Update on the Summer Agreement: impact on employers?
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 organization.
On 21 July 2025, before the summer break, the De Wever government took another step by concluding a 'Summer Agreement.' This package of measures clarifies and complements the commitments of the government agreement. Some provisions have already been confirmed in a Program Act which has been adopted, while others will still need to be drafted into law, debated, and/or voted on in Parliament:
The following measures officially entered into force following the publication of the program law in the Belgian Official Gazette:
- Capping of employer social security contributions on high salaries: as we announced in our last newsletter, the Programe Act now provides that employer social security contributions will be capped starting 1 July 2025. Beyond a salary of EUR 85,000 per quarter (amount subject to indexation), the employer will no longer have to pay employer contributions. In other words, contributions will only be due on the portion of the salary below EUR 85,000 per quarter.
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Extension of recovery hours and exemption of withholding tax for overtime until the end of 2025, pending a structural increase that still needs to be implemented. You can find more details in our last newsletter on this topic.
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Unemployment allowances in case of resignation: Previously, employees who resigned were automatically excluded from unemployment benefits. The Program Act allows employees resigning as from 1 March 2026, onward to be entitled – under certain conditions, particularly regarding working days – to unemployment benefits, once per career and for a maximum period of six months.
The following measures, although announced, have not yet been officially adopted. Nothing changes at this stage:
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Meal vouchers: optional and gradual increase in the maximum value from EUR 8 to EUR 10 per day as of 1 January 2026. No draft text has yet been submitted or drawn up on this matter.
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Gradual phase-out of eco-vouchers: this measure, initially announced in the January 2025 government agreement, has not seen any further developments since.
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The special tax regime for inbound taxpayers and researchers will be made more attractive.
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Measures regarding incapacity for work, such as the possibility of starting a reintegration trajectory from the first day of incapacity, termination of the employment contract for medical force majeure after six months instead of nine months of continuous incapacity, the obligation to implement an active absenteeism policy, etc.
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Mandatory mobility budget: as of 1 January 2026, any employer providing company cars to employees will also be required to offer a mobility budget as an alternative. However, this would not apply to company cars provided under a cafeteria plan or salary sacrifice scheme.
The government agreement also foresees, in the long run, a 'general' mobility budget for every employee, regardless of whether a company car is provided.
These two measures have not seen any concrete developments since the government agreement.
