Belgium employment law 2026 is entering a period of meaningful change. Several legislative amendments, updated collective labour agreements, and fresh guidance from the Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue are reshaping how employers manage their workforce. This guide covers the key developments affecting hiring, working time, remote work, dismissal, and social security compliance, with practical implications for both domestic and international employers operating in Belgium.
Belgium';s employment framework rests on a dense combination of statute, royal decree, and sectoral collective labour agreements (CLAs) concluded within the National Labour Council (NAR/CNT). Recent legislative activity has touched several pressure points that employers need to address promptly.
Amendments to the Act on Employment Contracts
The core statute governing individual employment relationships - the Employment Contracts Act - has been supplemented by recent royal decrees that refine the rules on fixed-term contracts and the use of successive contracts. Employers who chain fixed-term contracts without a demonstrable objective justification now face a higher risk that courts will reclassify the arrangement as an indefinite contract. Labour tribunals have consistently applied this principle, and recent case law from the Labour Court of Brussels has reinforced the point: the burden of proof lies squarely with the employer to show a legitimate reason for each renewal.
A non-obvious requirement is that the justification must be documented at the time of each renewal, not reconstructed after a dispute arises. Many foreign employers assume that a standard clause in the contract template is sufficient. In practice, a brief written note explaining the operational reason - a project extension, a temporary replacement, a seasonal peak - should accompany every renewal letter.
Updates to the Act on Wellbeing at Work
The Wellbeing at Work Act, which governs psychosocial risks, has been the subject of updated guidance from the Federal Public Service. Employers with more than fifty employees are required to maintain a formal internal procedure for handling psychosocial complaints, including harassment and workplace violence. Recent enforcement activity has focused on the quality of the internal prevention adviser';s role and the adequacy of risk assessments. Employers who have not updated their psychosocial risk assessment since the previous legislative cycle should treat this as an urgent compliance task.
Sectoral CLA developments
Joint committees - the sectoral bodies that negotiate CLAs in Belgium - have been active. Several joint committees covering logistics, retail, and professional services have concluded new agreements on wage indexation, classification of functions, and the conditions for telework. Employers must check whether their sector';s joint committee has issued new instruments, as these automatically bind all employers within the sector regardless of whether the employer is a member of an employers'; federation.
Working time regulation in Belgium has evolved significantly following the introduction of the so-called "labour deal" legislation, which introduced several new flexibility tools and rights. The practical implications of these changes are still being absorbed by many employers.
Annualised working time and the four-day week
Belgian law now allows employees to request a compressed four-day working week, concentrating their contractual hours into four days without any reduction in total weekly hours. The employer must respond in writing within a defined period and, if refusing, must provide reasons. A common mistake is treating this as a purely administrative formality. In practice, the refusal must be substantiated - a blanket policy of refusing all such requests creates legal exposure, particularly if the refusal disproportionately affects employees with caregiving responsibilities.
Annualised working time arrangements, which allow hours to fluctuate across the year within defined limits, require a CLA at company or sectoral level, or - in the absence of a union delegation - a company work rules amendment. Employers who have implemented flexible schedules without the correct legal instrument are operating in a grey zone that can trigger back-payment claims for overtime.
The right to disconnect
Employers with twenty or more employees must have a formal policy on the right to disconnect, setting out the practical arrangements under which employees are not expected to respond to work-related communications outside working hours. This policy must be included in the company';s work rules (règlement de travail/arbeidsreglement) or in a company-level CLA. The Federal Public Service has clarified that a policy buried in an employee handbook that has not been formally adopted as part of the work rules does not satisfy the legal requirement.
In practice, founders and HR managers of international companies setting up Belgian subsidiaries frequently underestimate the procedural weight of the work rules document. It is not a simple policy document - it must follow a specific adoption procedure involving the works council or, where none exists, a posting and objection process.
Night work and e-commerce
Specific rules on night work in the e-commerce sector have been extended and clarified. Employers operating fulfilment or logistics operations that involve night shifts must ensure their authorisation from the competent authority remains current and that the applicable CLA provisions on night work supplements are correctly applied.
For employers hiring from outside the European Economic Area, Belgium';s combined work and residence permit - the single permit - remains the primary route. The procedure involves both the regional employment authority (VDAB in Flanders, Actiris in Brussels, FOREM in Wallonia) and the federal Immigration Office.
Recent procedural changes
Processing times for single permit applications have been a persistent operational challenge. Recent administrative guidance has clarified the documentation requirements, particularly for intra-company transferees and highly skilled workers. Employers should note that the labour market test - which requires demonstrating that no suitable candidate was available in the local labour market - has been applied more rigorously in certain regions. The exemption for highly skilled workers (defined by reference to a salary threshold set by royal decree) remains available but must be actively invoked and documented.
A practical scenario: a technology company headquartered outside the EU wishes to second a senior engineer to its Belgian subsidiary for eighteen months. The single permit route is appropriate, but the employer must initiate the application well in advance of the intended start date. Delays at the regional level can extend the process to several months. Starting the process late is one of the most common and costly mistakes international employers make.
Obligations on posting of workers
Belgium has a robust framework for posted workers, governed by the Act on the Posting of Workers and implementing EU Directive provisions. Employers posting workers to Belgium must complete the LIMOSA declaration before the worker begins activities. Failure to do so exposes both the employer and the Belgian client company to administrative fines. Recent enforcement has focused on subcontracting chains in the construction and cleaning sectors, but the obligation applies across all sectors.
If you are structuring a cross-border workforce arrangement involving Belgium, contact info@vlolawfirm.com. We can help structure the setup correctly the first time.
Belgium';s unified statute for blue-collar and white-collar workers - introduced by the Act of 26 December 2013 - has now been in force for over a decade, but its practical application continues to generate litigation and administrative complexity.
Notice periods and the Claeys formula
Notice periods in Belgium are calculated according to a statutory formula based on seniority, with different rules applying depending on whether the contract started before or after the entry into force of the unified statute. The so-called "Claeys formula" - a judicial formula used to calculate notice periods for managerial staff not covered by the standard statutory grid - has been the subject of recent case law clarifying its interaction with the statutory rules. Employers who rely on the Claeys formula for senior executives should ensure their contracts are reviewed in light of current case law.
Outplacement obligations
Employees dismissed with a notice period or indemnity equivalent to more than thirty weeks are entitled to outplacement support. The employer must actively offer this support within a defined period after dismissal. Failure to do so does not invalidate the dismissal but triggers a financial penalty equivalent to a portion of the outplacement cost. Many employers are unaware that the obligation applies even when the employee is unlikely to use the service.
Collective dismissal procedures
Employers contemplating collective redundancies - defined by reference to thresholds in the Act on Collective Dismissal - must follow the Renault procedure, which involves prior information and consultation with employee representatives. The procedure has strict timing requirements: the information and consultation phase must be completed before any individual notices are issued. A common and costly mistake is issuing individual dismissal notices before the collective procedure is formally closed, which can render the dismissals procedurally irregular.
A practical scenario: a multinational company decides to close a Belgian site employing forty-five people. The collective dismissal procedure applies. The employer must notify the regional employment authority, convene the works council or trade union delegation, and observe a waiting period before individual notices can be given. The entire process typically takes several weeks at minimum. Underestimating this timeline creates significant legal and reputational risk.
Protected categories and dismissal
Belgian law provides strong protection against dismissal for a range of reasons, including pregnancy, maternity leave, parental leave, union membership, and whistleblowing. The Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers, implementing the EU Whistleblowing Directive, imposes a reversal of the burden of proof: if a dismissed employee can show they made a protected disclosure, the employer must prove the dismissal was unrelated to that disclosure. This is a significant practical shift that employers and their HR teams must internalise.
Belgium';s National Social Security Office (NSSO/RSZ/ONSS) administers one of the most comprehensive social security systems in the EU. Employer contributions are substantial, and the compliance framework is detailed.
Recent NSSO administrative guidance
The NSSO has issued updated guidance on the classification of workers, particularly in the context of platform work and hybrid arrangements where individuals provide services through intermediary structures. The guidance reinforces the principle that the economic reality of the relationship - not its contractual label - determines whether a person is an employee subject to social security contributions. Employers who engage workers through service companies or freelance arrangements should review these arrangements in light of the updated guidance.
Eco-vouchers, meal vouchers, and benefit optimisation
Belgian payroll practice makes extensive use of tax-advantaged benefits - meal vouchers, eco-vouchers, mobility budgets, and group insurance. Each benefit has specific conditions for the tax and social security exemption to apply. Recent administrative positions have clarified the conditions under which the mobility budget can be used to fund private vehicle leasing, and have tightened the documentation requirements for eco-vouchers. Employers who have not reviewed their benefit structures recently may find that arrangements they assumed were compliant no longer meet the current conditions.
Wage withholding tax and the professional withholding tax return
Belgium';s professional withholding tax (bedrijfsvoorheffing/précompte professionnel) must be calculated, withheld, and remitted to the tax authorities on a monthly or quarterly basis depending on the employer';s size. Recent guidance from the FPS Finance has clarified the treatment of certain benefits in kind and the calculation of the withholding tax base for employees with split payrolls across multiple countries. International employers with mobile employees should ensure their payroll provider is applying the correct rules.
For assistance with payroll structuring, social security compliance, or employment contract reviews in Belgium, contact info@vlolawfirm.com. We can assist with documents and filings.
What are the most significant practical risks for foreign employers entering the Belgian market?
The most common risk is underestimating the procedural weight of Belgian employment law. Unlike jurisdictions where employment relationships are primarily governed by the individual contract, Belgian law layers statutory rules, royal decrees, and sectoral CLAs on top of the contract. A foreign employer who imports a standard contract template without adapting it to Belgian law may find that key clauses are unenforceable or that mandatory entitlements have been omitted. The work rules document is a particular trap: it is a legally required instrument with a specific adoption procedure, not simply an employee handbook. Employers should also be aware that sectoral CLAs bind them automatically if they operate in a covered sector, regardless of whether they have signed any agreement.
How long does it typically take to complete a collective dismissal procedure in Belgium, and what does it cost?
The collective dismissal procedure under the Renault Act involves multiple stages: formal notification to the regional employment authority and employee representatives, an information and consultation phase, and a waiting period before individual notices can be issued. In practice, the minimum duration from the opening of the procedure to the point where individual notices can lawfully be given is several weeks, and complex cases involving active union engagement can take considerably longer. The costs include severance pay calculated under the unified statute, any outplacement obligations, and - if the employer operates in certain sectors - contributions to a sectoral fund for dismissed workers. Professional and advisory fees add to the total. Employers should budget for this process well in advance of any restructuring announcement.
Can an employer in Belgium refuse a request for a four-day working week, and on what grounds?
Yes, an employer can refuse a request for a compressed four-day week, but the refusal must be in writing and must state the reasons. Belgian law does not require the employer to grant every request, but a blanket refusal policy or a refusal without substantiated reasons creates legal exposure. Acceptable grounds for refusal typically relate to operational necessity - for example, the role requires daily presence, or the compressed schedule would disrupt service delivery. Employers should document the reasoning carefully and apply a consistent approach across comparable roles to avoid indirect discrimination claims. If the same request is refused for one employee but granted for another in a similar role, the employer should be able to explain the difference.
Belgium';s employment law landscape in the current period demands active attention from employers. Legislative changes, updated administrative guidance, and evolving case law are reshaping obligations across the employment lifecycle - from hiring and onboarding through to dismissal and post-employment compliance. International employers in particular must resist the temptation to apply home-country assumptions to Belgian employment relationships.
VLO Law Firms advises international clients on employment law matters in Belgium. We can assist with employment contract reviews, work rules adoption, collective dismissal procedures, posted worker compliance, and social security structuring. To request a consultation, contact: info@vlolawfirm.com