Hiring Your First Employee in Belgium: The Complete Guide

Hiring your first employee is a major turning point for any Belgian entrepreneur. It marks the shift from sole trader to employer, with everything that entails in terms of legal obligations, costs and responsibilities. Belgian employment law is among the most heavily regulated in Europe, with strong protections for workers and numerous obligations for employers.

This guide takes you through every step, from recruitment to the first payslip, covering NSSO obligations, choosing the right contract, the joint committee and the hiring grants available in 2026.

Before you hire your first employee: questions to ask yourself

Employee, freelancer or temp?

Before hiring an employee on a permanent contract, weigh up your alternatives:

Beware of false self-employment: in Belgium, the law of 27 December 2006 strictly defines the distinction between an employee and a self-employed person. The criteria are freedom over how work, hours and execution are organised. If your "freelancer" works exclusively for you, on fixed hours and using your equipment, the NSSO (Office National de Sécurité Sociale) may reclassify them as an employee, with back-payment of social contributions.

What will the total cost be?

The cost of an employee in Belgium goes well beyond the gross salary. Here is a detailed estimate for an employee under Joint Committee 200 (CP 200 – auxiliary joint committee for employees):

Example: an administrative employee, gross salary of EUR 2,800/month

Ratio of total cost to gross salary: around 1.48. In other words, for a gross salary of EUR 2,800, the employer pays roughly EUR 4,150 a month in total.

The administrative steps to becoming an employer

Step 1: Register with the NSSO

The NSSO (Office National de Sécurité Sociale, National Social Security Office) is the central body that collects social contributions in Belgium. Before your first employee starts work, you must:

1. Register as an employer with the NSSO via the online social security portal (socialsecurity.be)
2. Obtain your NSSO employer number
3. Submit your Dimona declaration (Déclaration Immédiate / Onmiddellijke Aangifte) before the employee's first day of work

The Dimona declaration is mandatory: it must be sent to the NSSO no later than the moment the worker starts. It contains basic information (the worker's identity, start date, type of contract).

Step 2: Choose a social secretariat

When they hire their first employee, most Belgian SMEs outsource payroll management to an approved social secretariat. This is not mandatory but is strongly recommended, since calculating Belgian salaries is extremely complex (advance tax on remuneration, NSSO contributions, sector pay scales, indexation, etc.).

The main Belgian social secretariats:

What a social secretariat does for you:

• Calculates and pays monthly salaries
• Prepares payslips
• Handles quarterly NSSO declarations (DmfA)
• Calculates advance tax on remuneration
• Manages holiday pay and the year-end bonus
• Provides advice on employment law
• Manages employment contracts
• Handles the Dimona declaration

Step 3: Determine your joint committee

The joint committee (commission paritaire, CP) is a sector-based negotiating body unique to Belgium. Every company is attached to a joint committee based on its main activity. The joint committee sets:

• Minimum pay scales
• Working conditions (working hours, leave, flexibility)
• Sector-specific benefits (meal vouchers, eco-vouchers, bonuses)
• Notice period rules
• Applicable collective bargaining agreements (CCT)

The main joint committees:

Warning: if you fail to determine your joint committee correctly, you risk paying salaries below the sector minimums, which can lead to prosecution and back-payment of salary.

Step 4: Draft the employment contract

In Belgium, the employment contract must comply with the law of 3 July 1978 on employment contracts.

Types of contract:

Mandatory information in the contract:

• Identity of the parties (employer with BCE number, worker)
• Start date
• Role and description of duties
• Place of work
• Working hours (full-time = 38 hours/week in most sectors)
• Remuneration (gross salary, benefits)
• Applicable joint committee
• Any special clauses (non-competition, confidentiality, remote work)

Important: since the trial period was abolished in 2014, notice periods are the same from the very first day of work. It is therefore crucial to assess candidates thoroughly before hiring.

Step 5: Join an external prevention service (SEPPT)

Every Belgian employer must join an External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work (SEPPT). This service covers occupational health and workplace well-being.

The main SEPPT providers in Belgium:

• Mensura (the largest)
• Liantis Prevention
• Securex Prevention
• Cohezio
• SPMT ARISTA
• IDEWE

Obligations:

• A pre-employment medical check for at-risk roles (screen-based work, driving, handling chemicals)
• A risk assessment of the workplace
• A global prevention plan (5 years) and an annual action plan

Cost: between EUR 120 and 250 per employee per year (depending on the sector and risks).

Step 6: Take out occupational accident insurance

Occupational accident insurance is mandatory in Belgium for every employer. It covers accidents that occur at work or on the way to and from work.

Popular insurers in Belgium:

• AG Insurance
• AXA Belgium
• Ethias
• Baloise Insurance
• KBC Assurances

Cost: between 0.5% and 5% of gross payroll, depending on the sector and risks.

Step 7: Put a work regulation in place

The work regulation (règlement de travail) is mandatory from your first employee onwards. It sets out the company's operating rules and must be given to every worker.

Mandatory content:

• Working hours
• How work is measured and monitored
• How salary is paid
• Notice periods
• Rights and obligations of supervisory staff
• Disciplinary sanctions
• First-aid arrangements in the event of an accident
• SEPPT contact details
• Labour Inspectorate contact details

Hiring grants in Belgium in 2026

Federal grants

First-hires reduction (réduction premiers engagements): a flagship measure to encourage SMEs to hire, and especially generous for your first employee. It applies to the first 6 hires:

Specifically for the 1st worker: the employer is exempted from basic employer contributions (around 25% of gross salary) for an unlimited period. On a gross salary of EUR 2,800, this represents a saving of around EUR 700 a month, or EUR 8,400 a year.

Conditions:

• Never having been subject to NSSO contributions (or not for at least 4 quarters)
• Being an individual or a company within the meaning of the CSA
• Not being considered the same employer as another employer who has already had workers

Regional grants

Wallonia

• Aide à la Promotion de l'Emploi (APE): a wage subsidy for Walloon employers hiring jobseekers registered with Forem. Amount: between EUR 2,500 and 12,000 a year depending on the profile.
• Sesam programme: for companies with fewer than 50 workers, a flat-rate grant of EUR 2,500 per quarter for 3 years for hiring jobseekers.

Brussels

• Activa.brussels: a reduction in NSSO contributions and a work allowance for hiring Brussels-based jobseekers registered with Actiris. The grant can reach EUR 15,900 over 30 months.
• Occupational transition bonus: support for hiring workers undergoing retraining.

Flanders

• Vlaamse ondersteuningspremie (VOP): a Flemish support grant for hiring people with disabilities. Up to 40% of the wage cost.
• Jobbonus: a direct bonus for low-paid workers.

Specific grants

• Plan Formation-Insertion (PFI) through Forem: trains the future employee within the company for 4 to 26 weeks, with partial reimbursement of the training allowance.
• Work-study contract: combines training at a centre with work at the company, with reduced NSSO contributions.
• Transition traineeship: a young jobseeker does a traineeship at your company, paid by ONEM (the national employment office).

The recruitment process in Belgium

Where to publish the job advert for your first employee

Anti-discrimination rules

Belgium has strict anti-discrimination legislation (laws of 10 May 2007). When recruiting, it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of:

• Age, sex, sexual orientation
• Ethnic origin, nationality, skin colour
• Religion or philosophical beliefs
• Disability or health status
• Marital or family status
• Trade union or political beliefs

Consequences: fines of EUR 50 to 1,000 (multiplied by surcharge decimes to EUR 400 to 8,000 in practice) and damages that can be significant.

Best practice:

• Write gender-neutral job adverts
• Do not ask for a photo on the CV
• Do not ask about private life, religion or family plans at interview
• Document your objective selection criteria

The first 30 days after hiring

Employer's checklist

Before day one:

• Employment contract signed
• Dimona declaration sent to the NSSO
• Work regulation given and signed
• Occupational accident insurance taken out
• SEPPT affiliation confirmed
• Workstation prepared (desk, equipment, IT access)

Day one:

• Welcome the new employee (tour of the premises, introduction to the team)
• Hand over documents (work regulation, GDPR policy, internal procedures)
• Explain benefits (meal vouchers, group insurance, remote work)
• Health and safety training
• Set up tools (email, software, badges)

Within the first 30 days:

• First payslip checked
• Pre-employment medical check scheduled (if applicable)
• Objectives set and communicated
• First formal feedback
• Enrolment on any necessary training

Conclusion

Hiring your first employee in Belgium is a complex but essential process for growing your business. Key points to remember:

1. Calculate the total cost before committing (gross salary x 1.5 to 1.8)
2. Make the most of the first-hires reduction: the NSSO exemption for your first employee is a considerable advantage
3. Join a social secretariat: calculating Belgian salaries is too complex to do alone
4. Determine your joint committee correctly: it governs every pay scale and benefit
5. Explore regional grants: depending on your region (Wallonia, Brussels, Flanders) and the candidate's profile, significant support is available

If in doubt, consult your social secretariat or an employment lawyer. The cost of legal advice (EUR 150-250 an hour) is negligible compared with the cost of a mistake in Belgian employment law.

---

This article was written by the Espero-Soft team for the blog dedicated to entrepreneurs in Belgium. For personalised advice, do not hesitate to consult a professional.