Night work
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Principle: admission of night work
Night work is generally defined as work performed between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
From 1 June 2026, the employment of workers in the context of night work is permitted in all sectors of activity to which the Labour Act of 16 March 1971 applies.
This general admission of night work does not, however, exempt the employer from complying with the other applicable rules, particularly in relation to working time, rest, remuneration, the procedures for introducing a working regime involving night work and well-being at work.
N.B.: in addition to the provisions of labour regulations, there are also a number of measures taken within the framework of workers’ well-being at work to safeguard the safety and health of night workers.
Remuneration
As regards night work, remuneration supplements (bonuses or allowances) are applicable in the event of posting workers to Belgium pursuant, where applicable, to sectoral collective labour agreements or national (intersectoral) collective labour agreements that are subject to criminal sanctions (i.e. made binding by royal decree).
General rules
In certain sectors of activity, joint committees have concluded collective labour agreements providing for wage supplements (bonuses) for night work.
In the alternative, that is, in the absence of sectoral collective labour agreements, national collective labour agreement No. 49 provides, for all sectors of activity, that a specific hourly financial allowance must be granted to workers employed in working regimes which regularly include work between midnight and 5 a.m. The amount of this bonus is, from 1 July 2026, EUR 1,54 per hour (EUR 1,85 per hour for workers aged at least 50).
N.B.: in the distribution sector and related sectors, including e-commerce, the application of bonuses or benefits linked to night work is subject to specific rules from 1 June 2026. These rules are explained below.
Specific rules concerning the right to bonuses and benefits linked to night work in the distribution sector and related sectors, including e-commerce
From 1 June 2026, as regards the right to bonuses and benefits linked to night work in such specific sectors, Belgian night-work regulations provide for specific rules depending on the workers’ date of entry into service.
New workers entering service from 1 June 2026
- For new workers entering service from 1 June 2026 with an undertaking in the distribution sector and related sectors, including e-commerce , the right to bonuses and benefits linked to night work is, in principle, limited to work performed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- Work performed between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. therefore does not automatically entitle these new workers to such bonuses or benefits, unless an applicable provision provides for a more favourable regime.
- Belgian night-work regulations define what is meant by “new workers entering service with an undertaking in the distribution sector and related sectors, including e-commerce”.
- For work performed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., the amount of the bonus must at least correspond to the amount of the hourly financial allowance provided for by national collective labour agreement No. 49.
N.B.: in the distribution sector and related sectors, including e-commerce, this limitation of the right to bonuses and benefits linked to night work may be derogated from, notably by a collective labour agreement or by the employment contract, provided that this derogation enters into force after 1 June 2026.
Workers already in service before 1 June 2026
The specific limitation on the right to bonuses and benefits linked to night work for “new workers” entering service from 1 June 2026 in undertakings in the distribution sector and related sectors, including e-commerce, has no consequence for workers who are already in service with the same undertakings before 1 June 2026.
These workers therefore retain, from that date, their right to bonuses and benefits linked to the hours between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., where that right is provided for by provisions of collective labour agreements that are subject to criminal sanctions.
Last update: 30 June 2026