Flexible working time rules finally set to take effect in Belgium

At a glance

• A draft act to implement new Belgian working time flexibility measures has been submitted to parliament.
• Work regulations may list frameworks instead of detailed schedules.
• Minimum weekly part‑time hours reduced to one‑tenth of full‑time.
• Night work prohibition abolished, easing introduction across sectors.
• Voluntary overtime limit increased with favourable tax treatment.

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The most recent federal elections in Belgium took place on 9 June 2024, but a new coalition government was only formed on 31 January 2025. The coalition agreement announced several measures to increase flexibility for employers around working time regulations. These measures were very high level, requiring additional measures to be implemented.

On 23 July 2025, the government announced a political agreement on the implementation of the chapter on working time regulations from the government agreement.

A draft act implementing the measures was submitted to Parliament on 3 February 2026. The draft act is currently pending.

Bearing in mind the long negotiations between the coalition partners before the proposal was submitted to Parliament, it should be promulgated in the coming weeks without major changes. The draft act will enter into force ten days after it’s published in the Belgian Official Journal.

Work schedules will be mentioned in the work regulations

Currently, the work regulations have to include all full-time work schedules applicable to an employer. If an employer has a works council, adding a work schedule requires the consent of this works council. If an employer doesn’t have a works council, it has to hold a staff consultation procedure before the work regulations can be amended. In both cases, an employer often has to negotiate an overall agreement with the trade unions when wanting to introduce a new work schedule.

The government has announced two changes on this topic.

The first change introduces the option to no longer mention all work schedules in the work regulations, but only the general framework on how the working time is organised in the company. This framework has to cover the days on which work is performed, the daily timeframe when work is performed, and the minimum and maximum daily and weekly working time. Within this general framework, the employer and the employee can then agree on the precise working hours on an individual basis.

Mentioning only this general framework in the work regulations is a new option for employers. Employers that already have a list of work schedules in their work regulations don’t have to do anything if they keep the work schedules as they currently are.

The second change concerns how employers can amend the work regulations. If no agreement can be reached on company level, the 1965 Act on Work Regulations stipulates the dispute can be submitted to the joint committee. The joint committee can only approve the proposed new work regulations if at least 75% of both the employer and the employee representatives in the joint committee vote in favour of the new work regulations.

According to the draft act, to make changes to the general framework of the working time or to introduce a new work schedule, the joint committee can approve the proposed changes if all representatives of at least one trade union vote in favour. It doesn’t matter which percentage of the workers is affiliated to the trade union involved.

The minimum weekly working time

Currently, a part-time employment contract should in principle cover at least one-third of the full-time working time. But there are exceptions to this requirement, for instance for students.

If the working time is less than one-third and none of the exceptions apply, the employee can claim remuneration for one-third of the full-time working time.

The draft act reduces this minimum to one-tenth of the full-time weekly working time.

There are no changes to the minimum daily working time. The 1971 Labour Act states a work schedule should only consist of blocks lasting at least three hours, though there are also exceptions to this requirement.

Introducing night work

The 1971 Labour Act starts from the principle that working at night is forbidden, although it adds numerous exceptions to this principle. Working at night is defined as working between 20:00 and 06:00.

Employers with a night shift generally invoke the Act of 17 March 1987 concerning the introduction of new work schedules. This act allows employees to work at night, on Sundays or on bank holidays.

In most cases, introducing these new work schedules requires a collective bargaining agreement at company level to be signed by all trade unions represented in the trade union delegation. Employers generally only manage to reach a collective bargaining agreement to introduce a night shift or a weekend shift when offering generous premiums for employees.

The draft act abolishes the rule that night work is forbidden. Any employer will be able to introduce night work, subject to compliance with the correct procedure.

The government wanted to make it easier to introduce night work in the distribution sector and its related sectors. If an employer in these sectors wants to introduce night work, under the draft act the social inspection can allow them to do so if the proposed work schedule meets the requirements of the working time regulations. A collective bargaining agreement at company level is then no longer required.

Premiums for working during the evening

A separate measure under the draft act concerns the premiums due for working between 20:00 and 23:00. In many cases, there is a collective bargaining agreement either at joint committee level or at company level stipulating the premiums due for working at night in the strict sense of the word (ie between 23:00 and 06:00) are also due for work between 20:00 and 23:00.

The draft act does stipulate that for employees in the distribution and related sector who enter into service as of 1 April 2026, the premiums for night work are not due for work between 20:00 and 23:00.

But it is possible to reintroduce the premiums for those hours through a collective bargaining agreement signed as of 1 April 2026.

Voluntary overtime hours

The last point included in the government agreement in relation to working time concerns voluntary overtime hours.

This refers to overtime hours not subject to any conditions or procedures (contrary to overtime work for coping with a temporary increase of work). The only requirement is to sign a written agreement with the employee confirming they’re willing to perform overtime hours. This written agreement should only cover the principle of voluntary overtime hours, not necessarily the precise moment overtime work will be performed.

On 10 February 2026, the government submitted a draft act to Parliament increasing the number of voluntary overtime hours an employee can perform to 360 hours per year. In hotels and restaurants, the threshold is 450 hours per year.

The draft act introduces a specific tax and social security regime for the first 240 voluntary overtime hours per year. No tax withholdings or social security contributions are due on those 240 hours.

Overtime pay equalling 50% of the remuneration (100% for overtime hours performed on Sunday or a bank holiday) also isn’t due for these first 240 hours voluntary overtime work.

The draft act also amends the requirement to have a written agreement. This written agreement can currently be valid for a maximum of six months, but this will change to one year. After its end date, the written agreement is impliedly extended, unless either party terminates it with a notice period of one month.

This specific regime of voluntary overtime hours can only be applied to part-time employees if there is a temporary increase of work and the employee involved has already been working on a part-time basis for at least three years. This condition doesn’t apply to part-time employees who had already signed a written agreement on voluntary overtime work on 1 April 2026.

This draft act will enter into force on 1 April 2026.