Employer of Record in Belgium: 2026 Cost and Compliance Guide

Belgium has a multilingual, highly qualified workforce in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Leuven, and hosts the EU institutions. It is also one of Europe's more expensive places to employ: employer social security of about 25%, a 13th month and double holiday pay for most white-collar staff, and automatic wage indexation set by sector.

The Belgium-specific issue is structure. Lending employees to another company while transferring the employer's authority is prohibited in Belgium, except through regulated routes such as temporary agency work by a licensed agency, which is only allowed for set reasons and for temporary work. Breaking the rules can make your business the employee's employer on an open-ended contract.

This guide covers costs, the staff-lending rules that shape EOR arrangements, the main employment rules, provider comparison and when to set up your own company. Figures link to official sources. We do not test or use the providers listed; see our methodology.

An Employer of Record in Belgium employs staff on behalf of foreign businesses: it signs the employment contract, declares the employee to the ONSS, runs payroll, applies the joint committee's pay scales and indexation, and pays holiday pay and the 13th month.

Because your business directs the work, a Belgian EOR arrangement is a form of staff lending (mise à disposition). Belgian law bans lending staff with a transfer of the employer's authority, except in cases the law allows. The main one is temporary agency work: only regionally licensed agencies may do it, and only for one of six reasons, such as replacing a permanent employee, a temporary increase in work, or insertion with a view to permanent hiring.

Ask each provider which legal basis it uses to employ your hire in Belgium, and how it fits the arrangement within the temporary agency work rules or another authorised exception.

Belgian law (the Act of 24 July 1987) prohibits lending employees with a transfer of employer authority, meaning a third party uses the workers and exercises part of the authority normally held by the employer. The ban targets labour providers that undercut pay and conditions.

The law allows limited exceptions. Temporary agency work is the main one: only agencies licensed by the regions may do it, and only to carry out temporary work for one of six reasons: replacing a permanent employee, a temporary increase in work, exceptional work, insertion (placement with a view to permanent hiring), artistic work, and regionally approved back-to-work programmes. Each reason has its own maximum duration and procedure. A non-agency employer can also lend permanent employees for a limited period with the labour inspectorate's prior authorisation (Article 32).

During an agency assignment, the agency remains the legal employer, while the user directs the work and applies its own working-time and safety rules. The temporary worker's pay may not be lower than a comparable permanent employee's at the user, including benefits such as meal vouchers.

What to ask an EOR

Belgian employment cost has four layers: gross monthly salary (12 payments), the 13th month and double holiday pay, ONSS employer contributions on salary and the 13th month, and the EOR fee.

Rates below are for a white-collar employee (employé) under joint committee 200, the general committee for employees, at an employer with 10 or more workers. Other joint committees set their own pay scales, bonuses and indexation.

Annual cost at example salaries

What these figures include and exclude

• Annual salaries here are 12 × the monthly salary. The 13th month and double holiday pay are added on top, so total pay received by the employee is about 13.9 months.
• Contributions are for structural-reduction category 1, which covers most private-sector employees. Lower-paid workers may qualify for structural reductions that lower the cost.
• Workplace accident insurance with a private insurer is compulsory and priced by activity; it isn't included. Many employers also give meal vouchers, a group insurance pension and a company car, which aren't required by law.
• Salaries are indexed automatically under each joint committee's rules: joint committee 200 scales rose by 2.21% in January 2026.
• Employee social security (13.07%) and withholding tax are deducted from pay and are not employer costs.

Estimate your own cost

Enter a salary to see the estimated annual cost, including mandatory employer contributions and an EOR fee. Change the fee to match the quotes you receive. For worked examples at four salary levels, see cost to hire an employee in Belgium.

Belgian employment law is set by statute and by collective agreements negotiated in joint committees (commissions paritaires) by sector, which can be made generally binding. Key rules below are for white-collar employees.

Staff lending ban

Lending employees to a third party that exercises part of the employer's authority is prohibited, except where the law allows it. If it happens illegally, the contract is void from the start of the work at the user, the user and the worker are treated as bound by an open-ended contract, and both companies are jointly liable for social security and pay.[9]

Act of 24 July 1987.

Temporary agency work

Only regionally licensed agencies may carry out temporary agency work, and only for temporary work for one of six reasons (replacement, temporary increase in work, exceptional work, insertion with a view to permanent hiring, artistic work, regional back-to-work programmes), each with its own maximum duration. Pay may not be lower than a comparable permanent employee's at the user.[10]

Act of 24 July 1987.

Notice periods

For contracts starting from 1 August 2026, employer notice is 1 week in the first six months, then 6 weeks (6–9 months), 7 (9–12 months), 8 (12–15 months), 9 (15–18 months), 10 (18–21 months), 11 (21–24 months), 12 (2–3 years), 13 (3–4 years), 15 (4–5 years), then 3 more weeks for each year up to 51 weeks (16–17 years), capped at 52 weeks from 17 years.[5]

Contracts from 1 January 2014 to 31 May 2026 follow the earlier table without the cap; contracts from 1 June to 31 July 2026 are capped at 52 weeks.

Working time

Working time may not exceed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, and since 1 January 2003 all companies must have reduced the working week to 38 hours, on average or in practice. Sector agreements can set fewer hours.[6]

Annual leave and holiday pay

Four weeks of paid leave a year (20 days for a five-day week), based on work in the previous year. White-collar employees get their normal salary for leave days plus double holiday pay of 1/12 of 92% of the monthly salary per month worked; on leaving, the employer pays exit holiday pay of 15.34% of the year's gross salary.[2]

Guaranteed pay when sick

A white-collar employee on an open-ended contract (or one of at least three months) keeps 100% of their pay, paid by the employer, for the first 30 days of incapacity, whatever their seniority. Health insurance pays from day 31. From 2026, an incapacity within eight weeks of returning to work counts as a relapse.[7]

Public holidays

Ten paid public holidays a year: 1 January, Easter Monday, 1 May, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, 21 July, 15 August, 1 November, 11 November and 25 December. A holiday that falls on a Sunday or normal day off is replaced by another day.[8]

13th month and indexation

Under joint committee 200, white-collar employees receive a year-end bonus equal to one month's salary, and salaries are indexed automatically (2.21% in January 2026). Other joint committees set their own rules.[3]

Minimum wage

The guaranteed average minimum monthly income is €2,233.61 for workers aged 18 and over from 1 July 2026. Sector minimum pay scales are often higher.[4]

These EOR providers publish starting prices that apply across their country coverage. Prices are their own published starting rates in USD, from our pricing tracker. Quote-only providers are marked.

In Belgium, ask which legal basis the provider uses (licensed temporary agency work or another authorised exception), which joint committee applies, and how long it can employ your hire.

Compare providers for Belgium

• RemoFirst vs PlayrollIn Belgium: US$199 vs US$399 a month (published starting prices).
• Oyster vs Globalization PartnersIn Belgium: US$699 vs US$599 a month (published starting prices).
• Deel vs RemoteIn Belgium: US$599 vs US$599 a month (published starting prices).
• Deel vs Globalization PartnersIn Belgium: US$599 vs US$599 a month (published starting prices).

For each provider's products, pricing model and fit signals, see the EOR provider directory.

The usual alternatives are a private limited company (SRL/BV), a public limited company (SA/NV) or a registered branch of your foreign company. Employing directly removes the staff-lending question: your own entity is the employer and directs the work.

Running costs include accounting, payroll through a social secretariat, workplace accident insurance and filing obligations.

For a step-by-step version of this calculation, see EOR vs local entity: a break-even framework.

1. 1

   Define the role and salaryDay 0

   Agree the gross monthly salary, the joint committee and pay scale that apply, and whether the role is temporary or permanent.

2. 2

   Check the legal basis1–2 days

   Ask the provider whether it employs as a licensed temporary work agency, for which reason and how long, or under another authorised exception.

3. 3

   Compare itemised quotes1–3 days

   Request Belgian quotes covering the fee, ONSS, 13th month, double holiday pay, accident insurance, meal vouchers and offboarding. Use the estimator to sanity-check totals.

4. 4

   Sign the commercial agreement

   Review the legal basis, liability if the arrangement is challenged, notice costs, IP assignment and data protection (GDPR).

5. 5

   Contract and declarations1–2 weeks

   The provider issues the contract and declares the employee to the ONSS (Dimona) before work starts.

6. 6

   Ongoing administrationMonthly

   Monthly payroll with indexation, quarterly ONSS declarations, holiday pay in spring and the 13th month in December.

Rates and rules on this page are based on the following official sources. Numbers in brackets in the tables above link to these entries.

1. 1
   Instructions administratives ONSS 2026/3: les cotisations de sécurité sociale

   ONSS / socialsecurity.be

   Basic employer rate 24.92% for private-sector workers, reduced to 19.88% for structural-reduction categories 1 and 3 with wage moderation of 4.27% (instead of 5.67%) also due on employer contributions; 1.60% for employers with an average of 10 or more workers.

2. 2
   Holiday pay: ONSS instructions and FPS Employment brochure

   ONSS / FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue

   Simple and double holiday pay for white-collar employees; no employer contributions on double holiday pay (13.07% employee withholding); exit holiday pay 15.34%. FPS Employment brochure: double holiday pay of 1/12 × 92% per month worked; 4 weeks' leave.

3. 3
   Commission paritaire auxiliaire pour employés (CP 200): fiche d'information

   FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue

   Pay scales indexed by 2.21% in January 2026; year-end bonus equal to one month's salary (CCT of 9 June 2016, as amended).

4. 4
   Rémunération (revenu minimum mensuel moyen garanti)

   FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue

   €2,233.61 a month for workers aged 18 and over from 1 July 2026.

5. 5
   Délais de préavis: contrats ayant débuté à partir du 01/01/2014, licenciement

   FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue

   Notice tables by seniority, including the 52-week cap for contracts from 1 June 2026 and the one-week first six months from 1 August 2026.

6. 6
   Durée du travail et diminution de la durée de travail

   FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue

   8 hours a day and 40 a week, with all companies at 38 hours a week since 1 January 2003.

7. 7
   Suspensions du contrat de travail: maladie et accidents

   FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue

   White-collar employees keep 100% of pay from the employer for the first 30 days of incapacity; eight-week relapse period from 2026.

8. 8
   Jours fériés

   FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue

   Ten paid public holidays a year and replacement rules.

9. 9
   Mise à disposition de travailleurs

   FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue

   The ban on lending staff with a transfer of employer authority, its exceptions (including Article 32) and the consequences of illegal lending.

10. 10
    Travail intérimaire

    FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue

    Regional licensing of agencies, the six permitted reasons, the triangular relationship and equal pay with the user's permanent staff.

Belgium is expensive to employ in: about 25% ONSS on salary and the 13th month, plus the 13th month itself and double holiday pay, roughly 1.45× twelve monthly salaries before accident insurance, benefits and the EOR fee.

The bigger question is structure. Belgium bans lending staff except through authorised routes, mainly licensed temporary agency work for set reasons. Ask any provider which legal basis it uses, and for a permanent role, plan to employ through your own entity.

For a long-term team, compare an EOR against your own company with our EOR vs local entity guide. For neighbouring markets, see the Netherlands, France and Germany.