Is your non-compete clause valid at all?
Check this first, because many clauses are not. Under the SPF Employment rules, the clause must be in writing, cover similar activities only, be limited to places where you could really compete and never reach outside Belgium, last 12 months at most, and provide for a compensation. These conditions are cumulative: if one fails, the whole clause is void.
There is also a salary condition, assessed on the day the contract ends. For 2026, the clause is void if your gross annual pay is €44,447 or less. Between €44,447 and €88,895, it is only valid if a collective agreement lists your function. Above €88,895, it is valid unless a collective agreement excludes your function. Our definition of the non-compete clause covers the principle.
Does the way you leave change anything?
Yes, and this is the part most people miss. A valid clause only takes effect if the contract ends after the first six months, and in one of these ways:
- You resign, unless it is because of serious misconduct by your employer
- You are dismissed for serious misconduct
- You and your employer agree to end the contract
- A fixed-term contract reaches its end date
It has no effect if the contract ends in the first six months, or if your employer dismisses you without serious misconduct. In that case, you are free to work for a competitor, whatever the clause says.
What does your former employer have to pay?
If the clause applies, your former employer has 15 days from the end of the contract to waive it. If it waives, you are free and nothing is owed. If it does not, it must pay you a single lump sum of at least half your gross pay for the period the clause covers: at least six months of pay for a 12-month clause.
If you then break a valid clause, you must repay that sum and pay the same amount again as damages. A court can reduce or increase it. Different rules apply to sales representatives and to some employees of companies with international activities or their own research department.
What should you do before you leave?
Read the clause against the checklist above before you resign, not after. Compare your annual gross pay with the 2026 thresholds, check which activities and places it covers, and ask yourself whether your next role is really a similar activity in the same market.
Then ask your employer in writing whether it intends to apply the clause. Many employers waive it to avoid paying. If you move to a consultancy or freelance work, the question is whether you would be serving the same clients. Our page on how to resign step by step lists the other points to check, and you can compare the IT and engineering roles currently open.
