Holiday pay: what do you have to pay in the coming weeks?
In Belgium, full-time workers are entitled to four weeks' holiday per year. However, the way holiday days and holiday pay are calculated depends on whether the worker is a manual worker or an employee.
Holiday pay has two parts:
- Single holiday pay
- Double holiday pay
Single holiday pay is the normal pay your worker would have received if they had worked during their holiday days.
Double holiday pay is extra compensation on top of the normal pay for the holiday days. For a worker who has worked a full year, this usually equals about four weeks' pay.
What is the difference between manual workers and employees?
Holiday pay for manual workers
For your manual workers, you do not pay the holiday pay directly. The single and double holiday pay is paid by the National Employment Office (NEO) or a holiday fund.
Holiday pay for manual workers is paid between 2 May and 30 June of the holiday year. The exact date depends on the sector your company works in.
The amount is based on all labour activities and wages from the year before the holiday year, including all employers where the worker was employed as a manual worker.
Because manual workers receive their full holiday pay (single and double) in one lump sum, they do not get normal pay on the days they take holiday, unlike employees.
Holiday pay for employees
For your employees, you as the employer pay the holiday pay.
You must pay the single holiday pay when your worker actually takes holiday days. The worker then receives their normal pay for those days.
The double holiday pay must be paid when your worker takes their main holiday. Usually, this payment is made at the same time for all employees, generally in May or June, no matter when they take their main holiday.
How is the holiday pay for employees calculated?
For an employee with a fixed salary, the double holiday pay equals 92% of the gross monthly salary.
If your worker has not worked a full year during the holiday service year, the amount is calculated proportionally.
Example
Marie has been working in your company since 1 April 2025 and earns 2,000 euros gross per month.
Her double holiday pay is calculated as follows:
2,000 × 92% × 9/12 (9 months in 2025) = 1,380 euros
What about variable remuneration?
Employees with variable pay get holiday pay per holiday day equal to:
- The average daily wage of the gross salaries earned during the reference period. This period covers the twelve months before the holiday month
- If your worker has worked less than twelve months when the double holiday pay is paid, only the period they worked for you is considered
For equivalent days, a fictitious wage may be included.
The maximum number of labour days per month is 25 for employees working a six-day week. For workers with fewer working days per week, a proportional part of 25 days is used.
Example for a five-day week
For a five-day week, a maximum of 20.83 days per month is used.
The calculation formula is:
[Variable pay of the last 12 months, including fictitious pay for equivalent days] ÷ [20.83 × number of months in the reference period] = single holiday pay per holiday day
The double holiday pay is calculated differently, based on the average monthly wage of the same variable pay. For staggered holidays, the twelve months before the month the worker takes their main holiday are used.
Example
Your worker takes their main holiday in August 2026.
Between August 2025 and July 2026, they earned:
- 24,000 euros fixed salary
- 6,000 euros variable commissions
The average monthly variable pay is 500 euros (6,000 ÷ 12). This average is used to calculate the double holiday pay on the variable part of the salary.
The single holiday pay on variable salary must be paid at the same time as the double holiday pay.
What about social contributions?
The single holiday pay is subject to the usual employer's and employee's social security contributions.
The double holiday pay is not subject to the usual social security contributions. However, a special employee contribution of 13.07% still applies. This deduction does not apply to the part of the statutory double holiday pay that corresponds to pay from the third day of the fourth holiday week.
Read more: « How is holiday pay treated fiscally? »
What does Securex do for you?
Our payroll processor handles the calculation of holiday pay for your employees and manages everything. Payment usually happens in the same month as last year, unless we agreed on a different date. If you are a new customer, we use the agreed date.
For more information or questions, you can always contact your Legal Advisor via myHR@securex.be
You can also find all useful information in our Lex4You file on annual holiday. It includes explanations about holiday pay during the labour contract and about departure holiday pay.
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