However, Belgium has high corporate taxes, as well as stringent labour laws which can make hiring and firing employees challenging. Belgium is known for its bureaucracy, which can make it difficult for businesses to get approvals and licences.
The standard working hours in Belgium are set at 38 per week. Overtime is generally prohibited; however, there are several exceptions to this rule such as voluntary overtime, extraordinary increases in workload, or unforeseen circumstances. For hours that exceed 9 per day or 40 per week, an employee will be entitled to overtime pay at 1.5 times the normal salary (or twice the normal salary for work on a Sunday or public holidays).
Flexible working schedules, where an employee can plan their start and finish times within certain limits (horaires flottants), enable an employee to work up to 45 hours per week without overtime pay. Rules regarding mandatory rest periods or working hours do not apply to employees in managerial positions, trust positions, or sale representatives.
Employees are entitled to a minimum unpaid break of 15 minutes when working for 6 hours or more. However, most employers will provide an unpaid lunch break of 30 minutes. Within each 24-hour period, there must be a break of 11 hours between working days. Overall, every working week there must be a minimum 35-hour rest period (typically a Sunday plus an additional 11 hours).
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| Pension Fund | 7.5% |
| Health Insurance | 5% |
| Labour Restructuring Fund | 0.1% |
| Labour Credit Guarantee Fund | 0.025% |
Health Insurance
Workers Compensation Insurance
Private Health Insurance
Pension Fund
Social Security
Contracts in Belgium must include:
There is no legal requirement to produce a written contract of employment for permanent/indefinite contracts of employment (Contrat de travail à durée indéterminée/De arbeidsovereenkomst voor onbepaalde tijd). However, it is strongly recommended that a written contract is produced.
Any probation periods or non-competition clauses must be provided in writing. A written contract of employment must be provided for the following types of employment, fixed term contracts (Contrat de travail à durée déterminée/De arbeidsovereenkomst voor bepaalde tijd), specific assignment contracts (Contrat de travail pour un travail nettement défini/De arbeidsovereenkomst voor een duidelijk omschreven werk), replacement contracts (Contrat de remplacement/De vervangingsovereenkomst) e.g. for an employee that is replacing an existing employee who is absent for a reason such as maternity leave, temporary contracts (Contrat de travail temporaire-contrat de travail intérimaire/De arbeidsovereenkomst voor uitvoering van tijdelijke arbeid en uitzendarbeid), and part-time contracts (Contrat de travail à temps partiel/Arbeidsovereenkomst voor deeltijdse arbeid).
Contracts of employment will need to be in either French, Dutch, or German depending on the region of where the employment takes place. An informal copy may also be provided in English.
Probation periods in Belgium are between one and six months when the employee’s salary does not exceed €36-37,000. Employees earning more than this may have a probation period of up to 12 months.
Emerald Technology can onboard employees in Belgium within 48 hours.
“It is common for employers to insert confidentiality and non-compete clauses into a contract of employment to protect business interests. Confidentiality clauses are enforceable, obliging past and present employees to maintain confidentiality with regards to trade secrets and other confidential and personal information. Non-compete clauses are strictly regulated and must be provided in writing, either at the start of or during employment. They must be limited to a reasonable geography, not exceed 12
months after the termination of employment, and must relate to similar activities.
An employer will also need to provide the payment of a single and flat-rate compensatory payment to the employee if, within 15 days after the end of the employment contract, the employer does not waive the application of the non-competition clause. The minimum amount of this payment is equal to half the employee’s gross remuneration corresponding to the period of application of the clause – for example, if the non-compete clause is provided for one year, the indemnity must be for at least six months’ gross
remuneration. There can be further specific rules for sales representatives where clauses maybe extended outside of Belgium and be for longer than 12 months.”
The Belgian healthcare system is divided into state and private sectors, with both having chargeable fees. The state system is funded by compulsory health insurance which provides access to subsidised services such as hospital care, dental care, doctors, and prescriptions. The regional Flemish, Walloon, and German speaking communities all have their own administrative healthcare divisions. Anyone that lives and works in Belgium must be registered for social security and make health insurance payments, this will give access to the subsidised public healthcare. Pensioners, students, unemployed, and those with disabilities are entitled to the same subsidies as someone who is employed.
Part of the process for enrolment to social security is registering to contribute to a health insurance fund. These are called ziekenfonds in Dutch and mutuelle in French. Residents can choose their own mutuelle/ziekenfonds.
There is also the option for private healthcare in Belgium. This often runs alongside its public counterpart. Many private health insurers will require payment of medical costs up front and then to claim these back. Many residents in Belgium choose to take out private coverage to top up their state coverage and provide them with access to private healthcare treatment.
Social security contributions in Belgium are compulsory and are based on employee earnings. Both the employer and employee have contributions to make which finance the social security system. This provides employees and residents in Belgium with access to unemployment benefits, sickness allowances, pensions, allowances in the event of accidents at work, industrial diseases, and incapacity to work.
Expectant mothers in Belgium are entitled to 15 weeks maternity leave. A maximum of 6 weeks to be taken before the expected due date, and a compulsory minimum 9 weeks after the birth. For the first 30 days the maternity leave is paid at 82% of the gross salary, after the 31st day this is then paid at 75% with an upper limit of approximately €106 per day. Maternity leave is paid by social security.
Fathers are entitled to 15 days paternity leave.
If an employee is unable to attend work due to illness, they are entitled to statutory sick pay which is paid directly by their employer for the first 30 days. After this period an allowance will be paid by social security.
As the legal employer, Emerald Technology requires the following employee documents to ensure complete compliance:
When an employer dismisses an employee it must be with just cause and they must give them notice. The notice period starts from the day after the employer notifies the employee of the termination. Notice must be given in accordance with the following schedule at a minimum:
| Resignation by the Employee: | |
| Less than 3 months | 1 week |
| 3 months to less than 6 months | 2 weeks |
| 6 months to less than 9 months | 3 weeks |
| 9 months to less than 12 months | 4 weeks |
| 1 year to less than 2 years | 6 weeks |
| 2 years to less than 3 years | 7 weeks |
| 3 years or more | 8 weeks, plus 1 additional week per year of service, up to a maximum of 13 weeks. |
If an employee is made redundant, they are entitled to a payment based on years of continuous service.
| Severance Pay | Upon dismissal, employers must either honor the notice period or provide severance pay in lieu, equal to the salary for the remaining notice period. |
| Unjustified Dismissal | Employees dismissed without valid reasons may be entitled to additional compensation for unfair dismissal, usually between 3 to 17 weeks of salary. |
| Protected Employees | Special categories (e.g., pregnant women, union reps) may be entitled to additional severance of up to two years’ salary if dismissed without valid cause. |
| Collective dismissals | For collective dismissals, severance packages may include additional benefits or services based on negotiations. |
Annual leave entitlement in Belgium depends on the employee’s length of service during the previous calendar year. Generally, employees are entitled to 2 days annual leave for each month worked in the previous year. This is particularly common amongst white collar employees. Many employers will count any periods of absences and leave from the previous year as periods worked when counting annual leave entitlement. A full-time employee that works 5 days per week would be entitled to 20 days holiday for a full year of service. White collar employees receive double pay whilst on holiday, where they are paid their normal salary plus a holiday allowance.
The minimum wage in Belgium as of January 2022 is:
€1,691.40 per month for employees over 18 years old;
€1,736.28 per month for employees over 19 years old who have completed at least six months’ service; and
€1,756.23 per month for employees over 20 years old who have completed at least 12 months’ service.
The standard working hours in Belgium are 38 hours per week. Overtime is generally prohibited, however, there are several exceptions to this rule such as voluntary overtime, extraordinary increases in workload, or unforeseen circumstances. Hours that exceed 9 per day or 40 per week an employee will be entitled to overtime pay as a supplement to their standard salary. Overtime pay is at 1.5 times the normal salary or twice the normal salary for work on a Sunday or public holidays.
Flexible working schedules, where an employee can plan their start and finish times within certain limits (horaires flottants), an employee can work up to 45 hours per week without overtime pay. Rules regarding mandatory rest periods or working hours do not apply to employees in managerial positions, trust positions, or sale representatives.
Employees are entitled to minimum unpaid break of 15 minutes when working for 6 hours or more. However, most employers will provide an unpaid lunch break of 30 minutes. Within each 24-hour period there must be a break of 11 hours between working days. Overall, every working week there must be a 35-hour rest period, which would be a Sunday and an additional 11 hours.
Salaries in Belgium are generally paid on a monthly basis, with payment usually on the last working day of the month. Most employers pay a 13th month salary as a bonus to their employees. This is usually paid in December. In addition to a 13th month salary some employers even pay half of a 14th month salary. These bonuses are paid on a pro-rata basis when an employee has not worked a full year. Meal vouchers are also very common in Belgium. If certain conditions are met these are exempt from taxes and social security. The employer and employee will both need to contribute to the meal voucher.
The Belgian tax year runs from January to December. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure taxes are paid from salaries before payments are made to employees. The general personal income tax rates are listed below as guidance. All employees are entitled to a personal tax-free allowance (belastingvrije som, somme exonérée), as of 2021 this is €9,050.
Taxable Income Tax Rate
0 -22,000 25%
22,000 – 49,000 40%
49,000 -180,000 45%
180,000 -600,000 50%
Similar to other countries, Belgium has strict rules on classifying individual contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassifying your workers can put your business at risk of fines.
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