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Pay and working conditions in European countries

Belgium

Country: Belgium

Belgium has three regional job markets, each with its own employment service and language: Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, both in Brussels – and German in the east. The minimum wage is €2,234 a month (July 2026), students can work 650 hours a year at reduced contributions, and Wallonia lists 144 shortage occupations for 2026.

Minimum wage: the national statutory minimum wage is €2,234 gross a month (July 2026, Eurostat).
Collective agreements: pay scales (barema’s / barèmes) are agreed for each sector between employers and trade unions and set out in collective agreements (cao / CCT). They fix a minimum and a maximum salary, linked to experience and seniority. The number of your joint committee (paritair comité / commission paritaire) is on your payslip.
Holidays: a full year of work gives you 20 days of paid leave in a five-day week (24 days in a six-day week). The number of days depends on how much you worked in the previous calendar year.
Holiday pay (vakantiegeld / pécule de vacances): for blue-collar workers it is 15.38% of the gross wages of the previous year – 8% single and 7.38% double holiday pay.
Written contract: compulsory for fixed-term contracts, part-time work, student jobs and domestic work. Contracts can also be open-ended, for a specific job, for replacement or temporary.

published: 2014-09-01
last modification: 2026-10-03

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Key figures: Eurostat (population on 1 January 2026; unemployment and employment rates 2025; minimum wages July 2026); for the United Kingdom – Office for National Statistics; for Liechtenstein – national statistics. Country information: EURES – Living and working conditions, public employment services and the official government websites listed under each country. Rules, thresholds and amounts can change – check the official sources before you move. Updated: October 2026.

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