Belgium

Explore Belgium's leave and income replacement benefits, along with up-to-date information on average wages and the gender pay gap. See how these entitlements and wages work in practice with a detailed example.

Entitlements

Maternity leave and pay

Paid maternity leave

15 weeks

Rate of maternity pay

82%uncapped for 5 weeks
75%max£712.27/wk for 10 weeks

15 weeks total (6 prenatal + 9 postnatal mandatory). 1 week before birth is obligatory prenatal rest. Optional 5 prenatal weeks can be taken before or after birth. Protected from dismissal from employer awareness of pregnancy until 1 month after end of postnatal leave. Source During the first 30 days (or 5 weeks considersing a 6 day work week) of your maternity leave it's 82% of uncapped gross salary. For the rest it's 75% of your gross salary per day, capped on the basis of the salary cap (INAMI/RIZIV ceiling for a 6 day work week - currently €183.13 * 0.75 = €137.35 for the day or 6 * €137.35 = €824.10 for the week). Source

No shareable birth leave, however shareable parental leave.

Paternity leave and pay

Paid paternity leave

2 weeks

Rate of paternity pay

100%uncapped for 0.6 weeks
82%max£778.76/wk for 1.4 weeks

10 days to be taken within 4 months of birth; can be spread flexibly. Protected from dismissal from written notification until 3 months after notification. Source First 3 days paid by employer at 100% of gross salary. Remaining 7 days paid by health insurance fund at 82% of capped gross salary (INAMI/RIZIV ceiling for a 6 day work week - currently €183.13 * 0.82 = €150.17). The cap per week is calculated using the 6 * €150.17 = €901.02. Source

Parental leave and pay

Parental leave per parent

17.4 weeks

Rate of parental pay

100%max£186.08/wk

Child age limit

12

Each parent independently entitled to 4 months full-time parental leave per child, usable until child turns 12 (21 for disabled child). Can be taken as: full-time (4 months), half-time (8 months), 1/5th reduction (20 months), or 1/10th reduction (40 months, employer agreement required). Leave can be split into separate months. Requires 12 months employment with employer in prior 15 months. Also available for adoption. Source Flat-rate RVA/ONEM interruption allowance, not salary-based. All four modes (full-time, half-time, 1/5th, 1/10th) are paid at different flat rates. Full time rates are €1,038.11 gross and €932.95 net per month. Source

Statistics

Average gross yearly wage

£51,072.60

Exchange rate

€1.16
for £1.00

Tax rate

39.72%

Gender wage gap

1.2%

At the exchange rate of 1.1570 the average gross yearly wage is £51,072.60. Source At this salary, the effective tax rate (including income tax and social security contributions, but excluding any benefits) is 39.72%. SourceHence, the average yearly take home (net) wage is £30,786.56.

The measured gender wage gap is 1.2%. Hence, with 52 week years, the net weekly wages are:

  • For a woman: £588.48.
  • For a man: £595.63.

Practical example

For the birth parent

Max protected leave available

32.4 weeks
15 weeks maternity17.4 weeks parental

Income replacement

£12,489.84

We calculate the figures with first 5 weeks it's uncapped 82% gross salary, for the next 10 it's a capped (at €137.35 per day) 75% gross salary. Parental leave pay is a net flat fee. During the birth year income will be lower, decreasing the average tax rate (34.9 and 26.3% when taking both maternity and parental leave), which are used in the calculations.

For the non-birth parent

Max protected leave available

19.4 weeks
2 weeks paternity17.4 weeks parental

Income replacement

£4,392.43

Parental pay is calculated using the 100% uncapped gross salary for 3 days and 82% capped salary for 7 days. Parental leave pay is a net flat fee. While just taking paternity leave will keep the same average tax rate, taking both paternity and parental leave will decrease the average tax rate to 31.4%.