Employer of Record Belgium
Hire in Belgium without forming a Belgian company. The people you choose join our payroll on a Belgian employment contract, and we carry the employer’s duties: payroll, withholding tax (précompte professionnel / bedrijfsvoorheffing) and ONSS (RSZ) social security, from €599 per employee per month.
Get pricingPayroll portal
How does the portal keep a Belgian hire on track?
Software supports the people who run your payroll. You see each step of a hire in Belgium, sign off pay before it goes out and find the records a labour inspector may ask for.
- Follow onboarding from signed offer to the Dimona filed before day one
- Approve each monthly payroll run before payment
- Enter a salary change, a new address or leave taken
- Download payslips, individual accounts and 281.10 tax forms
Behind the payslip
What do we take off your plate in Belgium?
The people you hire are employed by us on a Belgian contract, and we run their payroll. You need no SRL, no ONSS employer number and no social secretariat. One cost point surprises many first-time employers: Belgian social security has no ceiling, so the 25% employer rate for 2026 applies to the whole salary.
The filings are ours: the Dimona declaration before each start, withholding tax payments to the FPS Finance, the quarterly DmfA return to the ONSS and the work regulations (règlement de travail / arbeidsreglement). When someone leaves, we file the end-of-contract Dimona and issue the C4 form and holiday certificate.
Employment costs
How much does one Belgian hire cost per year in 2026?
Rates below apply from 1 January 2026 to a private-sector white-collar employee on a Belgian payroll.
What the employer adds
Employers pay 25.00% of gross pay to the ONSS in 2026: a basic contribution of 19.88% plus a wage moderation contribution (cotisation de modération salariale / loonmatigingsbijdrage) of 5.12%. There is no ceiling, so every euro of salary counts. Small special and sector contributions are added according to the joint committee. Two features lower the bill: double holiday pay carries no employer contribution, and a structural reduction (réduction structurelle / structurele vermindering) applies to lower pay, falling to nil above about €3,820 a month from January 2026.
Employee deductions
Two main deductions come off gross pay each month, plus a small special social security contribution.
- Employee social security: 13.07% of gross pay in 2026, uncapped, made up of pensions (7.50%), healthcare (3.55%), sickness benefits (1.15%) and unemployment (0.87%).
- Withholding tax: précompte professionnel is taken monthly as an advance on income tax. Federal bands for income year 2026 run from 25% up to 50% above €51,070, each commune adds its own surcharge, and the final figure is settled on the annual assessment.
Worked example
€4,500 a month in Brussels, 2026
Employer cost
€78,400
About €78,400 a year: €62,970 gross, 25% ONSS on all but double holiday pay, and insurance estimates.
Employee’s net pay
€38,100
About €38,100 net a year, roughly €3,175 a month, after social security and tax.
Assumptions: white-collar employee under joint committee (PC) 200, single, no children, living in Brussels, employed all year. Gross includes the 13th month, the €330.84 PC 200 annual premium and double holiday pay at 92%. Employer cost uses estimates for sector contributions, accident insurance and prevention. Net assumes a 7% communal surcharge. Our fee is extra.
Each month we calculate pay under the joint-committee scales and bill one euro invoice combining our fee, salary and employer contributions. We then pay the employee, remit précompte professionnel to the FPS Finance and report to the ONSS each quarter on the DmfA, due by the last day of the following month (Q3 2026 by 31 October 2026).
Day one and every month
Which steps come once, and which come back every month?
Most of the set-up happens before the first day. After that, payroll follows a monthly rhythm.
Before the employee starts, we file the Dimona declaration (déclaration immédiate / onmiddellijke aangifte) with the ONSS, which the law requires before work begins. The Law of 7 October 2022 also requires the essential terms in writing, so the contract and work regulations go to the employee with the offer.
We draft the contract around the joint committee that covers the role. Open-ended contracts are the norm, and a fixed-term one counts as open-ended unless a signed written text exists by the first day. Trial clauses have been void since 1 January 2014, but for contracts starting from 1 August 2026 the notice period in the first six months is one week, which gives both sides an early exit.
Every month we run payroll: gross pay from the PC scale, employee ONSS at 13.07%, précompte professionnel and the special social security contribution, then net pay and payslip. Some payments have their own dates: double holiday pay (92% of monthly pay) usually in May or June, the PC 200 annual premium in June and the 13th month by December. Each quarter the DmfA reports pay and working time to the ONSS, and each year the employee gets a 281.10 tax form.
Non-EU nationals usually need a single permit (permis unique / gecombineerde vergunning). The region of work decides on the work part, the federal Immigration Office (DOFI / DVZ) on residence. Wallonia sets €53,220 a year for highly qualified staff from 1 January 2026.
Permit decisions rest with the authorities, not with us. We check the region and salary threshold before an offer goes out and plan the start date around the application.
Pay terms depend on the joint committee. PC 200 covers white-collar staff whose employer has no specific committee, with minimum scales from €2,242.80 a month (class A, January 2026) and a 38-hour average week. Sector committees set their own scales, bonuses and hours through collective agreements (CCT / cao).
Signature, Dimona, payslip
How fast can a new hire start in Belgium?
An SRL needs a notary deed, a BCE/KBO entry and an ONSS employer number before anyone is paid. With us, the start date turns on the signed contract and the Dimona.
Brief us on the job
Salary, start date, place of work and duties are enough for a first cost estimate.
Check the joint committee
We confirm which PC applies, its minimum scale and any sector bonus before the offer.
Contract and work regulations signed
Belgian law accepts a contract signed on paper or electronically, so signing can be remote.
Dimona before day one
We file the start declaration with the ONSS before the first working day.
Telework agreement
If the role is home-based, we add a telework agreement under CCT no. 85.
First payslip
The first payslip shows gross pay, ONSS, withholding and net pay line by line.
Your contact person
Who looks after your account from one month to the next?
One named payroll coordinator answers your questions, checks each run and knows your employees’ joint committee, so nobody has to explain the same contract twice.
Our peopleTwo ways to employ
Is a Belgian SRL worth it for your first hires?
There are two usual routes to a Belgian payroll: form a private limited company (société à responsabilité limitée, SRL / besloten vennootschap, BV) and become an employer yourself, or have us employ the person for you.
Forming an SRL yourself
An SRL needs no minimum capital, but founders need sufficient starting equity and a financial plan. A notary passes the articles, they are published in the Moniteur belge, and the company is entered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.
Incorporation is only the first step. Before the first payroll you still need an ONSS employer number, an accident insurer, an external prevention service, a social secretariat and work regulations. Notary, publication and adviser fees come on top of the equity you put in.
- Annual accounts at the National Bank
- Corporate tax and VAT returns
- Quarterly DmfA and withholding tax returns
- UBO register kept up to date with the FPS Finance
- PC pay scales, indexation and work regulations kept current
The EOR Belgium route
As your Employer of Record Belgium provider, we hold the employment contract, run payroll and deal with the ONSS and the FPS Finance. The choice of person and the content of the job stay with you. Costs are salary, employer contributions and our monthly fee, billed together on one invoice.
- No notary deed or financial plan
- Dimona, DmfA and tax filings done by us
- PC scales and indexation applied for you
- Single monthly euro invoice
- Leaver documents such as the C4 prepared
When does an SRL make sense?
Choose us when
Use us when the headcount is small, Belgium is a test market or the start date cannot wait for a notary. There is no equity to lock up, no employer registration to file and nothing to wind down if plans change.
Form an SRL when
You plan a larger Belgian team, want local contracts and revenue in your own company, or expect to stay for years. With no minimum capital, an SRL can cost less per head once several people are on payroll. A foreign company can also register with the ONSS as an employer; that route needs tax advice.
Not sure which fits? Send us the role and headcount and we will set both routes against each other for your numbers, including twelve months at our fee.
Employee entitlements
What must every employer in Belgium give its staff?
The floor is set by the Law of 3 July 1978 on employment contracts and by national collective agreements. The FPS Employment inspection service (Contrôle des lois sociales) enforces it. Figures below apply in 2026.
Annual leave
A full-time employee on a five-day week gets 20 days, earned through work in the previous calendar year. A first-year hire may have fewer; supplementary leave, paid as an advance on next year’s double holiday pay, can fill the gap.
Public holidays
Belgium has 10 public holidays. In 2026, 15 August fell on a Saturday and 1 November on a Sunday, so Monday to Friday employers owed two replacement days, posted before 15 December 2025.
Sick pay
A white-collar employee on an open-ended contract, or a fixed-term contract of at least three months, receives guaranteed salary (salaire garanti / gewaarborgd loon) at 100% for the first 30 days of illness, paid by the employer. The health insurance fund takes over from day 31. Since 1 January 2026 a new illness within eight weeks counts as a relapse, so no new 30-day period starts. A medical certificate is due within two working days unless the work regulations or a collective agreement set another deadline.
Birth leave
Birth leave (congé de naissance / geboorteverlof) is 20 days for births since 1 January 2023, taken within four months. The employer pays the first three days in full; the health insurance fund then pays 82% of lost gross pay.
Parental leave
Each parent may take four months full-time per child before the child turns 12, or spread it as eight months half-time or 20 months at one-fifth. The allowance comes from the ONEM / RVA, not the employer.
Maternity leave
Maternity leave lasts 15 weeks (17, up to 19, for multiple births): six weeks before the birth, one of them compulsory, and the rest after. The health insurance fund (mutualité / ziekenfonds) pays the benefit, not the employer.
Who tracks leave and sick pay?
Leave balances, absences and certificates are recorded in the portal. We apply the eight-week relapse rule to guaranteed salary, post replacement days for public holidays before the 15 December deadline and put holiday pay on the right payslip. When someone leaves, we pay exit holiday pay of 15.34% of the year’s gross pay.
Our services
Our part of the work
Our Employer of Record Belgium service covers the employer side of a hire, from the first Dimona to the last C4. The services page sets out each part in more detail, along with the decisions that stay with you.
See services ›Employing without a Belgian company
The employee signs a Belgian contract with us under the right joint committee, while you choose the person and shape the role.
Payroll and withholding tax
Monthly pay with précompte professionnel, ONSS at 25% employer and 13.07% employee (2026), plus the 13th month, double holiday pay and indexation.
HR and employment rules
Contracts, work regulations, leave records, sick-pay periods and leaver documents, prepared under the Law of 3 July 1978 and your employee’s joint-committee agreements.
Benefits and allowances
Meal vouchers with up to €8.91 employer share, eco-vouchers up to €250 a year, and a home-office allowance of €164.21 a month from 1 September 2026.
Deeper reading
Read our guide tojoint committees|in Belgium
The hub explains the rules behind the numbers on this page: how January indexation works, what the 2026 cap above €4,000 a month changes, how notice periods changed on 1 August 2026 and how permit thresholds differ by region.
Open the employment hub ›Our approach
How does EOR Belgium work differently?
We quote the full annual cost before you hire, using the employee's joint committee, the 13th month and double holiday pay. If your own SRL or a direct ONSS registration would suit you better than our service, we say so.
Cost estimateCommon questions
No. We employ the person on a Belgian contract and run payroll, ONSS and withholding tax, so you need no SRL and no ONSS employer number. Your business signs a service agreement with us.
As soon as the contract is signed and we have filed the Dimona, which must happen before the first working day. Agree the joint committee and salary scale first, since they shape the offer. If the person needs a single permit, the start date depends on the regional decision, and we plan around the application.
Two parts. The salary package: at €4,500 gross a month in 2026, a full year with the 13th month and double holiday pay costs the employer about €78,400. On that same invoice, our fee for each employee starts at €599 a month.
Most rises in Belgium are automatic. Salaries follow the index: under PC 200, pay rose 2.21% on 1 January 2026. Joint committees also set minimum scales and bonuses through collective agreements. Since June 2026 a cap limits indexation on the part of salary above €4,000 a month; under PC 200 it first bites in January 2027. Merit rises on top are your decision.
Which Belgian role comes first?
Share the job title, gross salary and start date. The reply sets out the annual cost and the joint committee that applies.
ONSS and federal tax rules are the same across Belgium; permits and the communal surcharge vary by place.
Outline the role
Next step
Tell us who should join your team
Fill in the form and someone from our team will arrange a conversation at a time that suits you.
Not taking new enquiries just now
Our Belgium team is at capacity at the moment, so we have paused new enquiries. Please check back soon.