All the paid holidays/leaves in Belgium you should know

Recently I was chatting with a colleague about some of the leaves that employees in Belgium are entitled to, from the conversation I was surprised that not everyone is aware of the rights about additional eaves on top of the annual paid leaves in Belgium.

I am summarising all the different kinds of leaves in this post, and try to guide you through what is it about and to which scenario they are applicable.

Note what is written in this post is based on the official Belgian Federal service for employment website up to date of this moment of writing, 2nd September 2019. I have put the corresponding link to the official website (in Dutch/French), please be informed those described leaves are subjected to change, I recommend checking the official site in the links before applying.

1. Annual (double) paid holidays – 20 days

Scenario:

You have already completed one year of working in Belgium for the private sector, you are now entering a new working year with the same employer.

You get automatically 20 days paid annual leave because you worked a full year in your previous year, in fact, these 20 days will be paid twice thanks to June – double vacation money.

If however you change your employer but haven’t consumed the 20 days, your current employer will pay the holidays left this year to you in cash, and also the holidays you are entitled to next year (proportional to the number of days you worked this year for your current employer).

Eligibility:

People who already worked in Belgium for a private sector for a period the year before.

Duration:

20 days if worked a full year in the previous year

Payment:

Double your normal salary amount (During the month of your leave and June)

By your employer of the previous year.

2. Youth leave – Jeugdvakantie – 20 days

Scenario:

You are not yet 25 years old and just graduated from a university in Belgium in July, you started working in September in a company in Belgium (private sector). As you haven’t worked any time in the previous year, you are not entitled to any paid holiday in your first year of employment.

However, everything has a solution, as you are a young graduate, you are entitled to a max of 20 days of the paid holiday called ” Youth Holiday” – Jeugdvakantie, paid by the National Employment office of Belgium (RVA), the payment is 65% of your normal salary, better than nothing.

Eligibility:

You are less than 25 years old, you started working in the same year as your graduation year (in Belgium) for at least one month. Can be used the year after your graduation.

Duration:

Max 4 weeks

Payment:

By RVA, 65% of your normal salary

How to apply?

Contact your HR department

3. Public holidays – 10 days

Belgium has 10 public holidays, most of which are with religious significance. If one or more public holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday, your annual leave is automatically incremented, which means you can choose it freely yourself.

For 2019, the public holidays are:

4. Work reduction holidays (ADV)- 12 days

In Belgium, the max legal working hours is 38 hours per week. Most people work 8 hours per day from Monday to Thursday and leave for the weekend around 3 pm on Fridays. To reduce the business impact, most big companies provide a 40 hours per week contract with employees. As compensation, the 2 hours extra per week is converted to holidays, in total 12 days per year.

5. Paid educational leave – 10/15 days

Scenario:

While working, you started to follow some Dutch or French evening/weekend lessons for better integration with Belgian society, or you started another academic program in order to continuously develop yourself. As compensation, Belgium offers additional leave – Paid Educational leave to support your initiative.

Eligibility:

You work in the private sector full time and you are following a training course with min 32 hours which is approved by the government.  The training does not necessarily need to be linked with the employment activities exercised by the employee for the employer.

I did use this kind of vacation when I learn languages or followed my second master in the evenings, check my experiences of being a work student in Belgium.

If you are absent for more than 10% of the whole training time, your entitlement is automatically canceled.

New! – For the flemish private sector, since September 2019, the paid educational leave is replaced by Training leave, where the same rules apply but 90% attendance is no longer required.

How to apply:

You need to provide proof of enrolment from the school and every 3 months the attendee list (not applicable for training leave). Paid educational leave is a right of the employee and thus the employer cannot refuse a request. The days of absence however need to be planned in mutual consent between employer and employee.

Duration:

10 days for general training,  15 days for professional courses such as evening master.

Check with your training institutes for more information.

6. Small leaves for occasions (Move, wedding, family sickness..)

Scenario:

You are passing through different milestones or challenges in your life during the working years, check carefully if you are entitled to some paid leaves (Leave of Absence) for your personal milestones. Things like getting married, shift house, family sickness, family death, etc are all valid reasons to apply for certain leaves, make sure you communicate with your HR beforehand to get the paperwork done before you use your annual leave for that, remember, those are your rights, if you don’t ask, you simply lose them.

Different kinds of scenarios:

• Worker’s wedding : 2-3 days, for the worker to choose during the week in which the event takes place or in the following week, wedding certificate is required, check with your HR for the exact format
• Marriage of a child of the worker or his / her spouse, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, father, mother, good-natured father, mother-in-law, a grandchild of the worker: the wedding day.
• Change of residence/Move For a change of residence ordered in the interest of the service when the transfer involves State intervention in the removal costs, you receive 2 working days.
• Ordination or entry into the convent of a child of the worker or his / her spouse, brother, sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law: the day of the ordination;
• Death of the spouse, a child of the worker or his / her spouse, the father, mother, stepfather or stepmother of the worker: three days choose during the period beginning on the day of death and ending on the day of the burial;
•  * Death of a brother, sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, grandchild, great-grandfather, a great-grandmother, a great-grandchild, a son-in-law or a daughter-in-law living in the worker’s home: two days to choose during the period which begins on the day of death and ends on the day of the burial;
•  * Death of a brother, sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, grandchild, great-grandfather, a great-grandmother, a great-grandchild, a son-in-law or a stepdaughter who does not live with the worker: the day of the ‘burial;
• Solemn communion of a child of the worker or his / her spouse: the day of the ceremony (if it falls on a Sunday, a holiday or a usual day of inactivity: the usual day of activity next or before the event);
• Participation of the child of the worker or his / her spouse in the festival of the secular youth : the day of the festival (if it coincides with a Sunday, a holiday or a usual day of inactivity: the usual day of activity following or preceding the event);
• Stay of the militia worker in a recruitment and selection center or in a military hospital following his passage in a recruitment and selection center: the necessary time with a maximum of three days;
• Stay of the conscientious objector in the administrative department of health care or in one of the hospital establishments designated by the King: the necessary time with a maximum of three days;
• Participation in a meeting of a family council convened by the Justice of the Peace: the time required with a maximum of one day;
• Participation in a jury , summoning as a witness in court or personal appearance ordered by the labor court: the time required with a maximum of five days;
• Exercising the duties of assessor of a main office or a single polling station, during legislative, provincial and communal elections: the time required;
• Exercise of the duties of assessor in one of the main offices during the elections of the European Parliament: the necessary time with a maximum of five days;
• Exercise of the duties of assessor of a main counting office during the legislative, provincial and communal elections: the necessary time with a maximum of five days.

7. Maternity leave for mother – 15 weeks

Scenario:

You reached your biggest milestone during your career, you become a mother!

Eligibility:

If you are a mother-to-be who is carrying a baby, you are eligible for up to 15 weeks of maternity leave, 17 weeks if more than one child at once, and can be extended up to 19 weeks.

How does it work:

The maternity leave (15 weeks for normal born) can be split into pre and post-maternity leave which corresponds to the days you take off before and after the baby is born.

Pre maternity leave can be up to 6 weeks, where 1 week is mandatory, you can choose to use the optional 5 weeks as post-maternity leave if not yet taken in the prenatal phase.

Most people work until 1 week before the due date, if the baby comes too late, the mom spends some leave reserved for the post-maternity, if the baby comes too soon, then the 1 week (mandatory) is simply lost. So planning the split between pre and postnatal is quite tricky.

Payment:

Your health insurance fund is paying the amount during your absence of maternity leave, the amount is based on your normal salary. 

During the first 30 days, the benefit is 82% of the unrestricted wage, from the 31st day, and upon extension, the benefit amounts to 75% of the limited salary.

For freelancers, you will also get paid by the mutuality for a fixed amount.

8. Breastfeeding breaks during work – 30/60 min

Scenario:

After the maternity leave is over, it is time for the new mom to go back to work. you are entitled to 1-2 half-hour-per-day breastfeeding breaks to breastfeed your baby or pump the milk until 9 months after the baby is born.

Payment:

The interruption of the working hour is not paid by the employer but by the health insurance fund (mutuality), you will be paid 82% of your gross salary.

9. Maternity leave for father / Paternity leave – 10/15/20 days

As a new father, you are entitled to max of 10/15/20 days of paternity leave to take care of your child. You need to take them within 4 months of the newborn.

The exact days of vacation for the father depend on when the baby is born, 10 days for the baby born before 2021,  15 days for the baby born between Jan 2021 and December 2022, 20 days for the baby starting 2023.

Payment:

The first 3 days are full wage paid by your employer, the remaining days are paid by your health insurance funds with 82% of your gross salary.

10. Parental leave – 4 months/child 

Scenario:

Now that your child is born and growing up, you need to spend more time educating your child so that he or she can become responsible. You are entitled to max 4 full months of parental leave if you are working in Belgium’s private sector.

Duration:

4 months per parent per child

What is it?

• Every employee (full-time or part-time employee) can fully suspend the performance of his employment contract for a period of four months (‘full-time parental leave’); the four-month period can be split into several months at the employee’s option;

• Every full-time employee can continue to work half-time during a period of eight months (‘half-time parental leave’); the eight-month period can be broken down at the employee’s option. However, a two-month duration or a multiple thereof must be taken into account for each application;
• Each employed full-time employee can reduce his working hours by one-fifth for a period of twenty months (1/5 ^the parental leave); this reduction in work performance can be broken down at the employee’s option. However, a five-month duration must be taken into account for each application.

• Each employed full-time employee can reduce his working time by one-tenth for a period of forty months, with the agreement of the employer (1/10 ^the parental leave); this reduction in work performance can be broken down. However, a ten-month period or a multiple thereof must be taken into account for each application.

Eligibility:

You work in the private sector for at least 12 months before your child arrives, you need to inform your employer at least 3 months before you plan your leave. You need to use the 4 months leave before the child turns into 12 years old.

11. Application leave/Solicitatieverlof/congé de sollicitation – 1 day per week

Scenario:

You are fired or you resigned yourself for one or another reason, you are entitled to a max 1 day per week application leave with full payment from your employer to look for another job during your notice period.

How to apply:

The employer and employee decide among themselves on which day (s) the application leave is taken. If there is no agreement, the employee decides.

12. Senior vacation/Seniorvakantie – Max 4 weeks

Scenario:

In Belgium,  the annual leave is calculated based on the days your work in the year before. Now you are getting a bit old and suffered from some health issues in the previous year, as a result, you do not have enough entitled annual leave this year. In this case, you might be eligible to take a max of 4 weeks of senior vacation.

Eligibility:

• You are an employee who falls under the scope of the holiday legislation;
• You are employed by an employment contract (as a worker or employee);
• You are at least 50 years of age on 31 December of the holiday year;
• You have been completely unemployed or disabled during the holiday year and therefore are not entitled to the full four-week paid vacation.

Payment:

Your senior holiday is paid by the National Employment Office for each of the leave you take. The senior holiday allowance is 65% of the theoretical gross wage for the first month during which the employee takes a senior holiday. However, the monthly wage taken into account is limited to € 2,191.26 (gross amount, indexed on 1 June 2016). The daily allowance, therefore, amounts to a maximum of € 54.78 (gross amount, indexed on 1 June 2016 and calculated in a six-day week).

10.09% withholding tax is deducted from this amount.

I hope this post helps you to recognize your legal rights while working in Belgium, whether you are going to take them off or not, it is your right to be aware of them. Leave me a comment if you think I missed something!

Read more:

How to read your salary payslip in Belgium?

How much pension can you get when retiring in Belgian?

Manage your resignation in Belgium

What should you do after getting a job offer in Belgium

How can you spend the 250 euro eco cheques?

Tas refund in Belgium – Optimise your income tax

Health insurance, are you using it to its full potential?

Back to school – working student in Belgium

Fun facts about divorces in Belgium

Related movie: In Bruges (2008)

I would like to recommend a really great movie – In Bruges (2008), 2 persons were sent to take some vacations in Bruges and all the intrigue things happened there. IMDB score is 7.9/10.

I love this movie not only because Bruges is one of my favorite cities in Belgium, but also because the story of this movie is very amusing, surprising, and also a little sad.

References:

https://www.vlaanderen.be/sollicitatieverlof

https://werk.belgie.be/nl/themas/feestdagen-en-verloven/betaald-educatief-verlof

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/

https://www.inami.fgov.be/fr/themes/grossesse-naissance/conge-naissance-adoption/Pages/conge-naissance.aspx#.WusabqSFNyw

Parental leave in Belgium

https://www.rva.be/nl/documentatie/infoblad/t19#h2_15

https://www.vlaanderen.be/sollicitatieverlof

Advice on ‘sollicitatieverlof’ from belgium

https://www.acerta.be/nl/werkgevers/themas-en-dossiers/ontslag/sollicitatieverlof

https://settlinginbelgium.be/en/work-and-retirement/leave#:~:text=Senior%20citizen’s%20leave,four%20weeks%20of%20paid%20leave.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120828/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1

Pictures from https://www.pexels.com/