Why is there a 'shift work b’ variant?
To take advantage of the tax benefits for team work, you must meet several conditions. One of these is that successive teams must perform the same work in terms of scope. There has been uncertainty about the exact meaning of this requirement.
In a ruling on 8 February 2024, the Constitutional Court determined that it is not unconstitutional to apply the tax exemption for team work only to companies where the teams perform identical work in terms of scope.
In response to this ruling, the legislator introduced the 'shift work b’ variant regime in May 2024. Its aim was to ensure that companies, where the scope of work of successive teams is not always the same, do not completely lose the exemption.
The 'shift work b’ variant regime therefore includes a correction factor that changes based on the difference in scope between successive teams. The greater the difference, the more the exemption decreases.
Learn more: « 'Team work bis' regulation for greater legal security »
Towards greater legal security
While the 'shift work b’ variant regime aims to enhance legal security, it still raises many practical and legal questions.
The Federal Public Service (FPS) Finance recently published a circular that provides clarifications on how this regime applies, especially for temporary and continuous work.
Below, we will outline the main new features of the circular of 30 July 2025.
Administrative tolerance of a maximum deviation of 10%
Clarifications regarding the notion of scope
Although the new circular does not provide a concrete definition of the notion of scope, it offers some guidance on how to assess its extent.
According to the circular, scope should generally be measured based on the output of the team. If this measurement is not possible, the tax authorities accept that other factors can be considered, such as the number of members in the teams (expressed in full-time equivalents) or the number of hours worked.
The introduction of the 'shift work b’ variant should not lead to a strict interpretation of the exemption for classic team work. The legislator's intention has never been to require perfectly identical work scope between successive teams. A one-off deviation, for example due to a worker's absence (due to illness) or a mechanical failure, should not automatically trigger the application of the 'shift work b’ variant. Some flexibility is necessary in assessing this condition, especially in cases of events beyond the employer's control.
10% tolerance
In this context, the circular allows for a maximum deviation of 10% in the scope of work between successive teams. This percentage must be calculated each day and for each team system, based on the following formula:
\(\large { \textsf{ number of members of the } \textbf{largest} \textsf{ team } – \textsf{ number of members of the } \textbf{smallest} \textsf{ team } \over \textsf{number of members of the } \textbf{largest} \textsf{ team } }\)
If the deviation remains within this 10% margin each working day of the month, the employer can apply the exemption for "classic" team work for that month.
A deviation greater than 10% will not be accepted, unless it results from circumstances beyond the employer's control (illness, exceptional leave, accident, etc.).
To determine whether to apply the classic variant or the 'shift work b’ variant, it is important to understand the employer's intention. This intention emerges from the work planning.
More info: « Apply the correct team work variant and avoid fines »
Classic regime or 'shift work b’ variant ?
Employer's choice
The classic regime for team work and the 'shift work b’ variant continue to coexist. As an employer, you must choose each month which exemption regime to apply.
If your company has several team systems, you must determine each month and for each system whether it falls under the classic regime or the 'shift work b’ variant. The applicable regime can therefore differ from one month to another and from one team system to another.
A single company can thus simultaneously apply both regimes, provided that the third-party standard is calculated separately for each regime.
It is indeed not possible to combine the benefits of several types of exemptions for the same month when determining the third-party standard.
This principle does, however, have a exception. Hours that would have been worked in a classic team work system and in a classic continuous work system can be counted together for calculating the third-party standard. The same applies if the worker has worked in the 'shift work b’ variant of these two regimes.
Finally, if the third-party standard condition is met by a worker in two regimes for the same month, the exemption cannot be applied for both regimes.
You can only apply one regime for the month in question, as a worker's remuneration can only be considered in one type of exemption for the same month.
Our advice: ensure compliance with the conditions for applying the exemption
The work regime must meet several conditions to be recognised by the tax authorities as team work.
More info: « What is team work, the team/night premium, night work and continuous work? »
In practical terms, this means that you must evaluate each month for each team system whether it still meets the conditions of classic team work.
Also ensure to document the assessment of the scope of work.
In this regard, the circular reminds that the practice of artificially dividing a team solely to meet the conditions for applying the exemption is not permitted.
Possibility of applying the 'shift work b’ variant to classic systems
As an employer, you can apply the classic team work regime to systems that meet the definition of classic team work and the 'shift work b’ variant to other systems.
However, you also have the option to apply the 'shift work b’ variant to all your team systems, including those that fall under the classic regime. This option can be particularly interesting if some of your workers alternate between different regimes.
This alternative is illustrated by a concrete example in the circular of 30 July 2025 (see below in « Source » the link to this circular).
Include or exclude the night team?
Imagine that in your company, work is organised in a system of 3 successive teams: the morning team, the evening team, and the night team. If these teams perform work of the same type but the scope of work differs, you must, as an employer, decide each month whether:
- You integrate the night team into the team work system
- You exclude the night team from the team work system
You integrate the night team into the team work system?
In this case, you can apply the exemption for 'shift work b’ variant to the eligible remuneration of the workers of the three teams (provided that all other conditions are met).
The correction factor will then need to be calculated taking into account the scope of work performed by the three teams.
You exclude the night team from the team work system?
In this case, you can only apply the exemption for 'shift work b’ variant to the eligible remuneration of the workers of the morning and evening teams (provided that all other conditions are met, of course). You will then need to calculate the correction factor without considering the night team.
Furthermore, you will be able to apply the exemption for night work to the workers of the night team for whom the third-party standard is met.
This freedom of choice does, however, have limits, which are illustrated in the circular.
How to calculate the amount of the exemption?
The circular also provides clarifications on the concrete way to calculate the exemption.
One correction factor for the entire company
Employers who use the 'shift work b’ variant must proportionally reduce the exemption when the difference in scope of work between successive teams increases. The greater the difference, the more the exemption decreases.
The circular confirms the principle that a single correction factor must be calculated per month for the entire company. This factor then applies to all systems falling under the 'shift work b’ variant, including bis continuous work systems.
In other words, it is not possible to calculate the percentage of deviation at the level of a department or a production line.
In practice, however, compliance with this condition can prove difficult (especially for companies with multiple establishments).
Double application of the correction factor
Furthermore, the circular reminds that in the 'shift work b’ variant, the correction factor must be applied both:
- To the percentage of 22.8% or 25% of the relevant remuneration
- And to the amount of the advance tax levy withheld from this remuneration
The tax exemption must then be limited to the lower of these two amounts.
Example
The total taxable remuneration amounts to 4,500 euros, the advance tax levy to 605 euros, and the correction factor to 15%.
|
Total taxable remuneration |
4,500 euros |
|
Tax exemption of 22.8% |
1,026 euros |
|
Correction factor of 15% on the amount of the exemption |
872.1 euros |
|
Advance tax levy |
605 euros |
|
Correction factor of 15% on the amount of the advance tax levy |
514.25 euros |
|
Final tax exemption |
514.25 euros |
Applying the correction factor to the advance tax levy (514.25 euros) results in a lower amount than applying the correction factor to 22.8% of the taxable remuneration (872.10 euros). This is why the tax exemption is limited to 514.25 euros.
This situation is legally complex because the double application of the correction factor adds a further restriction to the legislation.
Not all questions answered yet
The new circular provides clarifications; however, some practical application questions remain unanswered, and the bis regulation is still administratively very complex.
Consider, in particular, temporary work (to which the same rules apply): In the case of temporary work, the temporary agency is treated as the company where the worker is actually employed.
Therefore, licensed temporary work companies that provide temporary workers to the employer must receive daily and for each temporary worker, detailed information on the scope of work and the gap. The correction factor must also be communicated to them each month. All of this creates a significant administrative burden.
Nevertheless, the new circular represents a step towards ensuring legal security and reducing interpretation issues during tax audits.
A transitional measure until the end of 2026
The circular reminds us that the regulation on 'shift work b’ variant is a transitional measure that applies from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2026.
However, all indications suggest that a new sustainable regulation will need to be implemented to ensure better legal security.
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