Your Guide to Hiring Employees and
Contractors in Belgium
Capital city
Brussels
Currency
Euro
Language(s)
Dutch, French, German
Ease of doing business
Very easy
Payroll frequency
Monthly
Employer taxes
25%
Payroll
Monthly Payroll
In Belgium, the payroll frequency is monthly for work between the first and last day of the month and is typically paid on the last day of the month.
Minimum Wage Requirements
National minimum wage remains fixed at 1625.7 EURO per month.
Individual Income Tax
The individual income tax ranges from 25% to 50%. Income tax is calculated according to progressive rates. Multiple additional factors may impact overall rates such as the household status and the number of children.
Employer Cost
The employer cost generally ranges between 27.5 – 40% of the employee salary.
Working Hours
Work Week
Monday to Friday
Overtime Pay & Maximum Hours
- Standard working hours in Belgium are 38 hours per week.
- Hours worked over the standard 38 hours per week are paid overtime
- Exceptions may apply for certain roles and positions.
Employment Termination
Workers can have their employment terminated by the employer; these include:
- Employee’s capability or qualifications for performing work of the kind the employee was employed to do
- Employee conduct
- Employee retirement
- Employee redundancy
- Employee inability to continue working in a position without contravening statutory duty or restriction
- Changing needs of the employer
- Other substantial reasons justifying dismissal
Notice period
The minimum notice period is 2 weeks for employment that lasted 3 months. Required notice increases based on length of employment.
Probation periods
Probation or Trial periods have been suppressed by the Unified Employment Status Act since January 2014 (except with students, temporary workers, and temporary agency workers).