In Belgium, social dialogue takes place at three levels: interprofessional/federal, sectoral, and company level. In recent months, the wage norm as well as various employment-related measures have been adopted at the federal and interprofessional lev...
The wage norm (= the maximum wage cost development) is set every two years and determines the maximum increase of the salaries in Belgium and at the same time functions as a kind of framework for the biennial wage consultations in the sectors and com...
This newsletter provides an overview of several key social and legal developments relevant to employers in 2026, ensuring you to stay informed in a timely manner about upcoming changes and to prepare accordingly. Other important topics will be explor...
Expenses incurred by an employee when travelling for professional reasons within Belgium or during a business trip abroad may, under certain conditions, be reimbursed by the employer on a lump-sum basis. Several changes have been introduced to the ap...
Employees who use their own car to travel for professional purposes, can receive a reimbursement from their employer for the costs incurred. On the other hand, employees who have been granted an electric company car by their employer may, under certa...
In Belgium, social dialogue takes place at 3 levels: interprofessional/federal, sectoral and within the company. In recent months, the wage standard as well as various employment-related measures have been introduced at federal and interprofessional ...
In our newsletter of 22 December 2025 we provided an overview of the changes to the special tax regime for inbound taxpayers and inbound researchers implemented retroactively since 1 January 2025 on a tax level. The Belgian social security authori...
Each year in January, the salaries are adjusted to the cost of living for employees of companies subject to Joint Industrial Committee 200 (JIC 200). In Belgium, this is referred to as the indexation of salaries. This indexation is a mechanism whe...
As already mentioned in our previous newsletter, a special tax regime for inbound taxpayers and inbound researchers has been introduced since 1 January 2022 in order to reduce the salary costs for the company of its eligible employees/company directo...
In Belgium, social dialogue takes place at 3 levels: interprofessional/federal, sectoral and within the company. In recent months, the wage standard as well as various employment-related measures have been introduced at federal and interprofessional ...
The Royal Decree of 10 November 2025, providing for the increase of the maximum amount of meal vouchers, was finally published on 17 November 2025. In accordance with this decree, the employer’s maximum daily contribution to meal vouchers will incr...
With the upcoming deadline for transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, employers must prepare themselves for the requirements of this directive. This newsletter outlines the key points of the directive and the practical steps you can alread...
The end of the calendar year is approaching: colleagues are making arrangements for the holidays between Christmas and the New Year and a few forward-looking souls are already dreaming about their holiday destination for the summer of 2026. On the ot...
2025 is gradually coming to an end. With the new year approaching, some are already looking ahead to their holiday planning for 2026. Below is an overview of the public holidays in 2026, along with a brief reminder of the applicable rules regarding s...
Each year in January, salaries are adjusted to the cost of living for employees of companies subject to Joint Industrial Committee 200 (JIC 200). In Belgium, this is referred to as the indexation of salaries. This indexation is a mechanism whereby...
Employees who use their own car to travel for professional purposes, can receive a reimbursement from their employer for the costs incurred. It is not necessary to be able to prove the exact amount of these costs as the authorities have fixed a ma...
Since 4 March 2022, the European Union has granted temporary protection to Ukrainian nationals who resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022. The period for which temporary protection is granted is renewed annually and was extended in July 2025 to 4...
An employer who wishes to employ a foreign worker with a nationality from outside the EU in Belgium must, in principle, apply for a combined permit (single permit) prior to employment. On the other hand, if the foreign candidate already lives and wor...
The costs that the employee incurs during business trips abroad can be reimbursed on a lump-sum basis by the employer. The accepted lump-sum amounts in the so-called ‘country-list’ were adjusted on 14 July 2025 and the adjusted amounts are effect...
The school year is starting again, so about time to list all the regional principles regarding educational leave. What is the scope? Paid educational leave gives the employee the right to follow an approved training course and to be a...
In our newsflash of April, we informed you that the deadline for registering training courses in the Federal Learning Account (hereafter ‘FLA’) had been extended to 1 September 2025. A new law has been published that postpones this deadline...
In 2025, following the federal elections of 2024 and the formateur’s note, a government agreement was reached on 31 January 2025. This document set out the political roadmap and included several important reforms in employment and labor market orga...
The Arizona Coalition Agreement that was reached at the end of January 2025 provides for a structural increase of the number of voluntary overtime hours which an employee can perform (360 hours per year), as well as for a simplification of the underl...
1. Context When an employer provides an electric company car privately used by an employee, it is valued based on a lump sum benefit in kind (BIK). This BIK also includes: Public Charging → with card provided by the employe...
In the Flemish Government Agreement 2024-2029, Flanders focuses on labour migration from outside the EU as the final element of a labour market policy that is aimed, among other things, at filling shortages on the Flemish labour market....
Employees who use their own car to travel for professional purposes, can receive a reimbursement from their employer for the costs incurred. It is not necessary to be able to prove the exact amount of these costs as the authorities have fixed a ma...
Employers and employees subject to Belgian social security must pay contributions to the NSSO (National Social Security Office). Employee contributions amount to 13.07 % of the gross salary and are deducted from the employee’s salary in payroll. ...
With several warm weeks behind us, we are reminded that the summer holidays are just around the corner. Therefore, it's time to outline the basic principles of student work once again. Who is eligible for student work? A student has t...
It’s that time of the year again! As a resident tax payer of Belgium, living and working in Belgium, you are obliged to file a resident income tax declaration towards the Belgian tax authorities. In this tax declaration, you mention all perso...
Different governments in Belgium are currently looking into ways to attract foreign talent to address structural shortages in the Belgian labor market. In this regard, the Special Tax Regime for inbound taxpayers and inbound researchers still rema...
In our newsflash of January , we informed you that the deadline for registering training courses in the Federal Learning Account (hereafter ‘FLA’) had been extended to 1 April 2025. Before this date expired, a law proposal has been ap...
On 6 December 2024, the Private Investigation Act was published in the Belgian Official Gazette. This act replaces the Detective Act of 19 July 1991, which was outdated. In this newsletter, we discuss the Private Investigation Act and why it ha...
Employees who use their own car to travel for professional purposes, can receive a reimbursement from their employer for the costs incurred. It is not necessary to be able to prove the exact amount of these costs as the authorities have fixed a ma...
Employees who work from home on a structural and regular basis can receive a lump-sum reimbursement from their employer. The maximum amount of this allowance has been increased on 1 March 2025 from 154.74 EUR per month to 157.83 EUR per month. &nb...
On 1 February 2025 the subscription fees for the train (NMBS/SNCB) have been increased. In this newsletter, we would like to inform you of the impact of these increases for you as an employer. First of all, we repeat in a nutshell the general prin...
Since the Labour Deal, employers with at least 20 employees must establish a formal training plan each year. More information on what must be included in this formal training plan, can be found in our previous newsletter. The draft training pla...
Foreign employees who are not citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA) need a work permit or a single permit to work on Belgian territory, unless they are exempt from it. The competence for granting a work permit or a single permit has been re...
The wage norm (= the maximum wage cost development) is set every two years and determines the maximum increase of the salaries in Belgium and at the same time functions as a kind of framework for the biennial wage consultations in the sectors and com...
In our newsflash of October, we informed you about the obligations regarding the Federal Learning Account (“FLA”) and how we can assist you with them. On 20 December 2024, a law was published that temporarily postpones these obligations. Below an...
Employees who use their own car to travel for professional purposes, can receive a reimbursement from their employer for the costs incurred. It is not necessary to be able to prove the exact amount of these costs as the authorities have fixed a ma...
Each year in January, the salaries are adjusted to the cost of living for employees of companies subject to Joint Industrial Committee 200 (JIC 200). In Belgium, this is referred to as the indexation of salaries. This indexation is a mechanism whe...
Foreign employees who are not European Economic Area (EEA) citizens need a work permit or a single permit to work on the Belgian territory, unless they are exempt from this requirement. The authority to grant a work permit or a single permit has b...
The Reference CO2 emissions for the income year 2025 have been published The reference CO2 emissions are a crucial element for the correct calculation of the benefit in kind for company cars. As in previous years, the reference CO2 emissions have ...
What is it about? A new reporting obligation has been introduced requiring the inclusion of the taxable benefit of company bikes on tax forms starting from 1 January 2024. This new obligation stems from the Circular 2024/C/22 of 28 March 2024, ...
Commercial contracts entered into by your company with its customers, that are governed by Belgian law are largely governed by the rules of the Civil Code. From 1 January 2025 onwards, Book 6 of the Civil Code implements a major reform on liabilit...
The end of the year is approaching: colleagues are making arrangements for the holidays between Christmas and the New Year and a few forward-looking souls are already dreaming about their holiday destination for the summer of 2025. On the other hand,...
Foreign employees who are not European Economic Area (EEA) citizens need a work permit or a single permit to work on the Belgian territory, unless they are exempt from this requirement. The authority to grant a work permit or a single permit has b...
On 2 September 2024, the Royal Decree that establishes the rules regarding the electronic submission of the annual training plan entered into force. It's therefore time to briefly reiterate what the annual training plan is (see our most recent newsle...
As 2024 is gradually coming to an end, we want to provide you with an overview of the Belgian public holidays for 2025, and a reminder of the rules applicable to replacement days. Public holidays in 2025 New Year's Day Wednesd...
Each year in January, salaries are adjusted to the cost of living for employees of companies subject to Joint Industrial Committee 200 (JIC 200). In Belgium, this is referred to as the indexation of salaries. This indexation is a mechanism whereby...
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