Remaining vacation days for 2026 and leave planning for 2027: what do you need to consider?

Statutory vacation days for 2026: when must they be taken?

In Belgium, employees must, in principle, take their statutory vacation days by December 31, 2026. As an employer, you should therefore check in a timely manner how many vacation days your employees still have available.

Statutory vacation days generally cannot simply be carried over to the next calendar year. There are, however, exceptions, such as for employees who were unable to take their statutory vacation days due to certain suspensions of the employment contract. These include, among others: incapacity for work due to illness or accident and maternity leave.

In addition, depending on the employment regulations, sector-specific agreements, or company-specific agreements, other types of leave may sometimes be carried over to the next calendar year, such as:

• Working time reduction (WTR) days;

• Extra-statutory vacation days;

• Seniority leave;

• Sector-specific leave days.

Our advice: Check outstanding leave balances in a timely manner and discuss with your employees when they can take their remaining days off. This will help you avoid last-minute arrangements and ensure smooth staff scheduling.

Also check the remaining public holidays for 2026

In addition to statutory vacation days, it’s important to verify that all public holidays and any substitute days for 2026 have been correctly scheduled.

If a statutory holiday coincides with a regular non-working day at your company, it must be replaced with another paid day off in accordance with the applicable rules.

Therefore, check whether there are any outstanding substitute public holidays that need to be scheduled before the end of the year.

Tip: As a Vandelanotte client, you can view the current leave and public holiday counters via myVandelanotte. This gives you an overview of the remaining days and allows you to take action in a timely manner.

Public Holidays in 2027: which replacement days should you plan for?

Timely planning is also important for 2027. In Belgium, there are ten statutory holidays. Some of these fall on a Saturday or Sunday in 2027. For companies where Saturdays and Sundays are regular non-working days, these holidays must be replaced with another paid day off.

Specifically, these are the following holidays:

• Labor Day – Saturday, May 1, 2027

• Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Sunday, August 15, 2027

• Christmas – Saturday, December 25, 2027

How do you schedule substitute holidays?

As an employer, you can choose to establish substitute holidays collectively . For example, you can create a long weekend or provide an extra day off at a time that fits well with your company’s operations.

If you do not establish collective substitute days, the statutory rules for substitution apply, whereby the holiday is generally replaced by the next regular business day, unless a different individual arrangement applies.

Deadline: December 15, 2026

Do you want to collectively establish the substitute holidays for 2027? If so, make sure the decision and the required communication are in order by December 15, 2026, at the latest .

Your Payroll Advisor can assist you with the proper documentation and the associated formalities.

Collective vacation 2027: Start planning early

Are you considering closing your business collectively for one or more periods in 2027? If so, the fall of 2026 is the ideal time to make arrangements for this.

During a collective vacation, all affected employees take time off during a predetermined period. Examples include an annual closure during the summer months or between Christmas and New Year’s.

Collective vacation must be established in accordance with the applicable consultation rules, taking into account any sector-specific agreements.