Pay rise 2027 in Belgium: indexation, wage norm, decisions

2027 at a glance

Sources for this data: see the list at the bottom.

Indexation is not a raise

Indexation adjusts your pay to the rise in the cost of living, following the rules of your joint committee. It is guaranteed: the wage norm law does not count indexations and pay scale increases and always allows them. In purchasing power you therefore do not move ahead; you keep up.

For 2027 the percentage differs per sector. White-collar staff in PC 200 get 4.48% on 1 January (forecast, Securex, 4 November 2026); in metal the indexation only follows on 1 July. The page on the January 2027 indexation has every committee.

The 2027-2028 wage norm: where things stand

Everything on top of indexation and pay scale falls under the wage norm: the maximum margin for labour cost growth, set per two-year period under the act of 26 July 1996. The Central Economic Council calculates in a technical report how much room there is compared with Germany, France and the Netherlands. The social partners set the norm in a collective agreement in the National Labour Council; if that fails, the government makes a mediation proposal and can set the norm itself by royal decree.

For 2025-2026 the social partners did not agree and the government set the norm at 0 percent by royal decree of 12 September 2025. For 2027-2028 nothing has been decided on 12 November 2026. In February 2026 the CRB wrote that the technical report with the maximum margin for 2027-2028 will appear in February 2027. A first estimate in that same report puts the wage cost handicap for 2026 at minus 1.0 or minus 1.1 percent: labour costs would have risen slightly more slowly since 1996 than in the neighbouring countries. That is an estimate, not a margin.

The 2025 coalition agreement keeps automatic indexation and the wage norm law in place, but asked the social partners for an opinion on reforming both laws by 31 December 2026. What comes of it is not known on 12 November 2026.

Centenindex and wage moderation

The centenindex is a wage moderation of 2% on the part of your reference pay above 4,000 euros a month. It has applied since 1 June 2026 and kicks in at your sector's next indexation moment, so in PC 200 on 1 January 2027. A second period is foreseen from 1 January 2028, but that date can still move. Use the centenindex calculator to see the effect on your own pay.

What is in your own hands

As long as there is no new wage norm, the room for a collective raise stays limited. What is always possible are pay scale increases: a higher job class or the experience steps of your scale do not count towards the wage norm. A different role or a different employer is in practice often the fastest route to higher pay.