Working life in Belgium

Notes: Values for GDP per capita are chain-linked volumes (based on 2010 data; €). The unemployment rate for men and women is the annual average as a percentage of the active population aged 15–74 years, and the youth unemployment rate is the annual average as a percentage of people aged 15–24 years. The employment rate for men and women is the annual average of the active population aged 15–64 years, and the youth employment rate is the annual average as a percentage of people aged 15–24 years. GDP, gross domestic product.

Sources: Eurostat [sdg_08_10], for GDP per capita; [une_rt_a], for unemployment rate by sex and age; [lfsi_emp_a], for employment rate by sex and age.

Economic and labour market context

From 2012 to 2022, Belgium’s gross domestic product increased by 10.6%. For the same period, total unemployment decreased by 2 percentage points, reaching 5.6% in 2022, which is slightly lower than the EU average of 6.2% for the same year. Unemployment figures for young people decreased by 3.6 percentage points over the 10 years and stood at 16.4% in 2022, above the EU average of 14.5%.

Legal context

Social dialogue in Belgium is rooted in the Law of 5 December 1968 related to collective agreements and joint committees (Loi du 5 décembre 1968 sur les conventions collectives de travail et les commissions paritaires/Wet van 5 december 1968 bretreffende de collectieve arbeidsovereenkomsten en de paritaire comites), among other legislation. While freedom of assembly and association and the right to information, consultation and negotiation are set out in the Belgian Constitution, the Law of 5 December 1968 sets out the representativeness criteria for trade unions and employer organisations (see the section ‘Representativeness’). Labour law includes any legislation on working time, rights and duties of employers and employees and specific measures related to young workers.

In recent years, partly due to austerity measures since the 2007–2008 financial crisis, a series of labour regulation reforms have been implemented in the country. These relate to working time flexibilisation (2012, 2016, 2017, 2022); temporary agency work (2013); flexible jobs in the hotel, restaurant and catering sector, small retail, cinemas, sports, culture and healthcare (2015, 2017, 2022); night work for e-commerce (2015; additional changes in 2017 and 2023); reforms of early retirement and pensions (2012–2015); the career leave system (2015); measures to increase sustainable work (2012–2013 and 2017); and the abolition of the probationary period (2014).

Another major change concerns the introduction of a more unified employment status for blue- and white-collar workers with respect to their notice periods (Law of 26 December 2013).

Industrial relations context

Since the late 1990s, the state has played an increasing role in collective bargaining (Capron et al, 2013), with several combined functions. It has directly intervened, as in the case of the proposal of the government that took power in October 2014 to remove the next automatic index-linked increase in wages. It argued that the salary gap between Belgium and neighbouring countries is too big, making Belgium uncompetitive. State-led control of inflation and labour costs has also generated strong pressure on collective bargaining. For more information, see Van Gyes et al (2017). In line with this trend, the institutional and political structure of the country has become more federal, with greater power granted to regions and communities. Because of close interaction between public authorities and employer or trade union confederations, regionalisation in the country has led to regional players having greater influence. On the employers’ side, this is particularly the case for the Flemish Chambers of Commerce (Vlaams netwerk van ondernemingen,Voka) and the Walloon Business Union (Union Wallonne des Entreprises,UWE). On the trade union side, the existing national structures have remained in place. With regard to organisational changes within the trade unions, there is a general trend of transferring competencies among trade union federations to better align with the composition of the workforce within certain sectors and the diminishing divide between blue- and white-collar workers.

In 1970, the Belgian state adopted a federal structure including regions and communities. This federalisation process was strengthened by six major institutional reforms that took place in 1970, 1980, 1988–1989, 1993, 2001 and a final reform in 2013. The latest institutional reform affected the organisation of the labour market by granting greater power to regions in fields where social partners usually play a major role, such as health and safety or employment policies.

The main development from these reforms was that cross-industry social partners could not sign an interprofessional agreement for 2011–2012 and 2013–2014. In the most recent bargaining round, for 2023–2024, the government ultimately took over because, despite long negotiations, the social partners were unable to reach an agreement. A wage margin of 0% was established. The key point here is that wage-setting has often proven to be a conflictual issue in the post-2008 period. Both wage-setting mechanisms and wage levels were central issues in the latest rounds of cross-industry bargaining among the ‘Group of Ten[1]’, leading to disputes and sometimes unilateral government intervention.

On 23 January 2022, the Council of Ministers approved a draft of a royal decree with the aim of setting the maximum labour cost evolution for 2023–2024. Given that the social partners were unable to reach an agreement with regard to the wage norm[2], the government decided to follow the preparatory report of the Central Business Council and established a wage norm of 0%.

To provide some additional remuneration above the 0%, the government allowed for a one-time premium in the form of a ‘consumption cheque’. Companies that achieved ‘good or exceptional results’ during 2022 had the opportunity to grant their employees a one-off purchasing power premium. This purchasing power premium amounted to a maximum of €500 per employee for companies that had achieved good results. For companies that had achieved exceptionally high profits, this premium amounted to a maximum of €750 per employee.

On 24 January 2023, the National Labour Council issued a divided opinion from both the employee representation and the employer representation on the draft royal decree on the purchasing power premium. Both employee and employer representatives noted that there are currently no definitions in the law or decree of the terms ‘high profit’ and ‘exceptionally high profit’.

Trade unions, employer organisations and public institutions play a key role in the governance of the employment relationship, working conditions and industrial relations structures. They are interlocking parts in a multilevel system of governance that includes European, national, sectoral, regional (provincial or local) and company levels. This section looks at the key players and institutions and their role in Belgium.

Public authorities involved in regulating working life

The federal government is responsible for labour law and social security. The Belgian Federal Public Service (FPS) Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue is responsible for the federal administrative services on the labour market and social dialogue, such as regulation of the labour market. The labour inspectorate is part of this federal public service and supervises the implementation of social law and welfare at work. Allowances, such as unemployment payments or career break premiums, are under the authority of the National Employment Office.

Following the Sixth State Reform (2011–2012), responsibilities for vocational training, labour market policies for target groups and the majority of job-activating measures for unemployed people have been transferred to the Belgian regions. The responsible public services are the Flemish Public Employment Service (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding, VDAB) for the Flemish Region, the Regional Vocational Training and Employment Office (Office communautaire et régional de la formation professionnelle et de l’emploi, FOREM) for the Walloon Region and Actiris for the Brussels Region.

The labour courts are the main institutions ensuring the enforcement of employees’ rights. However, depending on the type of dispute, mediation can occur within a company.

The main institution monitoring and promoting health and safety at work is the High Council for Prevention and Protection at Work (Conseil supérieur pour la prevention et la protection au travail/Hoge Raad voor Preventie en Bescherming op het Werk).

• FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue, Conseil supérieur pour la prévention et la protection au travail

Representativeness

The Collective Agreements Act of 1968 (modified by the Law of 30 December 2009) lays down the criteria for representativeness. To be representative, a trade union or an employer organisation must have at least 125,000 members, be an interoccupational organisation (or form part of an interoccupational organisation) of workers or employers and represent an absolute majority of sectors and activities in the private and public sector.

These criteria determine the external representativeness of trade unions. When a trade union meets these criteria, it can conclude collective agreements, apply for representation in a joint committee and be represented on the Central Economic Council and the National Labour Council.

At present, three trade unions, and their member federations, have representative status: the Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV), the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV) and the Federation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (Centrale Générale des Syndicats Libéraux de Belgique/Algemene Centrale der Liberale Vakbonden van België, CGSLB/ACLVB).

More information on the representativeness of the main social partner organisations can be found in Eurofound’s representativeness study on the cross-industry social partners or in Eurofound’s sectoral representativeness studies.

Trade unions, employer organisations and public institutions play a key role in the governance of the employment relationship, working conditions and industrial relations structures. They are interlocking parts in a multilevel system of governance that includes European, national, sectoral, regional (provincial or local) and company levels. This section looks at the main actors and institutions and their role in Belgium.

Trade unions

About trade union representation

All Belgian citizens have the right to be affiliated to a union regardless of their professional status (employees, blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, civil servants, unemployed people, retired people). Belgian unions cover all workers (and beyond) through many branches organised by sectors, occupations or professional status.

Belgium has one of the highest trade union density rates in Europe, comparable to rates in the Scandinavian countries. Between 2010 and 2019, this rate remained quite stable (between 50% and 56%).

Trade union membership and density, 2010–2019

Notes: * Proportion of employees who are members of a trade union. ** Trade union membership of employees derived from the total union membership and adjusted, if necessary, for trade union members outside the active, dependent and employed labour force (i.e. retired workers, self-employed workers, students, unemployed people).
Source: Author’s own data.

Main trade union confederations and federations

The three main trade unions are CSC/ACV (1.5 million members), FGTB/ABVV (1.5 million members) and CGSLB/ACLVB (295,000 members).

Main trade union confederations and federations

Note: Membership data include the free union membership of students.
Source: Author’s own data reported by trade unions.

The situation has not fundamentally changed in recent years: there have been no new trade unions or mergers, and the balance of power has not changed. However, following the 2012 social elections organised to measure the representativeness of the trade unions, CGSLB/ACLVB reached the threshold of 10% for the first time.

Employer organisations

About employer representation

All companies located in Belgium and self-employed people have the right to join employer organisation. Like trade unions, employer organisations have national and/or sectoral branches. Companies and/or self-employed people are free to join one (or more) of these branches. According to the main national employer organisation in Belgium, the Belgian Federation of Employers (Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique/Verbond van Belgische Ondernemingen, FEB/VBO), employer organisations represent 75% of all Belgian companies. However, there are no accurate data on the density of all employer organisations.

Employer organisations involved in collective bargaining at both national and sectoral levels negotiate at country or sector level. Consequently, all companies in the country or the sector are covered by the collective agreement regardless of affiliation to an employer organisation.

Employer organisation membership and density, 2012–2019

Notes: * Percentage of employees working in an establishment that is a member of any employer organisation involved in collective bargaining. n.a., not available.
Source: Author’s own data.

Main employer organisations

FEB/VBO is the main national employer organisation in Belgium. It represents 50 sectoral employer federations. In total, it represents 50,000 companies, including 25,000 small and medium-sized enterprises.

Other employer organisations are the Federation of Belgian Farmers (Fédération des Agriculteurs Belges/Belgische Boerenbond), the Confederation of Social Profit Enterprises, the Flemish Union of Self-employed Entrepreneurs (Unie van Zelfstandige Ondernemers, UNIZO) and the French-speaking Union of the Middle Classes (Union des Classes Moyennes, UCM).

At regional level, the most important employer organisations are Voka, the UWE and Brussels Enterprises Commerce and Industry, besides UNIZO and UCM. Not-for-profit sectors are represented by the Association for Social Profit Enterprises (Vereniging voor social profit ondernemingen), Unipso and the Brussels Confederation of Social Profit Enterprises (Brusselse Confederatie van Social-Profit Ondernemingen).

Main employer organisations and confederations

Source: Author’s own data

Tripartite and bipartite bodies and concertation

Every two years, the three main trade unions and the employers’ representatives negotiate an interprofessional agreement setting out measures related to the economic and social areas for the next two years. If no agreement can be reached, the government must step in. Two national bipartite councils, the Central Economic Council and the National Labour Council, are consulted by the government on economic and social issues concerning labour law, employment relationships and social security. Moreover, the social partners are entitled to conclude cross-sectoral agreements within the National Labour Council. In each of the three Belgian regions, there is an equivalent council: the Social Economic Council of Flanders (Sociaal Economische Raad van Vlaanderen, SERV), the Economic and Social Council of Wallonia(Conseil économique et social de Wallonie, CESW) and the Economic and Social Council of the Brussels Capital Region(Conseil économique et social de la région de Bruxelles capitale/Economische and Sociale Raad voor het Brussels Hoofstedelijk Gewest).A national tripartite council, the High Council for Prevention and Protection at Work, was created to advise the government on the well-being of employees in the workplace.

Main tripartite and bipartite bodies

Source: Author’s own data.

Workplace-level employee representation

A works council (Conseil d’entreprise/Ondernemingsraad, CE/OR) is set up as soon as the threshold of 100 employees is reached within a company. It is composed of employee representatives elected through social elections, and of employer representatives. It has to be summoned at least once a month by the employer on the company’s premises. The CE/OR members are informed by the employer about the company’s financial situation, its productivity, its future developments in employment and its objectives. Within the CE/OR, the employer has to provide information on substantial planned modifications in the organisation of staff, such as restructuring, a site closure, a merger or the introduction of a night shift, and on training measures.

The workplace prevention and protection committee (Comité pour la prévention et protection au travail/Comité voor preventie en bescherming op het werk) is made up of employee representatives elected through social elections, prevention counsellors and members of company management who are responsible for health and safety. The committee oversees any issue relating to workers’ health, the working environment and working conditions.

A trade union delegation (délégation syndicale/vakbondsafvaardiging) has the right to be present in any company that has the minimum number of workers established by the relevant sectoral collective agreement. The members of the delegation are nominated by their trade unions or elected by staff. A trade union delegation, in contrast to the two other bodies, represents only unionised workers of the company and not the entire staff. It can negotiate collective agreements in the company and intervene in any conflict the staff might have with the employer. Furthermore, the trade union delegation has the right to be informed about any changes in working conditions. When neither a CE/OR nor a workplace prevention and protection committee is present in the company, the trade union delegation is able to fulfil the role of these two bodies.

Regulation, composition and competencies of the representative bodies

Source: Author’s own data.

The central concern of employment relations is collective governance regarding work and employment. This section looks at collective bargaining in Belgium.

Bargaining system

The traditional system of collective bargaining in Belgium is entirely regulated by the Law of 5 December 1968 on collective bargaining agreements and sectoral joint committees, in which the right to organise and bargain collectively is recognised and protected. Wage bargaining is highly structured through three interlinked levels. The highest level, with centralised cross-sectoral agreements, covers the entire economy. An important intermediate level covers specific sectors. In addition, company-level negotiations complement or act as a substitute for sector-level bargaining. In principle, lower-level agreements can only improve (from the employees’ perspective) what has been negotiated at a higher level.

At sectoral level, there are 100 joint committees and 65 joint subcommittees deciding on pay levels, classification schemes, working time arrangements, training, etc. Sectoral collective agreements apply to all employers and employees covered by the joint committees or subcommittees concerned. As negotiations at this level give legal content following the agreements at national cross-sectoral level, it is argued that the sector is still the most important bargaining level. It could also be considered the most important because, for many non-wage items, sectoral level is the highest level of negotiation. Every company and employee is assigned to a sectoral joint committee. This is almost automatically done when the company applies for a social security number and the employee is registered within the company for the social security system.

This traditional structure, with sectoral joint committees as the central arena for bargaining and making collective agreements, is today set within the following set of centralised instruments of collective bargaining and especially wage bargaining coordination.

Biennial social programming : At national level, pay negotiations in the private sector take place every two years outside the official bipartite organisation, and they result in national cross-sector agreements (Accord Interprofessionel/Interprofessioneel Akkoord). The bargaining group, called the Group of Ten, consists of the key representatives of the national social partners recognised as such by the Central Economic Council and National Labour Council.

Minimum wage : See below.

Automatic wage indexation : Pay and social security benefits are linked to a specific consumer price index. The link is intended to prevent the erosion of purchasing power by inflation. The system is a patchwork of sectoral-level mechanisms agreed upon freely by the members of the joint committees. They differ in terms of timing, indexation system, calculation of the moving average of the index, rounding rules, target groups and other details.

Wage norm : The state tries to balance the automatic indexing of wages and the sectoral-level bargaining with a tight law on monitoring and intervention in the wage-setting system. The forecast-weighted growth of foreign hourly labour costs (a weighted average for France, Germany and the Netherlands) acts as an upper limit (termed the ‘wage norm’) for wage negotiations at all levels (macro, sector and company). When the social partners do not implement the wage norm through a cross-sectoral agreement, the norm can be imposed by law. Otherwise, the norm is indicative.

Since the 2007–2008 financial crisis, and especially since 2010, this system has been under pressure from, on the one hand, imposition through state intervention and, on the other hand, certain innovations and particular decentralisation tendencies. The institutional framework has, however, remained intact, although in 2017 stricter wage norm legislation (Law of 29 March 2017) was introduced.

In 2010–2015, no new full cross-sectoral agreement was reached. The state intervened twice with a wage freeze (above indexation) for 2013–2014 and a temporary suspension of the wage indexation (2015–2016). The wage norm was implemented by law and thus had a greater impact. At the start of 2017, the social partners nevertheless reached, for the first time since 2010, a new cross-sectoral agreement (2017–2018) that sets out, among other things, a (biannual) wage increase of a maximum of 1.1% (above indexation).

Partly due to the central wage freezing, collective bargaining of a collective bonus system at company level (regulated by National Agreement No. 90 of the National Labour Council) expanded massively in this period. The negotiators also got more involved in discussions about industrial policy and about initiatives to stimulate active ageing.

Wage bargaining coverage

There is large variation in negotiation levels of collective wage bargaining. Indeed, cross-sectoral level is the most important for setting the wage norm. Within the framework established at that level, lower levels are free to negotiate collective agreements on wages. The wage norm set at cross-sectoral level covers nearly all employees in Belgium (96% in 2013) (Eurofound, 2014a).

Collective wage bargaining coverage of employees

Notes: * Private sector companies with >10 employees (NACE B-S); multiple answers possible. ** Companies with >10 employees (NACE B-S, excluding O); single answer for each local unit; more than 50% of employees covered by such an agreement; online dataset codes: [EARN_SES10_01], [EARN_SES14_01], [EARN_SES18_01]; percentage of employees working in local units where more than 50% of the employees are covered under a collective pay agreement out of the total number of employees in the scope of the survey.
Source: Author’s own data.

Bargaining levels

Every two years, a national-level cross-industry agreement is concluded between social partners. This agreement includes a package of provisions on wages, working time, training, etc. Moreover, social partners conclude national collective agreements on wages and working time within the National Labour Council. Within the framework designed by social partners at national level, arrangements on these issues can also be made at sectoral level. Company level is less relevant to wages and working time issues, although some adjustments are possible.

Levels of collective bargaining, 2022

Articulation

The national collective agreements concluded set a legal framework in which social partners at sectoral level are free to negotiate. In the same way, the sectoral collective agreements set out the legal framework for negotiation at company level. In other words, collective agreements concluded at one level cannot be at variance with the collective agreements concluded at a higher level.

Timing of bargaining rounds

Collective cross-sectoral bargaining rounds (in the private sector) are organised every two years. If there is no agreement between social partners, the government can impose the wage norm. At sectoral level, the bargaining rounds are more dispersed depending on cross-sectoral agreements, sectoral needs and the economic situation. Nevertheless, a biannual programme of collective bargaining is the norm and is evidenced by the difference in agreed contracts between the two years (about 1,400 in the first year and about 450 in the second year). The 1,400 includes all translations of an agreement in relation to different topics (early retirement, specific sectoral occupational benefits, sectoral training funds, etc.).

Bargaining on public sector protocols is much more dispersed and is bound by the political situation.

Coordination

Wage bargaining coordination is marked by a very high level of coordination or vertical coordination from national level to company level (as demonstrated by biannual cross-sectoral programming and coordination on the wage norm). There is no particular horizontal coordination mechanism between sectors but, as the bargaining is organised especially on the trade union side by a limited number of sector federations (which are nevertheless politically split), patterns can be detected. Efforts are made to coordinate bargaining between the retail and distribution sector and the social profit (healthcare) sector, for example. In industry, bargaining in metal manufacturing is an important benchmark.

Extension mechanisms

The obligatory nature of a sectoral collective agreement can be extended by royal decree. Where this is the case, the agreement will be binding for all employers covered by the bipartite structure within which the deal has been concluded, and contrary provisions cannot be made in individual employment contracts. This procedure is initiated on request by the sectoral joint committee or by an organisation represented in the committee. It is a pervasive and common practice in the Belgian collective bargaining system.

Derogation mechanisms

Opt-outs from collective agreements are very rare but possible. At company level, standards can only undercut minimum requirements established at sectoral level or absolute standards if the sectoral agreement provides for this type of change. Only in a few sectors do these arrangements exist, and they are only very rarely used. The key example has always been the metal industry. However, this does not mean that wage flexibility can be arranged at company level, as pay often includes more elements than only the basic wage. This ‘wage cushion’ is used in periods of economic shock to a greater or lesser extent by Belgian firms and relates to variable pay, seniority arrangements, grading of functions and other benefits (for example a company car).

However, regardless of the company deviations allowed by sectoral agreement, the interprofessional minimum wage has to be respected.

Expiry of collective agreements

The duration of collective agreements strongly depends on their content, and each agreement contains provisions on its own validity. Social partners are free to establish (or not establish) the duration of collective agreements according to the issue, the relevance and the dynamic of negotiation at each level. The general rule is that agreements have an indefinite character, until one of the parties asks for an ‘ending’ (accompanied by a ‘warning’ period to settle the conflict).

Peace clauses

In general, it is accepted that the obligation of social peace is an inherent part of collective agreements, and it is implicitly present in all of them. The peace clause means that the actors who signed the agreements (employers and employees) are prohibited from undertaking actions that contravene the content of the collective agreement throughout the period that it is in operation. Additionally, the peace clause involves both an information and an implementation obligation. Firstly, the contractors are obliged to inform their members about the content of the collective agreements they sign. Moreover, they have to ensure that their members comply with what has been included in the collective agreement and follow its rules.

Other aspects of working life addressed in collective agreements

The collective bargaining agenda differs from one sector to another. There have recently been a number of new topics in collective bargaining. These have included the development of occupational pension schemes, in addition to the rather low legal requirement for pension schemes in the private sector; experimentation with ‘innovation agreements’; and the opening up of funds for ‘sustainable work’.

These new initiatives, but also the wage freezes, have contributed to a growing but ‘controlled’ number of company agreements, in addition to – and not instead of – sectoral or national initiatives. The continued wage moderation has consolidated an ongoing trend of granting additional wage benefits at company level in stronger sectors and larger companies. A key instrument has been the framework developed by the national Collective Agreement No. 90 of 20 December 2007 concerning non-recurrent result-related bonuses. A Belgian employer may grant a benefit to their employees in the form of a non-recurrent performance-related collective bonus, but only when a predetermined objective has been achieved. A plan setting out this objective is confirmed either through a company collective agreement or through an act of accession approved by the sectoral joint committee. In a collective agreement, the target must be clearly set out, the objective concretely formulated, the monitoring methodology and target period stipulated, and the payment date agreed upon. There can be multiple objectives in a single plan. Examples of objectives include achieving specific sales or revenue growth, completing a specific project, obtaining an official quality standard certificate and reducing absenteeism. Up to a certain amount, such bonuses are exempt from income tax and carry a reduced social tax.

Legal aspects

Strike actions are not explicitly recognised in Belgian law. However, the right to strike is recognised through the European Social Charter (Article 6.4 covers the right to strike), which has been ratified by Belgium. A law of 1948 related to the continuity of public services in the event of a strike or lockout also provides some regulation of this area. Legal precedent also plays a role: the Court of Cassation has recognised the right to stop working because of strike. ‘Lockout’ refers to the temporary closure of a company as a strategy in favour of employers’ demands. However, what constitutes a lockout is not strictly defined in Belgian law, and lockouts rarely happen. When a collective agreement has been reached, the signatories agree to respect the terms of the agreement and to respect social peace. Strike action is considered by trade unions when all other means to find a settlement have been exhausted. Notice has to be given before a strike takes place, and the notice period must be respected. The most important types of strikes (even though not mentioned in the law, as stated previously) are spontaneous strikes (grève spontanée/spontane staking), which happen following a sudden event or collective dispute within a company, and planned strikes (grève planifiée/geplande staking), which have been agreed upon beforehand. The general strikes in protest against government policy in 2014 made it a record year for strike action.

Developments in industrial action, 2012–2019

Notes: In Belgium, there is only one source of data for working days lost. An employer can indicate in the monthly social security registration the number of days each employee has not worked because of strike/lockout and so was not paid. The social security administration publishes these statistics quarterly and yearly. However, the data do not include the staff of local and regional administrations and other social security bodies (about 360,000 people). n.a., not available.
Source: National Social Security Office.

Dispute resolution mechanisms

Collective dispute resolution mechanisms

Conciliation is organised within the joint committees to prevent any conflict between employers and trade unions. A civil servant from the employment ministry is appointed as a social conciliator and has the duty to improve relationships between both parties.

Individual dispute resolution mechanisms

Individual labour disputes are resolved by a labour court composed of three judges (one legal judge, one judge chosen from among the employers and one judge chosen from among the workers). Before any trial, the judge may propose conciliation or mediation procedures, or both parties may decide voluntarily to use alternative methods to settle the dispute. Conciliation takes place in the labour court, and mediation is carried out by an external person.

Use of dispute resolution mechanisms, 2012–2022

Note: n.a., not available.
Source: FPS Justice, Key figures for judicial activity 2010-2015, Annual statistics of courts and tribunals (2016 data).

Use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms

For a long time, alternative dispute resolution procedures, although included in law, were not used to resolve individual conflicts about employment issues. In 2005, a new law reorganised alternative ways to resolve conflicts. Mediation and conciliation can now be used for individual labour conflicts as well as for civil or family affairs.

The main types of alternative dispute resolution are as follows.

Conciliation: Here, a third party acts only as a facilitator by maintaining the two-way flow of information between the conflicting parties and encouraging conciliation between their positions. The third party listens to each side – usually in person, but it can be done by phone – and seeks to find an acceptable solution, which can be compensation or, alternatively, measures taken in the workplace. The conciliator does not make a judgment or suggest a solution but works with the applicant and the employer to find an acceptable outcome. In some countries, the law requires that, before the matter can be heard in a labour court or tribunal, the applicant must use the services of a conciliator. If agreement is reached, it is normal for the case to be withdrawn from the tribunal and registered as ‘settled’.

Mediation: This is where an impartial third party, the mediator, helps two or more parties of a dispute to attempt to reach an agreement. Mediation is based on the principle of collaborative problem-solving, focusing on the future and rebuilding relationships, rather than apportioning blame. Sometimes a mediator may suggest a possible solution to the conflict, as they do in collective labour disputes. Another type of mediation is where the mediator guides the parties towards finding their own solution by getting them to explore different and new ways of thinking and acting. The third party then hears the case presented by each person and makes a ruling on the outcome. This approach has its origins in family mediation and arbitration.

‘Individual employment relations’ refers to the relationship between the individual worker and their employer. This relationship is shaped by legal regulation and by the outcomes of social partner negotiations over terms and conditions governing the employment relationship. This section looks at the start and termination of the employment relationship and entitlements and obligations in Belgium.

Start and termination of the employment relationship

Requirements regarding an employment contract

An employment contract requires the consent of both parties and their agreement on the nature of the contract, the wage and the nature of the work. The worker has to be aged 18 or over; otherwise, the contract must be authorised by their parents/guardians. The minimum working age is 15. Both parties are free to agree on the wage provided it is not less than the minimum wage fixed by sectoral collective agreements. The employment contract also has to respect statutory working time.

Open-ended contracts do not need to be written, while fixed-term contracts must be written and must specify the end date of the contract.

Collective Agreement No. 38 of 6 December 1983 includes several requirements for the recruitment and selection of workers, such as on the absence of discrimination and on how private or confidential information may be handled.

Dismissal and termination procedures

There are three unilateral termination procedures, as follows.

• The contract can be terminated by the employer or the employee with notice.
• The contract can be terminated by both parties without notice on grounds of major importance.
• The contract can be terminated by both parties without notice and without grounds of major importance but on payment of a compensatory indemnity.

Dismissals are also limited in the following cases.

• Workers cannot be dismissed during the first six months of sick leave.
• During pregnancy: protection against dismissal for pregnant women becomes valid as soon as the employer is informed of the pregnancy and until the end of the first month following the end of maternity leave. Dismissals are authorised when the dismissal is motivated by reasons other than the pregnancy.
• Employee representatives cannot be dismissed unless on grounds of major importance or for economic or technical reasons.

Entitlements and obligations

Parental, maternity and paternity leave

Belgian laws set out provisions for parental, maternity and paternity leave. Paternity leave remains a lot shorter than maternity leave; however, it has recently (as of 1 January 2023) been increased to 20 days.

Statutory leave arrangements

Sick leave

All workers or unemployed people, no matter what their age, who are temporarily sick or disabled have the right to receive sickness benefits or disability benefits. The amount of sickness benefits varies according to usual wage, length of sickness and whether the employee has any dependants. For self-employed people, it is a fixed amount.

The level of benefits payable is different for blue-collar workers, white-collar workers and unemployed people.

For blue-collar workers, the first 14 days are paid by the employer (at their usual salary level). From the 15th day, the mutual insurance system takes charge of the sickness benefits. For white-collar workers, the employer pays the first month of sickness benefits (based on their usual salary). After a month, the mutual fund takes over the payment of the benefits. Finally, unemployed people receive an amount of sickness benefits equal to the unemployment benefits they usually receive.

From the second month to the sixth month, blue- and white-collar workers receive 60% of their usual gross wage. From the 7th to the 12th month, the distribution of sickness benefits depends on the type of work contract and the familial situation. The table below shows the minimum sickness benefits.

Minimum sickness benefits

Retirement age

In Belgium, the legal retirement age is 65, with exceptions for miners, sailors, people in the military and pilots (in these cases it is 55 or 60 depending on the arduousness of the job and the number of years worked). In addition, many provisions set early retirement minimum ages that depend on how many years someone has worked. There is no gender difference.

Retirement age information, 2012–2023

As set out in a 2014 governmental agreement, the government will extend the legal retirement age to 67 years in the future in an incremental manner: it will be increased to 66 in 2025 and 67 in 2030.

For workers, pay is a reward for their work and their main source of income; for employers, it is a cost of production and a focus of bargaining and legislation. This section looks at minimum wage setting in Belgium and guides the reader to further material on collective wage bargaining.

Minimum wages

In Belgium, a minimum wage, or guaranteed average minimum monthly income (Revenu Minimum Mensuel Garanti/Gewaarborgd Gemiddeld Minimum Maand Inkomen, RMMG/GGMMI) is set by collective agreements negotiated through the National Labour Council.

The RMMG/GGMMI follows the general rise in the cost of living and is index-linked. Since 1 February 2023, the RMMG/GGMMI has been €1,954.99.

Sectoral collective agreements can set the minimum wage at a higher level for specific sectors.

A different scale applies to minors (as set by FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue). A lower minimum wage rate applies to workers younger than 18. For 17-year-olds, the minimum wage is 73% of the standard minimum wage. For 16-year-olds, it is 67% of the standard minimum wage. In addition, reductions also apply for young people who are students (not full participants in the labour market).

Working time is defined as ‘Any period during which the worker is working, at the employer’s disposal and carrying out his activity or duties, in accordance with national laws and/or practice’ (Directive 2003/88/EC). This section briefly summarises the regulation of and issues regarding working time, overtime, part-time work and working time flexibility in Belgium.

Working time regulation

The Law of 16 March 1971 and its amendments constitute the legal framework establishing the limits of working time in Belgium. Starting from these regulations, sectors and companies are the most important levels where collective agreements related to working time are concluded. Working time standards are sometimes debated at cross-sectoral level, in the National Labour Council. However, no agreement was concluded at that level. Finally, individual bargaining on working time issues is rare.

The determination of working time standards in Belgium works as a domino system, where levels of bargaining have to consider the regulations and agreements applicable at the higher levels before negotiating.

In general, it can be concluded that a lot of flexibility within and derogation from the standard regulations are possible (linked to sectors and occupations) after consultation and/or negotiations with the trade union representation.

Overtime regulation

Overtime work entitles the worker to an extra 50% of their usual compensation during weekdays and an extra 100% on Sundays and public holidays. However, because most sectors are divided into several joint committees, which may be further divided by blue- or white-collar workers and/or regions, compensation can vary widely from one company to another. In some cases, overtime is compensated by time off rather than enhanced pay.

Working time standards are set by the Law of 16 March 1971. Maximum working time is 8 hours a day and 38 hours a week for full-time-equivalent workers. However, in many cases, the weekly working time is 40 hours, and the 2 additional hours are calculated as part of annual working time. These limits are different for part-time workers or workers who receive reductions of working time such as through credit-time schemes.

Belgian law allows two major dispensations of these limits, for structural reasons or to meet temporary and unpredictable needs. Most of these dispensations are established at sectoral and/or company levels.

Part-time work

In Belgium, part-time work is defined as a person’s normal working hours, calculated on a weekly basis or on average over a reference period, being less than full-time work in a comparable situation.

Several laws (23 July 1981, 22 December 1989 (Articles 152–187) and 5 March 2002) and royal decrees (12 August 1981, 21 September 1981, 18 June 1990, 25 June 1990 and 21 December 1992) set the rules and provisions for part-time work. Within the legal framework, sectoral and/or company collective agreements and/or individual contracts set out the rules and provisions of part-time work (work schedules, overtime compensation, etc.). Generally, the rights of part-time workers are similar to those of full-time workers, but they are calculated proportionally to full-time work.

Night work

In principle, night work (work between 20:00 and 06:00) is prohibited in Belgium. However, the law provides for certain derogations depending on the sector of the activity, certain specific tasks and certain specific workers (for example in hotels, restaurants and hospitals, and for workers such as sales clerks in petrol stations). Such derogations only apply to workers aged 18 or over. Night workers are entitled to a bonus, the amount and modalities of which are set by collective bargaining. Additionally, in the absence of collective labour agreements, it is stipulated that a specific allowance must be granted to people employed in working schemes that regularly include work between midnight and 05:00. This premium is, as of 1 March 2020, €1.22 per hour (€1.46 per hour for employees aged at least 50).

The Law of 3 October 2022 introduced a new rule that somewhat loosened the night work regulations. Specifically, night work between 20:00 and midnight and between 05:00 and 06:00 can be introduced in a company through a collective bargaining agreement (with the agreement of at least one trade union) without the need to amend the labour regulations.

Shift work

Shift work in itself is not regulated by Belgian law. However, an important limitation is the fact that a worker may not work more than 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. This can be bypassed by way of derogation.

Weekend work

Work is forbidden on Sundays. However, the law provides for certain derogations depending on the sector or the activity. Four cases eligible for derogation exist: (1) regarding specific tasks that must be executed on Sundays (such as cleaning and restoration work), (2) regarding certain firms (such as entertainment firms, hospitals), (3) specific measures concerning retail stores and (4) specific measures for successive shifts.

Rest and breaks

Workers are entitled to at least 11 hours of rest for each period of 24 hours. This obligation is combined with the prohibition of Sunday work and night work. However, the law provides for certain derogations such as force majeure or for sectors with irregular activities such as in restaurants.

Working time flexibility

The Law of 16 March 1971 and its amendments constitute the main legal framework establishing the limits of working time in Belgium. Starting from these regulations, sectors and companies are the most important levels where collective agreements related to working time flexibility are concluded.

Belgian social partners are strongly involved in negotiations affecting working time flexibility. As observed by Valenduc and Vendramin (2013), collective agreements often precede the legislative developments that aim to formalise them at national level. This was particularly the case regarding the Law of 1 January 2003, based on the EU Work–Life Balance Directive. The aim of this law was to reduce weekly working time from 40 hours to 38 hours. However, this was already applicable in many sectors. In addition, the Labour Act of 29 March 2012 allows the daily eight-hour working time limit to be exceeded in response to extraordinary workloads.

Despite European-level pressures, the social partners did not reach any major agreements on flexicurity. This remains a major issue for the future. As a result, fixed working hours remain more important than flexible working hours. Nevertheless, over the past decade, a range of laws and collective agreements have attempted to reconcile and shorten individual working hours and lengthen the total operating hours of companies.

The Law of 3 October 2022 has introduced some flexibility in the possibility of a full-time four-day work week. When the effective weekly working time is equal to or less than 38 hours, the maximum daily working time may be increased to 9.5 hours through an amendment to the working time regulations. When the actual weekly working time exceeds 38 hours (with a maximum of 40 hours), a collective agreement may provide that the daily working time is equal to the actual weekly working time divided by four. The employee enjoys the right to request the application of this measure, which requires the employer to justify a refusal. The employee may not be adversely affected by such a request.

In addition, full-time employees have the option of arranging their working time on a cycle over two consecutive weeks. During that cycle, up to 9 hours per day and up to 45 hours per week can be worked provided that the performance in the first week is directly compensated by the performance in the second week, in order to comply on average with normal weekly working hours. For example, if a full-time employee works 45 hours in week A, they will normally work 31 hours in week B.

Maintaining health and well-being should be a high priority for workers and employers alike. Health is an asset closely associated with a person’s quality of life and longevity, as well as their ability to work. A healthy economy depends on a healthy workforce: organisations can experience loss of productivity through the ill health of their workers. This section looks at psychosocial risks and health and safety at work in Belgium.

Health and safety at work

Statistics on work-related accidents and work-related diseases can be found on the websites of the Fund for Occupational Accidents (Le fonds des accidents du travail/Het Fonds voor arbeidsongevallen) and the Fund for Occupational Diseases (Fonds voor Beroepsziekten/ Fonds des maladies professionnelles).

Psychosocial risks

The Well-being Law of 28 February 2014 supplements the Well-being Law of 4 August 1996 on the well-being of employees, addressing in particular issues of violence, harassment and sexual harassment at work. The Law of 28 March 2014 amends the Judicial Code, and the Royal Decree of 10 April 2014 covers the prevention of psychosocial risks at work. This legislation is the basis of the current Belgian regulation in the field of health and safety in the workplace and of well-being at work.

The concept of a ‘psychosocial risk at work’ is defined as the probability of one or more workers being at risk of exposure to or actually being exposed to some aspect of the environment or behaviour that creates an objective danger over which the employer has some control. These aspects include psychological hazards and/or physical injuries, elements of work organisation (management style, collaboration, procedures, structure, allocation of tasks), elements of work content (nature of work, complexity, difficulty and variation of tasks, emotional and mental charge), working and living conditions in the workplace (evaluation procedures, career management, types of contracts, training plans, workplace facilities, environmental factors, substances used, ergonomic factors) and interpersonal relationships at work (communication, colleagues, intergroup relationships).

This definition also covers sexual harassment, violence and psychological harassment in the workplace.

The definition leads to better identification and reinforcement of stakeholders’ roles in the prevention of risks at work. These stakeholders include the employer, line managers, the workplace prevention and protection committee, technical experts in psychosocial prevention and the ‘trustworthy person’. The status of the ‘trustworthy person’ in particular has been developed through the abovementioned laws. For instance, the presence of such a person in the company is not compulsory but it is strongly recommended by public authorities. They could be a worker in the firm (such as the internal health and safety adviser) or someone from the external service for prevention and protection at work (part of FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue).

Moreover, Well-being law outlines several provisions at both collective and individual levels to protect victims against reprisals so that they are not discouraged from reporting psychosocial injuries.

The law provides for the involvement of employee representatives (mainly health and safety committees) at various stages. See also National Collective Agreement No. 72 of 30 March 1999.

Skills are the passport to employment; the more highly skilled an individual, the more employable they are. People with good skills also tend to secure better-quality jobs and better earnings. This section briefly summarises the Belgian system for ensuring skills and employability and looks at training provision.

National system for ensuring skills and employability

In Belgium, adult education was regionalised during the institutional reform of the state. The regions were given economic responsibilities, and the communities were given responsibilities (such as education and culture), linked to the language of the citizen. As a consequence, vocational training as a tool to foster employment differs across the three regions (the Brussels Region, the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region), while initial training differs across the three linguistic communities (the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German-speaking Community). Moreover, the social partners at all levels (cross-industry, sectors, companies) play a prominent role in devising, organising and managing the Belgian continuing vocational training system.

The social partners develop the framework of the training system at national level in the interprofessional agreements negotiated every two years. Guidelines regarding funding are set out in interprofessional agreements and sectoral agreements. Such agreements also set out objectives in terms of financial contribution from the employers but also in terms of rates of participation in the training programmes. The social partners from each sector, with the collaboration of public employment services, develop training programmes specific to the needs of the professional sector and that fit the needs of the labour market. In some professional sectors (represented in 128 joint committees), the social partners organise and manage joint sectoral funds for vocational training (Law of 7 January 1958, Collective Agreement No. 66). To implement the training programmes, they cooperate with the regional public employment bodies. Social partners at sectoral level are involved in the certification and validation of competencies. The validation is recognised by the public employment services, and the training bodies collaborate with the social partners. Interprofessional and sectoral levels are the most important bargaining levels for vocational issues. However, these issues also concern companies, and training plans are generally discussed at company level within works councils.

Training

Training for low-skilled people or unemployed people is organised by the regional public employment and training services:

• FOREM in the Walloon Region
• VDAB in the Flemish Region
• the Brussels Region Employment Office, Actiris in the Brussels Region
• the German-speaking Community Employment Office (Arbeitsamt der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft) for the German-speaking Community

In small and medium-sized companies, employee representation seems to have a small impact on the proportion of employees receiving paid time off for training. Similarly, in companies employing more than 250 employees, employee representation does not coincide with higher rates of training.

The principle of equal treatment requires that all people – and, in the context of the workplace, all workers – have the right to receive the same treatment, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of criteria such as age, sex, disability, nationality, race and religion.

Three laws prevent discrimination at work:

• Law of 10 May 2007 preventing discrimination, which prohibits any discrimination because of age, sexual orientation, civil status, religion, health, disability, social origin, etc., and includes some specific rules related to discrimination at work
• Law of 10 May 2007 preventing discrimination between men and women
• Law of 30 July 1981 prohibiting racism and xenophobia

Collective Agreement No. 38 of 6 December 1983 includes several requirements in terms of the recruitment and selection of workers and relates specifically to discrimination at work.

Workers who feel that they have experienced discrimination can contact the social inspectorate; the case will be resolved through conciliation or in the labour court. Moreover, the Institute for the Equality of Men and Women and the Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism can provide support to discrimination victims (in terms of mediation and lodging a complaint).

Equal pay and the gender pay gap

The Law of 12 July 2013, which revised the Law of 22 April 2012, aims to fight the pay gap between men and women. This law includes binding measures for the social partners and companies. The report of the Central Economic Council must include data about the gender pay gap. This information will be available to the social partners when they are about to negotiate wages in the framework of the interprofessional agreement. At sectoral level, the joint committees are now obliged to negotiate measures to address the gender pay gap and to take account of gender-neutral measures in job-grading systems. Companies are now obliged to provide their report about their wage structure to the works council.

In Belgium, the unadjusted gender pay gap has remained constant in recent decades.

The last major national study related to the gender pay gap was published in 2015 by the Institute for the Equality of Men and Women.

Quota regulations

Since 2013, it has been a requirement for at least a third of managers in federal public services to be women (Royal Decree of 2 June 2012). The Law of 28 July 2011 obliges company boards of publicly listed companies to ensure that 30% of their members are women.

Employer organisation FEB/VBO and affiliates

• FEB/VBO
• Belgian Bankers’ Association
• Belgian Federation of Cleaning Contractors
• Agoria
• Voka
• Belgian Clothing Association
• Confederation of Belgian Breweries
• Belgian Brick Industry Association
• Belgian Precast Concrete Federation
• Federation of the Belgian Cement Industry
• Federation of the Belgian Graphics Industry
• Federation of the Textile, Wood and Furniture industry
• Federation of the Belgian Chemical Industries
• Belgian Federation of Distributors
• Federation of the Paper and Board Converting Industries
• Food Industry Federation
• Federation of the Glass Industry
• Belgian Petroleum Federation
• Belgian Insurance Association
• Federgon

Other employer organisations

• UWE
• Voka
• UNIZO
• Federation of Belgian Carriers and Logistics Service Providers
• Federation of Employers of the Continuing Education and Adult Training Sectors
• UCM

Trade union FGTB/ABVV and affiliates

• FGTB/ABVV
• Bond voor Bedienden, Technici en Kaderleden/Syndicat des Employés, Techniciens et Cadres
• Centrale/Centrale Générale
• Flemish Metal Federation
• Walloon–Brussels Metal Federation
• Algemene Centrale der Openbare Diensten/Centrale Générale des Services Publics
• Food, Beverages, Hotels and Services Federation
• FGTB/ABVV Brussels regional organisation
• FGTB/ABVV Flanders regional organisation
• ABVV youth service
• Fondation André Renard

Trade union CSC/ACV and affiliates

• CSC/ACV
• Public Services Workers’ Union
• Food and Services Workers’ Union
• Union for Clerical Workers and Managerial Staff in the Walloon Region and Brussels
• Christian Teachers’ Union
• Union for Clerical Workers and Managerial Staff in the Flemish Region and Brussels
• Transport and Communications Workers’ Union
• Metal and Textiles Industries Union
• Construction, Industry and Energy Union
• CSC/ACV Brussels regional organisation

Other trade unions

• CGSLB/ACLVB
• CGSLB/ACLVB public sector section
• National Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff
• Belgian Cockpit Association
• Independent Finance Department Workers’ Union

Government

• FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue
• General Belgian government site
• Official information on social security in Belgium
• FPS Economy

Other links

• National Labour Council
• Central Economic Council
• High Council for Prevention and Protection at Work
• Social and Economic Council of the Flemish Region
• Social and Economic Council of the Wallo on Region
• FOREM
• VDAB
• Actiris
• Federal Planning Bureau
• National Employment Office
• Official website on sectoral collectively agreed wages

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