Who is entitled to an end-of-year bonus?
In Belgium the end-of-year bonus, often called the 13th month, is not a legal right for every employee. It comes from the sector collective agreement of your joint committee, your company or your contract.
For white-collar employees in Joint Committee 200, it is set by the collective agreement of 9 June 2016, amended in 2021 and 2023, as listed in the SPF Employment fact sheet for CP 200. You must be under an employment contract when it is paid and have at least six months of seniority. Freelancers do not receive one: if they want it, it has to be priced into their day rate.
How much is the bonus, and how is the pro rata worked out?
The CP 200 agreement sets the bonus at one monthly salary, paid by the end of December at the latest unless a company agreement says otherwise. If you worked the whole year, you receive one full gross month.
If you joined during the year, you receive a pro rata per full calendar month worked. Some absences reduce it, but legally protected ones do not, such as holidays, maternity leave, a work accident and up to 60 calendar days of sickness. Agency workers follow a different system: the social fund for temporary work pays them a bonus once they have worked enough days in the reference period running from 1 July to 30 June.
What happens if you leave before December?
It depends on how the contract ends. If your employer dismisses you, you keep a pro rata as long as you have six months of seniority, except in the case of dismissal for serious misconduct.
If you resign, or leave by mutual agreement, you only keep a pro rata after three years of seniority. That threshold was five years until the CP 200 sector agreement of December 2025, as Securex summarised in January 2026. For a candidate changing jobs in autumn, this is worth checking before setting a start date, and it belongs in the discussion when negotiating salary during interviews.
Why is the net bonus lower than a normal monthly salary?
Two deductions apply. First, the usual 13.07% personal social security contribution. Then a withholding tax at the rate for exceptional payments, which depends on your annual taxable income rather than on the monthly scale.
In 2026 that rate ranges from 0% for annual taxable pay up to €10,675 to 51.48% between €45,860.01 and €59,900, according to Securex’s table of exceptional payment rates. For most IT and engineering salaries, the net bonus is therefore well under half of the gross. Part of that withholding can come back in the annual tax assessment, depending on your situation.
