What do you need to know to hire in Belgium?
Belgian employer social security is 27% of gross salary, notice scales to 52 weeks at 17 years of service, and a new 52-week cap takes effect 1 July 2026. Each guide below takes one layer.
· Belgium guide
How does Teamed handle Belgian hiring for you?
Teamed becomes your legal employer of record in Belgium for from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency.
Payroll, contracts, and the full Belgian employment law stack run on one platform.
Real HR and legal experts manage every Belgian hire, from the first offer letter to the final settlement. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue, handles your Belgian team alongside EOR, contractor onboarding, and entity payroll on one platform. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.
A Belgian contractor who converts to payroll keeps their record, and that same employee can graduate from EOR to your own Belgian entity without re-onboarding. Run the Crossover Calculator to see the month the model flips. EOR is the right model for a first Belgian hire, until it isn't.
- Belgian severance is not a formula. It is a notice period. When Belgium dismisses an employee, the indemnity in lieu of notice equals the full notice period for that employee's seniority. From 1 July 2026 that notice is capped at 52 weeks at 17 years of service. The termination guide sets out the full seniority table.
- Belgium does not have a separate employer pension rate. Pension contributions are bundled inside the 27% ONSS/RSZ social security rate, not listed separately. Most EOR cost guides show a pension line that Belgium simply does not have. The tax guide explains what that rate covers.
- A probation period may return in Belgium from late 2026. Belgium abolished trial periods in 2014. A draft law of February 2026 proposes reintroducing a six-month trial period, but the Council of State raised concerns and the law has not yet been published in the Official Gazette as of June 2026. The hiring guide covers what this means for offers made now.
Hiring in Belgium adds roughly 27% in employer social security on top of gross salary. Belgium runs no separate pension line: pension is part of that social security rate.
Belgium pays payroll monthly. The guaranteed minimum monthly income (GMMI) is €2,189.81/month. Annual leave is 20 days for a five-day week. There are 10 statutory public holidays, counted separately from annual leave.
Teamed runs Belgian payroll, contracts, and compliance through an EOR entity holding the required Belgian ONSS/RSZ registrations.
This page is the map. Each guide below is the detail.
Zero FX. No setup fees. 48-hour onboarding. The price your finance team can forecast against without an asterisk.
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Belgium in 2026?
A Belgian hire costs roughly 127 percent of gross salary once employer social security is added.
Employer ONSS/RSZ is 27% on gross salary. That rate includes pension. It sits on top of the salary.
Employer ONSS/RSZ social security is 27% on total gross compensation. Belgium does not have a separate pension line: occupational pension contributions are part of that rate. There is no ceiling on the employer social security base. Teamed's Belgium fee sits inside the total cost envelope, not outside it.
Teamed's Belgium price is a starting rate, with zero FX in any currency pairing. No setup fees. No exit fees. Salaries, taxes, and benefits passed through at cost on every invoice.
The full breakdown, with worked examples at current statutory rates, is in the cost guide.
Do you need a Belgian entity to hire employees in Belgium?
No. An Employer of Record runs Belgian payroll and contracts from day one.
Your own Belgian entity becomes cheaper than EOR somewhere around 5 to 8 employees, depending on salary.
Forming a Belgian BV/SRL requires notarised articles of association, registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE/KBO), and ONSS/RSZ employer registration. Setup takes several weeks. An Employer of Record is faster and cheaper at low headcount. Teamed runs Belgian payroll, contracts, and social security compliance from day one.
The crossover point depends on Belgian salary levels and your accounting costs. For most tech roles it lands around 5 to 8 employees. The EOR vs entity guide runs those numbers.
Most EOR providers will not tell you when you have crossed it. We do, and we help you move. You progress from contractor to EOR to your own Belgian entity on one platform under Teamed's Graduation Model, with tenure preserved.
What is changing in Belgian employment law in 2026?
The guaranteed minimum monthly income rose to €2,189.81/month from 1 April 2026.
From 1 July 2026, employer dismissal notice is capped at 52 weeks at 17 years of service.
The National Labour Council CNA 43 raised the GMMI to €2,189.81/month effective 1 April 2026. This applies to all white-collar and blue-collar workers aged 18 and over. Employers must pay at least this amount regardless of sector.
A separate legislative package caps employer dismissal notice at 52 weeks for contracts entered into from 1 July 2026, compared to the higher figures that applied under the pre-2026 seniority table. A draft law also proposes reintroducing a six-month trial period. That reform has not yet been enacted as of June 2026. The hiring guide covers what that means for offers and contracts drafted now.
What benefits must you provide Belgian employees in 2026?
The statutory floor is 20 days of paid annual leave, 10 statutory public holidays, and 30 days of full guaranteed pay during illness.
Belgium counts leave and public holidays separately, and calculates holiday pay on a previous-year earnings base.
Belgian statutory annual leave is 20 days for a five-day week. Belgium is unusual: holiday pay is calculated on the previous year's earnings (the so-called vacation pay advance). Single-employer workers receive holiday pay directly in their payslip. Multi-employer workers receive it via a vacation fund (caisse de vacances).
During sick leave, white-collar employees receive full pay for 30 days at the employer's cost. After that, the national health insurer (INAMI/RIZIV) pays a replacement income. Maternity leave is 15 weeks under the Labour Act. Either parent may take up to 4 months of parental leave under CBA No. 64 and the Royal Decree of 1997. Birth leave for the co-parent is 20 working days. The benefits guide covers each entitlement in full.
Read the full Belgium benefits guide
What are payroll taxes in Belgium in 2026?
Employer ONSS/RSZ social security is 27% of gross salary, with no ceiling.
Employees pay 13.07% ONSS/RSZ on gross salary, also with no cap.
Belgian social security has no contribution ceiling for either party. Employer ONSS/RSZ is 27% and employee ONSS/RSZ is 13.07%. Both apply to total gross compensation. Belgium bundles pension inside the social security rate rather than showing it as a separate line.
Income tax is progressive. The first bracket is taxed at 25%. The rate rises to 40%, then to 45%, and reaches 50% above EUR 51,070. Belgium applies a basic personal exemption of €11,180/year taxed at the lowest bracket rate. The tax and payroll guide sets out every band and threshold.
How do you terminate an employee in Belgium?
Belgian notice starts at 1 week for employees under three months of service.
Notice scales with seniority and is capped at 52 weeks from 1 July 2026 at 17 years service.
Belgian dismissal law is set by the Law of 3 July 1978 as amended. Notice must be given in writing and delivered by registered letter or bailiff. The notice period scales with seniority from 1 week at less than three months up through a capped maximum of 52 weeks at 17 years for contracts from 1 July 2026. The employer can pay indemnity in lieu of notice equal to the full notice period.
Belgium has no qualifying service for unfair dismissal protection. From day one, CBA No. 109 protects every employee against manifestly unreasonable dismissal. Compensation runs from 3 weeks to 17 weeks of gross pay. Collective redundancy requires consultation: in companies of 20 to 99 employees, dismissing 10 or more workers within 60 days triggers the procedure, with a 30 days cooling-off period before terminations proceed. The termination guide covers each route in full.
What should you know before hiring in Belgium?
Two things catch US buyers out. The first is the three official languages.
The second is the holiday pay advance system, which front-loads a cash payment in May or June that most employers do not budget for.
Belgium has three official languages: French, Dutch, and German. Employment contracts in Brussels must be in French or Dutch depending on the employee's workplace language. Contracts in the wrong language are not automatically void but can be challenged. Teamed ensures the correct language variant for each region. Most US buyers draft one English contract. Belgium does not accept that for court purposes.
Belgian holiday pay is paid as a lump sum in advance. Single-employer workers receive a double holiday pay advance in May or June based on previous-year earnings. This is a significant cash event in the payroll year and does not appear in monthly payslip planning for new employers. Teamed models it into the full cost breakdown. The hiring guide and the cost guide both explain the calculation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Belgium?
Plan on roughly 127 percent of gross salary once employer ONSS/RSZ social security at 27% is added. Belgium bundles pension inside that rate, so there is no separate pension line. Teamed's Belgium fee is one flat number per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency pairing. The cost breakdown guide has worked examples.
Can a US company hire in Belgium without an entity?
Yes. An Employer of Record like Teamed runs Belgian payroll, contracts, and ONSS/RSZ compliance through its own registered entity. You direct the work. Teamed becomes the legal employer of record. Setup takes 48 hours once terms are confirmed. Forming your own Belgian BV/SRL takes several weeks and requires notarised articles of association and CBE/KBO registration.
What is the Belgian minimum wage in 2026?
The guaranteed minimum monthly income (GMMI) is €2,189.81/month from 1 April 2026 for workers aged 18 and over. It was set by the National Labour Council under CNA 43. This is a monthly floor, not an hourly rate. All white-collar and blue-collar employees must be paid at least this amount.
What are Belgian statutory notice periods?
Notice starts at 1 week for employees under three months of service and scales with seniority. From 1 July 2026, employer notice is capped at 52 weeks at 17 years of service. Notice must be given in writing. The employer can pay an indemnity in lieu of notice equal to the full notice period salary.
What is Belgium's unfair dismissal protection?
CBA No. 109 protects every employee against manifestly unreasonable dismissal from day one. There is no qualifying service period. If the labour court finds the dismissal manifestly unreasonable, it can award between 3 weeks and 17 weeks of gross pay in compensation, on top of the notice indemnity.
What is the minimum annual leave for a Belgian employee?
Statutory minimum paid annual leave is 20 days for a standard five-day week. Belgium counts annual leave and public holidays separately. There are 10 statutory public holidays. Belgian holiday pay is calculated on previous-year earnings and paid as a lump sum advance in May or June. Employers new to Belgium should budget for this cash event.
Belgium sits between French and German employment law traditions and carries elements of both. The ONSS rate is high, the leave system calculates on the previous year, and the dismissal notice table has no UK or US equivalent. These guides exist so the first Belgian hire is not also the first Belgian surprise.
Belgium has a 27% employer social security rate, a notice cap of 52 weeks from July, and a holiday pay lump sum each May.
These are knowable. Most guides do not explain them until you are already live.
Read the right Belgium guide before the first hire, not after the first payroll surprise.
