Night premium

A night premium is the supplement for work between 8 pm and 6 am. In industry it usually sits between 20 and 30 percent on top of the hourly wage, regulated per joint committee, with favourable tax treatment for night work.

From what hour does night work count?

Work between 8 pm and 6 am counts as night work in Belgium. Night work is prohibited in principle, but industry falls under the permitted exceptions (continuous work, shift work, work that cannot be interrupted). If you regularly work in that window, you fall under a night regime with the corresponding premiums and safeguards.

How much is the premium?

The percentage differs per joint committee and per system: a fixed night shift usually earns more than a rotating night in a full-continuous system. In industry, count on roughly 20 to 30 percent; some agreements use a fixed amount per hour instead of a percentage. Older employees in night work also have additional rights around switching to day work.

Net effect

Like the shift premium, night work enjoys a partial exemption from payroll withholding tax, making the net difference bigger than the gross percentage suggests. A fixed night role in industry can therefore pay hundreds of euros more net per month than the same role during the day.

Browse our fixed-night vacancies or first read what shift work means for your health and family life.