Increased fines in social criminal law starting from 2026. Key terms include: Declaration of Social Risk, SSSC, fine, OSSO, legal advice, optimization of social status, and social elections.

As of 1 February 2026, the administrative and criminal fines in social criminal law will increase. This change is due to an increase in the "decimals," which is a multiplication factor that raises the fines set out in the social criminal code. This factor will increase from 8 to 10.

This AI-generated translation may contain errors and should not be considerd legal advice. For accurate info, refer to the Dutch or French version or consult your Securex Legal Advisor.

Increases in fines from 1 February 2026

It is not the criminal or administrative fines specified in the social penal code that will be changed. Instead, it is the general multiplication factor (decimals) applied to these fines that will be adjusted.

Currently, these fines are increased by a factor of 8; from 1 February, they will be multiplied by 10. This applies to both administrative fines imposed by the administration and criminal fines imposed by a judge, resulting in a 25% increase.

Our tip: The inspection services regularly carry out checks, both announced and unannounced. Always ensure that you are legally compliant to avoid fines. Your Legal Advisor can help you with this. Be sure to contact them via myHr@securex.be.
Read more: "The flash inspections for 2026 are known"

Overview of fines

In social criminal law, there are four levels of sanctions, each with its own minimum and maximum fine, depending on the offense.

The new fines including decimals are:

Level of sanction	Administrative fine (minimum/maximum)	Criminal fine (minimum/maximum)
Level 1	100 to 1,000 euros	/
Level 2	250 to 2,500 euros	500 to 5,000 euros
Level 3	500 to 5,000 euros	1,000 to 10,000 euros
Level 4	1,000 to 10,000 euros	2,500 to 25,000 euros