Taxes and payrolls: the labour market in Belgium
Each labour market has some peculiarities. It may be tricky for foreigners to understand fully the payment methods, the taxes and other benefits related. In TalentUp we are starting a series of different blog articles, one for each country. This article analyses the labour market in Belgium.
General data about the Belgian labour market
| Minimum wage | 1,954.99 € |
| Payment basis | Monthly |
| Payment | Must be paid by the last day of the month |
| Maximum working hours a week | 38h |
| Maximum overtime hours a day | 3h for shift work or 4h for continuous work |
| Working hours compensation | 150% pay rate or 200% pay rate on Sundays and public holidays |
Payroll taxes in …
Social security contributions are made by the employer and the employee and are used for funding unemployment, pension, maternity/paternity leave, and sickness or injury.
| Contingencies | Employer % | Employee % |
| Social Security (Sickness, Unemployment, Accident Insurance & Pension) | 25 | 13.07 |
| Total | 25 | 13.07 |
Once contributions are paid, employees need to pay an income tax that varies depending on their gross salaries.
| Gross salary | Income tax |
| Up to 15,200€ | 25 |
| From 15,200.01 – 26,830€ | 40 |
| From 26,830.01 – 46,440€ | 45 |
| More than 46,440.01€ | 50 |
Example of net salary in Belgium
As a reference, we use the average salary of a software engineer. In Belgium, on average, software engineers earn annually 67,200€.
| Employer | Employee | |||
| % | € | % | € | |
| Gross salary (annually) | 67,200 | |||
| 25 | 16,800 | 13.07 | 8,783.04 | |
| Total | 25 | 16,800 | 13,07 | 8,783.04 |
| Income tax | 23,265 | |||
| Net salary (annually) | 34,151.96 |
The employer contributes 16,800€ to social security and the employee 8,783.04€.
After paying the income tax, the employee has a net salary of 34,151.96€ coming from a gross salary of 67,200€.
Unemployment regulation in Belgium
Notice periods are dependent on the length of service/employment:
| Time worked | Notice period |
| Less than 3 months | 1 week |
| Form 3 to 4 months | 3 weeks |
| From 4 to 5 months | 4 weeks |
| From 5 to 6 months | 5 weeks |
| From 6 to 9 months | 6 weeks |
| From 9 to 12 months | 7 weeks |
| From 12 to 15 months | 8 weeks |
| From 15 to 18 months | 9 weeks |
| From 18 to 21 months | 10 weeks |
| (each 3 extra months) | (+ 1 week; until 65 weeks) |
There is no probation period in Belgium.
Different kinds of leaves in Belgium
For a five-day week, employees are entitled to 20 days paid annual leave and for a six-day week, 24 days. Carryover of leave is not permitted. They have 10 days of public holidays.
For sick leave, the first 30 days are paid by the employer and from here the Health Insurance Fund will pay for only 60% of the salary.
Leaves for family care or when assisting a seriously ill household or family member are also granted. Also due to a death of a family member or for the marriage of the employee or family member.
Paid parental leave
Maternity leave lasts for 15 weeks. In case of complicated or multiple births, it lasts for 19 weeks.
At least one week’s leave should be taken before the birth. Prenatal leave lasts for a maximum of 6 weeks. The minimum duration of postnatal leave is 9 weeks.
Maternity leave is paid at 92% for the first months and at 75% after that by the Health Insurance Fund. The employer does not pay.
Fathers can take 20 paid paternity leave days within 4 months of birth. It can be taken separately, in a row, or as 40 half-days. First 3 days fully paid by employer, then 17 days at 82% capped salary via health insurance.
There is a leave of six weeks in case of adoption.
Other common Belgian benefits
| Benefit | % of companies with this benefit |
| Casual dress code | 26 |
| Company Car | 11.8 |
| Professional Development | 11 |
| Diversity | 8.1 |
| Cutting Edge Technology | 7.7 |
How to employ a Belgian worker
If you want to hire staff in Belgium, you need to:
- Register the company in Belgium
- Draw up a valid contract
- Get industrial insurance for accident
- Apply for NSSO number
- Join the social secretariat
- Join the External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work
- Stating all labour regulations
Some platforms (Papaya Global among them) offer the Employer of Record (EoR) service helping companies hire countries where they do not have any office.
Follow TalentUp on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter to get our latest articles!
