Night premium

A night premium is the supplement for work between 8 pm and 6 am. Its size, a percentage or a fixed amount per hour, is set by the collective agreement of your joint committee, and it is taxed as ordinary pay.

The sector minimum of your joint committee, per shift system and taken from the agreement, is in our overview shift premium per joint committee.

From what hour does night work count?

Work between 8 pm and 6 am counts as night work in Belgium. The general ban on night work was lifted on 1 June 2026; the rules on night regimes (CLA No. 46) and the allowance (CLA No. 49) still apply, and industry already worked within 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. The sector minimums per committee are in shift premium per joint committee, with the agreement as source; 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

A night premium is gross pay and is taxed like the rest of your wage. The partial withholding tax exemption for night work benefits the employer, not you: net you keep less than half of the premium. A fixed night role in industry still quickly pays a few hundred 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.