Annual holiday pay in Belgium: what, for whom, and how much?

What is holiday pay?

Holiday pay consists of the payment of salary during vacation days (single holiday pay) and an additional amount to help cover vacation-related expenses (double holiday pay). For employees (white-collar workers), single holiday pay refers to their regular salary during vacation. Blue-collar workers, however, do not receive their salary when they take leave. Instead, they receive both their single and double holiday pay in a single lump sum.

Employees receive their holiday pay directly from their employer. For blue-collar workers, the process is different: the employer pays social contributions to the National Office for Annual Holidays (RJV/ONVA), which distributes those contributions among the various holiday funds in Belgium. The worker then receives their holiday pay through the RJV or the appropriate sectoral holiday fund.

Who is entitled to holiday pay?

Every employee is entitled to vacation days and holiday pay. The number of vacation days depends on the performance in the previous calendar year.

Employees who worked full-time for a full year are entitled to four weeks or 20 paid vacation days (based on a five-day workweek). Part-time blue-collar workers and employees accrue vacation rights on a pro-rata basis. This rule applies to the calculation of both vacation duration and holiday pay.

The difference between single and double holiday pay

• Single holiday pay is the continued payment of salary during vacation. For employees with a monthly salary, this is paid out when vacation days are taken. Hourly-paid employees receive this per vacation hour taken.

• Double holiday pay for salaried employees is an additional annual payment on top of the single holiday pay when taking the main vacation. It is usually paid in May or June. Double holiday pay is calculated in proportion to the accrued right, up to a maximum of four weeks. The calculation is based on the gross monthly salary at the time of calculation and amounts to 92% of that salary. The gross salary includes any fixed bonuses for work performed and fixed amounts for benefits in kind.

• Blue-collar workers receive both single and double holiday pay in one lump sum from the holiday fund (RJV/ONVA), between May 2 and June 30, based on their previous year’s work.

Departure holiday pay upon resignation

When a salaried employee changes employers or stops working, the holiday pay must be settled, and departure holiday pay must be paid on the final date of employment. This amount consists of vacation days that the employee has not yet taken in the current year, as well as the accrued vacation rights for the following year.

If the employee takes a new job, their next employer will also pay holiday pay but is allowed to deduct the already paid departure holiday pay from the amount owed.

Legal change since 1 January 2024

As of January 1, 2024, the regulation on the deduction of single holiday pay has changed. The new system involves two steps.

Initial deduction: When vacation days earned with a previous employer are used, 90% of the gross daily salary is deducted at that time. The employee still receives 10% of their daily gross salary per holiday taken.

The second step occurs in December or upon termination, when a final settlement is made to determine whether the deductions made throughout the year were too high or too low. If the deduction was insufficient, an additional deduction is applied; if the deduction was too high, the excess is reimbursed.

Single departure holiday pay is considered regular salary, meaning the employer must pay social contributions on it. A portion of the double departure holiday pay (6.8%) is subject to employee social contributions, but no employer contributions apply. The remaining portion of 0.87% is exempt from employee contributions.