While the new government announced fairly drastic measures on the employment front when it was formed towards the end of January 2025, most of these changes have yet to take place.
There are however a couple of developments to report:
- Bridge pension schemes (almost completely) abolished
Belgium has long applied an early retirement regime known as a ‘bridge pension‘ or, following the (unpopular) name change, the regime of ‘unemployment with company allowance‘. Under this regime, when an employee of a certain age is dismissed, they are entitled to unemployment benefits until they reach retirement age, as well as a monthly allowance payable by the former employer.
Over the years, the conditions for this regime (minimum age and professional career requirements) have tightened, in an effort to increase the average retirement age. For example, the age to access the general regime had increased to 62 and the requirement to have a professional career had gone up to 40 years. There were however still a number of exceptions to this rule (e.g. for disabled workers).
The regime has now been further tightened meaning, for example, that it will no longer be possible for employers to ask to lower the minimum age for the bridge pension when the employer is recognised as an ’employer in difficulties’ or ’employer in restructuring’ (following a collective dismissal situation or company closure).
Transitional measures have also been included for employees already receiving the company allowance and for employees who had already been terminated with a view to accessing the bridge pension. These employees “in limbo” will still benefit from the regime, until they reach retirement age.
- Value of meal vouchers to increase
The Belgian government has announced its intention to raise the maximum daily employer contribution for meal vouchers, a benefit which is very popular in Belgium due to the fact that the employer’s contribution is exempt from tax and social security charges.
The employer contribution will increase from EUR 6.91 to EUR 8.91, effective 1 January 2026. The daily employee contribution must remain at a minimum of EUR 1.09. A Royal Decree implementing this change is expected shortly.
The increase is intended to compensate for the intended abolishment of eco vouchers and cultural vouchers and it fits in with the government’s plans to reduce the number of exemptions when it comes to social security.
Flemish Government takes firm position on Employers of Record
On its website, the Flemish administration has recently taken a firm position on Employers of Record (EoR), stating that only entities holding a valid licence as a temporary work agency may provide EoR services in Flanders.
To obtain such a licence, an EoR must demonstrate that it meets certain conditions, including the payment of a substantial financial guarantee.
The administration also requires that EoRs restrict their activities to temporary agency work within the limits defined by law, e.g. limiting the use of temporary work to the replacement of an employee, a temporary increase in workload and the performance of exceptional work, to name the most important.
While the position of the Flemish administration is not binding, it does hold some authority and may be assumed to be serving as a guideline for future social inspections. We align with the position of a number of legal scholars and consider that the administration’s position may be too strict and that, depending on how the services are structured, an EoR may still also position itself as a provider of HR-related services. More than ever, it will be important to have a properly drafted (service) agreement in place with the EoR.
Little to no room for salary increases
In order to guarantee the competitiveness of Belgian companies, the maximum margin for changes in wage costs during a two-year period must be laid down in an interprofessional agreement negotiated between the social partners at least every two years.
This margin is determined on the basis of a report by the Central Economic Council (CRB) on Belgium’s wage cost disadvantage compared to its neighbouring countries. As was the case for 2023-2024, no interprofessional agreement could be reached this year. The government therefore set the wage margin by Royal Decree: the maximum margin for changes/increases in wage costs for 2025-2026 is 0%.
A margin of 0% does not mean that wages will be completely frozen, but it does mean that collective or individual wage increases will only be possible if the average change in wage costs in the company for the reference period 2025-2026 does not increase compared to the same period for 2023-2024. Indexations and wage scale increases (based on collective labour agreements) will always remain guaranteed. The profit bonus, CLA90 bonus and purchasing power bonus also fall outside the scope of the wage norm.
Exceeding the available margin is in principle punishable by law.
A cap on social security contributions (but only for the very few …)
There has been a lot of talk recently about the fact that going forward Belgian social security contributions will be capped. This is true, of course, but the impact on your business will likely be small. As from 1 July 2025, employers have no longer been required to pay basic employer social security contributions on the portion of an employee’s salary that exceeds the threshold of … EUR 85,000 per quarter. In other words, for employees earning more than EUR 28,333, you will indeed be paying less social security contributions.
The measure is aimed to push fewer higher-earners to self-employed status (where contributions are indeed capped, at a much lower level), but it is fair to say the government will need to do more if it really aims to push back the transition to self-employed status.
