State of affairs concerning the changes included in the coalition agreement

The federal government has got off to a flying start with the implementation of its coalition agreement into action. Several bills have been introduced in the House in the recent weeks. Although these have yet to be approved and published in the Belgian Official Gazette, we have listed below the most important measures that will affect employers.

1. The extension of additional voluntary overtime hours (‘relance hours’) until the end of 2025.¹

The government is making provision for the system of additional voluntary overtime hours to be extended. These are voluntary overtime hours that can be paid net, with no additional social contributions or taxes, and no overtime allowance. This scheme, which originally ran until 30 June 2025, is now being extended until 31 December 2025. The bill also explicitly stipulates that this regulation will apply retroactively from 1 July 2025 onwards. While awaiting formal publication in the Belgian Official Gazette, employers can, in principle, therefore continue making use of additional voluntary overtime hours as before.

The maximum number of additional voluntary overtime hours will remain unchanged at 120 per employee for the time being. A subsequent expansion to 240 hours per year is being considered but has not yet been formally submitted.

So what does this mean for you in specific terms?

• • You cannot assign more than 120 additional voluntary overtime hours per employee in 2025.
• At the moment, there is no legal basis that enables additional voluntary overtime hours to be used from 1 July 2025 onwards, but the provisions in the bill mean that it can take effect retroactively.
• If you are continuing to apply additional voluntary overtime hours, we therefore advise you to document this effectively internally and be prepared to regularise the situation should the law unexpectedly fail to enter into force.

2. A programme act containing measures for employers ²

An initial programme act has now been submitted to the House and includes the following planned changes:

• No more basic employers’ contributions will be due on the portion of wages above a limit presumed to be €85,000 per quarter (from 1 July 2025 onwards).
• The index-linking of social benefits and civil service salaries will be deferred by three months after the average index is exceeded.
• Unemployment benefits will be limited to two years, with exceptions (such as for persons over 55 years of age with long careers).
• Foster parents providing long-term foster care will be entitled to parental leave (retroactive from 1 July 2025 onwards).

New bill containing tax and social provisions³

An additional bill includes further fiscal and social reforms, including the following initiatives:

• – For expats, the favourable tax regime will be relaxed: the reimbursement of expenses will be increased to 35%, no maximum cap will apply any longer, and the minimum salary will be reduced (€70,000). (See also our article specifically about this topic)
• Flexi-jobbers can earn up to €18,000 tax-free in 2025 (for non-retirees).
• Abolition of the ‘PC-privé’ (PC for personal use) plan: from 1 Oct. 2025 onwards, employers’ contributions towards the purchase of a computer will no longer be tax-exempt.
• The tax exemption that applies to provisions intended to cover social liabilities resulting from the unified employment status will cease to exist from 31 August 2025 onwards.
• Fifteen-year-olds can take on student jobs if only light work is involved.
• Obligations governing first jobs for young people will be abolished from 1 January 2026 onwards (the first jobs agreement will remain).
• The statutory pension bonus as it exists today will cease at the end of 2025. A new system is planned to take effect from 2026 for those who continue working past the statutory retirement age.
• The Wijninckx contribution for group insurance offered by employers will increase from 3% to 12.5% starting in 2026.

Note: All of the above measures have since been adopted. We are currently waiting for them to be published in the Belgian Official Gazette.

Note: All of the above measures have since been adopted. We are currently waiting for them to be published in the Belgian Official Gazette.
Should you have further questions about any of these measures and what impact they will have on your organisation, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via payroll@crowespark.be.

[1] Draft Programme Act, Parliamentary Paper No. 56K0909/015. [2] Draft Programme Act no. 0909/001. [3] Bill containing various provisions, doc. no. 0963/001