Do you wish to expand your business in Belgium? Here are a few things to know. 

Belgium has a free-enterprise economy. This means that it has open-market policies, offers solid economic freedom, and is committed to global trade. Infact, trade and the service sector are the two major contributors to the country’s success, leading to the expected GDP growth of 1.2% in 2025. 

As one of the most globalized economies, Belgium has a business-friendly environment. It is located in the center of Europe and has access to major suppliers and markets. 

The country also shines as a dynamic center for innovation, specifically in the technology and pharmaceutical industries. Belgium ranks 24th among 133 countries featured in the Global Innovation Index 2024. This achievement highlights the country’s healthy environment that welcomes startups to leverage extensive funding opportunities. 

Besides, the predicted number of employed people in Belgium in 2025 is 5.26 million. This is an increase of 0.57% from 2024. The reason for this positive growth is that Belgium has a strong, versatile, and highly skilled workforce that local companies are interested in adding to their teams. 

Belgium also has a great pool of affordable labor as compared to the US and most other parts of the world. The average gross monthly salary in the Brussels Capital Region in 2025 is expected to be around €4,748 or US $4,898. In contrast, the average yearly salary in the US in 2025 will approximately be around $70,682, equating to $5,890 per month.

The country has a lot to offer. So, if you plan a global expansion, Belgium may be the right market to explore. 

However, despite all the positives, you may face challenges during this expansion. Belgium has complex regulations and multiple administrative levels. Plus, the high taxes and a strong culture of bureaucracy prevent new ventures from competing with the locals. The labor laws aren’t straightforward as well. 

But your company’s partnership with a PEO in Belgium can help you overcome these hurdles. The platform can look after your important human resource and administrative matters. This can help you build a skilled team in Belgium and enter the market easily. 

Read to know how a PEO in Belgium works and whether you should partner with one. 

Table of Contents show

What Is a PEO in Belgium?

A PEO, or professional employer organization, is a platform that looks after your human resources in Belgium during your expansion in the country. It is a type of full-service human resource outsourcing known as co-employment.

Your chosen PEO is responsible for performing multiple employee administration tasks, like payroll and benefits administration

It also makes sure that you comply with the local labor and tax laws of Belgium while running your company. 

To put it simply, a PEO gives your company all the local expertise required for your global expansion in Belgium. 

Some reliable PEOs also offer strategic services. Therefore, it is important to research properly and compare different PEOs to evaluate their capabilities. 

Some of the tasks a PEO performs include: 

  • Payroll Management 
  • Onboarding of workforce
  • Tax Compliance
  • Labor Law Compliance 
  • Fulfillment of all local statutory employer requirements

Start hiring with a Belgium PEO

Let us handle the complexities of hiring, compliance, and payroll in Belgium while you focus on growing your team.

  • Hire employees in Belgium with a Belgium PEO
  • No local entity is needed
  • Pricing starts at USD 199 per employee
  • Remote People can also help you find the best talent in Belgium

👉 Get Your Customized Belgium PEO Proposal Today!

How Does a PEO in Belgium Work?

A PEO in Belgium hires local employees for you in the country. The organization is responsible for finding you the most suitable workforce while managing compliance with all the laws, rules, and regulations. 

Belgium’s labor laws are quite complicated. It has a number of acts, decrees, and collective bargaining agreements. A foreign entity like yours may find it tough to comprehend or even understand it properly to follow. 

However, with a knowledgeable PEO by your side, you won’t have to worry about any of that. PEOs have large teams of experts with experience in compliance, ensuring that all regulations are met with ease. 

When you sign a contract with a PEO in Belgium, you give the platform all the authority to handle the recruitment and employment process. 

PEOs work in a co-employment model. This means that the organization hires employees for you. However, you are responsible for all the business decisions, employee supervision, and operations.  This contractual agreement divides employer responsibilities between the two. 

This agreement is different from an EOR or Employer of Record. When an EOR hires a workforce on your behalf, it becomes their legal employer on paper. This results in you having no control over your labor in Belgium. 

So, if you wish to build a team in Belgium while having some control over them, partnering with a PEO is the best option for you. 

What Does a PEO in Belgium Do?

Here are some important aspects of human resource management for which a PEO is responsible. 

Recruitment and Onboarding of Workforce

Hiring can be a tough job in Belgium, especially if you don’t know the right place to find the best labor. However, with a PEO, you can get hold of skilled Belgian employees with ease. The platform allows you to access your company’s highly skilled talent pool. 

Once the right workforce is hired, a PEO makes sure to make their onboarding process as seamless as possible. 

A reliable PEO has a proper onboarding program in place. It also designs an employee handbook with all the company policies so that the new employees don’t find the rules tough to follow. If required, a PEO can also provide initial training to the hired employees. 

Management of Employment Contracts

Contracts Act. According to this regulation, it is not essential to have written employment contracts in Belgium. 

However, if it is important for you, your business should curate a written employment contract covering all the essential terms. A contract must have the following:

  • Job duties with a clear description of the hired employee’s responsibilities
  • Compensation of the employee
  • Working hours with the weekly schedule
  • Benefits which may include entitled vacations and other similar benefits
  • Termination conditions covering the notice period and reasons for termination

These contracts can be open-ended or fixed-term. Interestingly,  probationary periods are not allowed in many employment contracts in Belgium. 

This implies that you cannot include a probationary period in a contract. This period was abolished by the Unified Employment Status Act in Belgium in January 2014.

The language of the employment contracts and employment-related documents are usually drafted differently for each work site location. For instance, if you have a workforce in the Brussels region, you should draft the employment contracts in French or Dutch. Alternatively, a work site in the Flemish region requires the contracts to be drafted in Dutch.

Benefits and Rights of Employees

All employees working in Belgium have certain rights. A PEO is responsible for making sure that all workers receive their rightful benefits in a timely manner. 

Working Hours

Working hours and overtime in Belgium are regulated by the Labor Act of March 16, 1971, and the Public Holidays Act of January 4, 1974.

According to this law, the maximum working hours in a week in Belgium is 38 hours. In addition, an employee can’t work for more than eight hours every day. 

In case of overtime, all employees should get a compensatory rest period to strictly comply with the weekly working time requirements. Employees working overtime hours get compensation at a rate of 50%. However, if the overtime hours fall on a Sunday, the compensation rate rises to 100%.

Minimum Wage Requirements

According to the Act of 12 April 1965, the remuneration of every employee in Belgium must be paid in the currency chosen by the labor law. Generally, the wage in Belgium is usually transferred through a cheque or a bank account. 

The minimum wage in Belgium is €2,070.48 or US $2133 per month. This rate became valid in May 2024. The minimum wage rate in Belgium is affected by factors such as collective bargaining, qualifications of the workforce, and the overall productivity of the industry.

Learn more

Employee Benefits and Social Security

The social security system in Belgium provides several benefits to employees, including pensions and health insurance. Both the employer and employee make contributions from their payroll deductions. 

All employees contribute 13.07% of their gross wages to social security. Similarly, all employers have to pay 25% to 30.43% of their employees’ wages to social security. 

Some of the benefits employees get are: 

  • Coverage by a mandatory pension plan

  • Unemployment benefits if an employee is unemployed and looking for work

  • Coverage by mandatory health insurance

  • Sickness benefits, such as a full pay for all employees

  • Extra allowance for low-earning families

  • Child benefits are paid monthly

  • One-time maternity allowance for female employees

  • One-time adoption allowance for families that choose to adopt

Employees in Belgium are also entitled to paid vacations. As per the labor law in Belgium, employees get 24 days of paid annual leave after completing one year of service with a company.

Learn more

Termination Regulations

There are set grounds for termination in Belgium. You can terminate an employee on the basis of gross misconduct, a breach of contract, mutual consent, or the death of the worker. 

The labor laws state that the notice of termination should be written and must specify the details of the period properly. The notice period depends on the duration of employment. So, if an employee has worked for nine months, they will get a notice period of seven weeks. 

Similarly, a worker with an employment period of more than 20 years gets a notice period of 62 weeks. 

Payroll Tax Compliance

All Belgian residents are taxed at a progressive rate of between 25% and 50%. The correct rate depends on their respective level of income. 

The tax is usually calculated after all credits and deductions are applied. 

In addition to that, corporate income tax is flat at 25%. SMEs that gain profits up to €100,000 have to pay the tax at a reduced rate of 20%. 

The tax payments must be cleared by the 15th day of the following month.

Benefits of Partnering With a PEO in Belgium

Payroll Management

A PEO can automate payroll processing for you, reducing your accounting and other similar cost manifolds. It also eliminates the need to build an in-house HR department for your Belgian employees. The platform also makes sure to comply with all the relevant laws to save you from hefty fines. 

Regulatory Compliance

With a PEO on board, you don’t have to worry about any regulatory compliance. It makes sure that your company fully follows the employment regulations and local laws so you can run your business seamlessly. 

Access to a Talented Workforce and Tools

Since a PEO in Belgium is well-versed in the local workforce, they are the best team to hire the most efficient labor for your business. The platform curates job postings and interviews smartly, allowing you to welcome only the best people on your team. 

Additionally, with the help of PEOs, you can get access to local tools that may only be available for larger corporations in Belgium.

Enhance Your Scalability and Success

With a PEO on board, you can enter and adjust to the local market easily. This will help you scale your business efficiently to get success in the long run. 

How to Choose the Best PEO in Belgium

Looking for the best PEO can be very daunting at times. There are multiple platforms available, but not everyone is reliable. So, make sure that you consider some important factors when finalizing a PEO. 

Compliance and Local Expertise 

You may already understand that Belgium’s payroll management and tax regulations are quite complicated.  Therefore, before you opt for a PEO, make sure that it is well aware of the country’s tax, payroll, benefits, and employment law complications. 

Services On Offer

It is important that your shortlisted PEO can provide you with basic services like payroll processing, employee benefits management, HR support, and compliance with labor laws. 

If you want the PEO to offer you extra services, make sure to highlight them in the contract. The PEO may charge you extra for the additional tasks.  

Pricing Models 

When selecting a PEO in Belgium, make sure that you are properly aware of the pricing model the organization uses. Some charge a fixed rate for their services, while others create a quote based on the number of employees hired. 

Not every method would give you a similar quote. Therefore, choose a PEO whose total charges meet your budget limitations. 

Customer Service 

A PEO with an excellent customer support department is a major plus. Therefore, before you select a PEO, ensure to check the quality of their customer service. 

Do they offer 24/7 support? Do they have separate representatives for individual customers? You can get the answers to these questions through online reviews or direct meetings with the team. 

Reputation and References

Do your proper research on the reputation of the PEO before partnering with them. You can read reviews online or ask for references from businesses that may have already set themselves in Belgium. 

Established PEOs with reliable track records can be your best partner in this journey.

Grow Your Business in Belgium With a Top Global PEO

Imagine entering the Belgium market but failing to find the best human resources for your business. This is a nightmare that no venture wishes to face. If you also want to escape the challenges of recruiting and managing the workforce in Belgium, partner with a PEO.  

If you can’t shortlist the best PEOs from the multiple options available, get in touch with us at Remote People. We can save you money by recommending top PEOs as part of our PEO broker service. 

We offer this at a cost up to 40% lower than going directly with the PEO provider. Contact us now to benefit from our amazing services and customer support. 

Frequently Asked Questions

The term PEO stands for Professional Employer Organization. It is a third-party company that offers HR functions to your company on your behalf so that you can focus on other business goals. 

Yes, a PEO works legally in Belgium.

It is hard to come up with an exact number. PEOs have different pricing models. Plus, the end cost depends on the number of employees they hire and the services on offer.