What is holiday pay?

In Belgium, employees receive holiday pay to make sure they get paid during their vacation and have extra budget for holiday-related expenses. There are two parts:

  • Single holiday pay: This covers your salary while you’re on vacation.
  • Double holiday pay: This is an extra amount to help cover travel, leisure and other holiday costs.

How much you receive depends on the type of work and your contract.

  • If you are a white-collar worker (not via temp agency*), your double holiday pay is about 92% of one month’s salary, and your single holiday pay is your normal wage during your time off.
  • If you are a white-collar worker (via temp agency), your holiday pay (single + double) is about 15.38% of the wages you earned from your Belgian employer(s) in the previous year.
  • If you are a blue-collar worker (with or without temp agency), your holiday pay (single + double) is about 15.38% of the wages you earned from your Belgian employer(s) in the previous year.

Who gets holiday pay?

To receive holiday pay, you must have worked in Belgium for a Belgian employer during the previous year.

Who pays holiday pay?

White collar worker

If you are a white collar worker (office or administrative jobs) you receive both single and double holiday pay directly from your employer. If you work via a temp agency, that agency (e.g. Axintor Interim) is your employer and pays your holiday pay weekly

Blue collar worker

If you are a blue collar worker (manual or technical jobs), you receive your entire holiday pay (single and double) from the Rijksdienst voor Jaarlijkse Vakantie (RJV).

Important: To ensure proper payment, the RJV must have your correct bank account number, and you must be the (joint) account holder.

You have two options:

  1. You have a Belgian bank account: In this case, you must share your account details via this link.
  2. You have a foreign bank account: In this case, you must complete this document  and send it by post to RJV, Warmoesberg 48, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.

When is holiday pay paid out?

White collar worker (not via temp agency)

You receive your double holiday pay (extra holiday bonus) between May 2 and June 30.
Your single holiday pay (your normal salary) is paid at the moment you take your holiday.

White collar worker (via temp agency)

You receive your single and double holiday pay weekly, together with your salary.
This means you do not receive any extra payment in May or June, and you are not paid during your holiday, since your holiday pay was already included in your weekly wages.

Blue collar worker (with or without temp agency)

You receive both single and double holiday pay in one go between May 2 and June 30.

 

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!

 

* A temp agency is a company like Axintor Interim that places workers in jobs at other companies. If you work via a temp agency, your contract is with the agency (like Axintor), not with the company where you actually work.