There are countless benefits to hiring remote, global talent beyond your company’s headquarters. Countries like Belgium are ideal thanks to a talent pool of highly educated and skilled workers.
Keep reading to find out how much it can cost to hire remote workers in Belgium, taking into consideration factors like wages, taxes, benefits, and more.
The Benefits of Hiring Employees in Belgium
From location to education and training, hiring workers in Belgium can offer a wide range of benefits including:
The Location
Belgium is ideally located close to some of Europe’s most prosperous countries like France and Germany, making it a great country to hire from if your business is looking to expand its operations in Europe.
The Language
Belgium is a multilingual country, with Dutch, French, and German all being the country’s official languages. Many Belgians are either bilingual or trilingual, making them an incredible asset for employers that have operations across Europe and beyond.
Highly Educated Workers
Belgium has many renowned universities and a strong education system and therefore has a highly educated workforce. Employees not only tend to be incredibly hard-working but are highly educated and qualified to work in numerous industries.
The Cost of Hiring Employees in Belgium
When hiring any employees outside of the country where you are based, there are certain costs employers must familiarize themselves with, as every country has unique and complex labor laws. Below, we have summarized the main factors that contribute to the overall cost of hiring employees in Belgium.
Wages
Belgium is unique in that it uses an automatic wage indexation that is recalculated every year on January 1 for all businesses. This means that employers must recalculate and adjust the salaries of their staff every year to keep up with inflation. The type of wage indexation an employer must follow depends on the industry it belongs to.
The national minimum wage that all Belgian employees are entitled to is €1,954.99 per month as of 2023. However, different industries have their own minimum wage as well.
The food industry, along with construction, logistics, and hospitality are examples of industries that have a different minimum wage in place that is set out by collective labor agreements (CLAs). In these instances, the minimum wage is calculated based on an employee’s seniority, experience level, and how many years they have worked at a company.
As for overtime pay, any employee that works more than 38 hours per work week is entitled to an additional 150% of their regular rate of pay. If any overtime is worked on a Sunday or public holiday, the employee is entitled to 200% of their regular rate of pay.
Payroll/Corporate Taxes
In Belgium, employers are required to pay payroll taxes which go towards social benefits like healthcare, pensions, and unemployment benefits. The amount of your business’s social security contributions is dependent on the size of the company, whether your Belgian employees are permanent or temporary, and what their salary is.
Businesses with operations in Belgium are also subject to corporate income tax if they are generating profits from their business in Belgium. The corporate income tax rate in Belgium is currently 25%, however, there are certain deductions and exemptions. An Employer of Record can help you navigate this.
Mandatory Benefits
Belgian workers are also entitled to certain benefits from their employer, such as:
- Spouse’s pension
- Maternity leave
- Disability benefits
- Paid vacation
- Medical benefits
- Retirement benefits
The cost of these benefits will vary depending on the specific package offered.
Mandatory Bonuses
Belgium’s labor laws require all employers to pay their staff an annual bonus at the end of each year which equals one full month of earnings. This is known as the 13th-month bonus.
In addition, Belgian employees are also entitled to an annual vacation bonus. This bonus amounts to around 90% of one month of earnings and is typically paid out during the summer months.
Paid Leave
In Belgium, how much paid leave an employee is entitled to is determined by the number of days worked. For example, any employee who works five days per week is entitled to 20 days of paid leave per year, while those who work six days per week are entitled to 24 days.
Employees are also entitled to a paid day off on all of Belgium’s 10 national public holidays.
This includes:
- January 1: New Year’s Day
- March 22– 25 April: Easter Monday (Floating date based on computus)
- May 1: Labor Day
- 40 days after Easter: Ascension (Floating)
- 50 days after Easter: Whit Monday (Floating)
- July 21: Belgian National Day
- August 15: Assumption (15 August)
- November 1: All Saints' Day
- November 11: Armistice Day
- December 25: Christmas
Severance Pay
If you choose to terminate your Belgian employee(s), Belgium’s labor laws require you to pay four months of severance pay, starting the day after the working agreement or notice period ended.
How an Employer of Record Can Help You Manage Your Team in Belgium
If your business is considering hiring remote workers based in Belgium, you will need to work with an Employer of Record in order to bypass setting up an official office here.
An Employer of Record is a legal entity based in the country you are looking to hire that will act as the legal “employer” on paper. An Employer of Record will help you navigate the process of hiring workers in Belgium while ensuring your company is compliant with Belgium’s tax and employment laws.
Borderless is an Employer of Record that is set up to help manage employees in over 170 countries, including Belgium. Our platform is designed to help companies like yours grow their team and hire, pay, and manage Belgian workers while ensuring you are fully compliant with Belgium’s tax and employment laws.
Contact our team to book a demo.
Disclaimer
Borderless does not provide legal services or legal advice to anyone. This includes customers, contractors, employees, partners, and the general public. We are not lawyers or paralegals. Please read our full disclaimer here.
