Belgium

Belgium, located almost at the center of Europe, has a highly developed and urbanized economy with a core focus on the service sector. The high-end service industries are located in the northern part of the country, while coal and manufacturing sectors are primarily found in the south. Belgium offers diverse and competitive candidates, most proficient in more than one language.

Major economic hubs:

Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent

Skills in demand:

Accountants, Architects, Administrative Staff, IT Professionals, Engineers, Nursing Professionals

Belgian labor laws are focused on the well-being of the employees and protect them from discrimination. Collective bargaining agreements are usually between the trade union and the employer (a company or an individual).

Employee Contract

As for the language of the employment contract, either Dutch, French, or German is mandatory depending on the employee's place of work or the registered office of the business firm.

Probation period

The usual probationary period followed in Belgium is from one to six months.

General Components of Salary Package in Belgium

Salaries are one way companies recognize and reward their employees for working hard. Salaries may include both monetary benefits like pay rates, bonuses or profit sharing agreements as well as non-monetary rewards such as health care plans with no deductibles that come straight out of your paycheck every month.

In Belgium, the Salary Package can be included in:  

alaries are one way companies recognize and reward their employees for working hard. Salaries may include both monetary benefits like pay rates, bonuses or profit sharing agreements as well as non-monetary rewards such as health care plans with no deductibles that come straight out of your paycheck every month.

Resident Tax Information

The residents of Bangladesh are taxed on their worldwide income, but they may be eligible for foreign tax credits if the money was earned in certain countries.

The income taxes for residents of Argentina are below —

All resident and non-resident employees are entitled to social security in Belgium. The Belgian Social Security covers --

1. Pension
2. Workplace accident allowance
3. Family allowance
4. Industrial disease allowance
5. Incapacity allowance
6. Sickness benefits and reimbursement of medical costs
   

Supplementary support systems are financed by the government and include —

• Income support  
• Healthcare for the elderly
• Income for disabled individuals

The employer and employee contribution toward social security include —

Statutory Benefits

An employer with employees residing in Belgium must provide the following statutory  benefits.  

Spouse’s pension/death benefits

An employer must provide death benefits or pension for spouses in Belgium. The spouse's  pension/death benefits include ：

• The death benefit for spouses before retirement is 80% x (the employee’s average salary)

• The death benefit post-retirement is 80% x (monthly retirement amount)

• The Belgian social security provides additional death benefits for orphans under 25
  

Disability benefits

In case of temporary or permanent disability due to accidents at work, an employer must  ensure disability benefits are provided to employees. The disability benefits in such cases  include：

• As laid out by the law, an employer must pay their disabled employee's 30 days average income in cases of full-time employees.  

• Part-time employees and freelancers working on an hourly basis are entitled to 100% x (average weekly pay) for the first week and a reduced rate for the next three weeks.

• In cases of loss of pay of a minimum of two-thirds, the statutory benefits for 11 months are equal to 60% x (employee's gross monthly income). The maximum yearly ceiling is €45,858.79

• Female employees on maternity leave or employees on sick leave are also entitled to the pay if they：

1. Have contributions toward the 'sickness fund.' 8

2. Have a minimum of 120 workdays and fulfilled a compulsory waiting period of 6 months.:

3. Are not actively working or are unemployed for a certain period 8

4. Loss of earning capacity due to injuries or sickness at work
   

Medical benefits

Belgium's medical benefits and healthcare have a robust infrastructure, and all citizens and  expats have access to it. Hospital care, official reimbursement rates, and medical benefits  are determined by an agreement between the clinics, hospitals, government healthcare  authorities, and physicians.

Retirement benefits

All pensions provided to employees post-retirement are linked to the cost of living in Belgium. The retirement pays –

• Married individuals — is 75% x (base earnings)  

• For single males and females — 60% x (base earnings)

• All pensioners are entitled to receive supplementary holiday allowance and basic allowance. These allowances are paid annually in May.  

• The legal retirement age in Belgium for all employees is 65, although the statutory pensionable age is 67.
  

Fringe Benefits

In Belgium, fringes benefits are given to employees. These can be either monetary or non-monetary depending on the business requirements and budgets set for providing them as well as what goals one might want their company reach through this practice of offering perks that help attract quality staff members who will work hard towards achieving those objectives.

• Flexible working hours

• In-office canteens  

• Office equipment (such as laptops and mobile phones)

• Meal vouchers

• Housing allowance

• Transportation allowance

Exempt Benefits

Any benefit provided to employees in-kind is exempt if not provided on a lump-sum basis

Long-term Incentives  

Long-term incentives are benefits provided to employees for a period over 12 months (or 1 year). The most commonly provided long-term incentives in Belgium include —

• Life insurance, health insurance, dental insurance

• Employee stock options

• Performance-based incentives

• Death benefits

• Disability benefits

Termination Process

An employment contract can be terminated depending on the employment agreement between the parties by serving a notice period, payment of indemnity, or a combination of both. Employees with service over six months have the right to be informed of the reason for termination.

Notice Period

Notice period varies depending on the length of employment. During the probationary period, it is up to 3 weeks, and for permanent employees, it ranges from two to thirteen weeks.

Severance Pay

In the absence of a notice period on termination, employees are entitled to severance pay which would equal the amount they would earn during the notice period.