Recovery overtime extended until 31 March 2026: what does this mean for you as an employer?

What is recovery overtime?

Reovery overtime is a specific form of overtime that offers more flexibility to employers. The key difference with regular overtime is that you do not need a specific legal reason for employees to perform these hours. With classic overtime, for example, there must be an unforeseen necessity or urgent work on machinery. With recovery overtime, a written agreement between employer and employee is sufficient.

Why is recovery overtime interesting?

• No social security contributions (NSSO) and no taxes. In practice this means that the gross wage equals the net wage for the employee.

• No overtime premium required. With regular overtime, a surcharge of 50% must be paid for overtime during the week, and 100% for overtime on Sundays and public holidays. For recovery overtime, such a surcharge is not mandatory.

• No compensatory rest. Ordinary overtime usually needs to be compensated with compensatory rest. For recovery overtime, this is not necessary, allowing you to respond more flexibly to busy periods.

What should you pay attention to as an employer?

Although the system is flexible, there are still a few conditions.

Employer and employee must enter into a written agreement before recovery overtime can be performed. This agreement is valid for a period of 6 months (can be extended afterwards).

There is also a limitation on the number of hours. A maximum of 120 recovery overtime hours can be performed on an annual basis . Note: do you also use voluntary overtime? Then the combination of both systems may not exceed 220 overtime hours per year.

What happens after 31 March 2026?

The current system expires on 31 March 2026. According to current legislative initiatives, a new system could be introduced from 1 April 2026, offering broader possibilities.

The main outlines of the proposal include:

• 360 voluntary overtime hours per year

• 450 hours in the hospitality sector

Out of those 360 hours:

• 240 hours would be net overtime

• without social security contributions for employer or employee

• without taxes for the employee

• without overtime premiums

• without compensatory rest

The system would also work with a written agreement valid for one year, with automatic renewal.

The scheduled start date of April 1, 2026 is getting closer, but the final legal texts have not yet been published. For now, it remains uncertain how the new system will look in practice. Would you like to know how to optimally use recovery overtime today or how to prepare for the new rules? Feel free to contact your account manager or fill out the contact form below.