Shift premium per sector: what the agreement says
Per Belgian joint committee the sector shift premium for two shifts, three shifts, night, full-continuous and weekend work, taken literally from the agreement, with source and check date. No sector premium? Then it says so.
| Joint committee | Sector | Sector arrangement |
|---|---|---|
| PC 111 | metal, blue-collar | Provincial agreements: in West and East Flanders at least 10% for day shifts and 20% for the night shift; elsewhere fixed amounts or company agreements |
| PC 112 | garages | Base wage plus 10% for early and late shifts, plus 20% for night work between 20:00 and 06:00 |
| PC 116 | chemicals, blue-collar | Fixed minimum amounts per hour: morning and afternoon shift 0.9019 euros, night shift 3.0244 euros (40-hour week, as of April 2025) |
| PC 118 | food, blue-collar | Differs per subsector; in the meat subsectors 10% for day shifts and 20% for night work between 22:00 and 06:00, or fixed amounts per hour |
| PC 124 | construction | Hours between 06:00 and 22:00 in successive shifts at 110% of the wage, hours between 22:00 and 06:00 at 125% |
| PC 140.03 | transport and logistics | No shift premium; a night work allowance of 1.8870 euros per hour for driving staff (January 2026) |
| PC 149.01 | electricians | Base wage plus 10% for early and late shifts, plus 20% for night work between 20:00 and 06:00 |
| PC 149.02 | bodywork | No sector shift premium; the agreement collection only has a framework for night regimes, the premium is set in the company |
| PC 149.04 | metal trade | Base wage plus 10% for early and/or late shifts, plus 20% for night work between 20:00 and 06:00 |
| PC 200 | auxiliary committee, white-collar | No sector shift premium; the premium is in your company agreement, work rules or employment contract |
| PC 207 | chemicals, white-collar | No sector shift premium for white-collar staff; the chemical agreements regulate the premium per company |
| PC 209 | metal, white-collar | No sector shift premium for white-collar staff; the premium is in your company agreement or employment contract |
| PC 220 | food, white-collar | Fixed amounts per full month worked in shifts: 24.79 euros in two shifts, 61.97 euros in three shifts |
| PC 226 | logistics, white-collar | No sector shift or night premium; only a weekend supplement for water clerks, the rest is set in the company |
Sources: sector fiches of the Federal Employment Service and the FOD agreement database; for PC 149.02 and 226 the agreement collections of the social partners. All sources checked on 22 October 2026.
How to read this table
A shift premium is not in the law but in a collective agreement. The table gives the sector minimum of your joint committee: a percentage on your hourly wage or a fixed amount per hour or per month. Your company agreement, work rules or employment contract may go higher, never lower.
If there is no sector premium, the joint committee has not agreed one and your company decides. If you structurally work nights, at least the hourly allowance of agreement no. 49 of the National Labour Council applies in every sector.
Click a committee for the arrangement per system, a worked example on the minimum hourly wage and the nuances from the agreement.
Frequently asked questions about the shift premium
Is a shift premium mandatory?
No, not by law. An employer only has to pay a shift premium if the agreement of your joint committee, a company agreement, the work rules or your employment contract says so. Most industrial sectors have such a sector arrangement; PC 200, 207, 209 and 226 do not, there the company decides. For night work there is a cross-sector floor: anyone usually working in a regime with night work gets at least the hourly allowance of agreement no. 49 of the National Labour Council, 1.54 euros per hour since 1 July 2026 (1.85 euros from age 50).
Source: Securex, Moet de werkgever een premie betalen voor arbeid in opeenvolgende ploegen? (17 juni 2026); Securex, Moet ik een premie betalen voor nachtarbeid? (30 juli 2026); Nationale Arbeidsraad, tabel bedragen cao nr. 49, artikel 2 (stand 01/07/2026) (checked on 22 October 2026)
Is a shift premium per hour or per day?
That follows the agreement. Most blue-collar sectors work with a percentage on the hourly wage (construction 110% and 125%, electricians, garages and metal trade 10% and 20%) or with a fixed amount per hour worked (chemicals). For white-collar staff in food it is a fixed amount per full month worked in shifts. A premium per day or per shift mostly appears in company agreements. So check your own agreement and the description on your payslip.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, sectorfiche PC 124 (laatste aanpassing 13/10/2026); FOD Werkgelegenheid, sectorfiche PC 116 (laatste aanpassing 14/07/2025); FOD Werkgelegenheid, sectorfiche PC 220 (laatste aanpassing 05/02/2026) (checked on 22 October 2026)
Is a shift premium taxed?
Yes. The shift premium is ordinary pay: you pay social security contributions and withholding tax on it and it counts in your taxable income. The often mentioned tax relief for shift and night work (article 275/5 of the Income Tax Code) is an exemption from remitting withholding tax: the employer withholds the tax on your pay as always, but may keep part of it (22.8%, or 25% for full-continuous work) instead of remitting it to the Treasury. Nothing changes on your payslip. One condition is that the premium is at least 2% (shifts) or 12% (night) of the gross hourly wage and, since 1 April 2024, is laid down in an agreement, the work rules or the employment contract.
Source: FOD Financiën, Vrijstellingen van bedrijfsvoorheffing: algemeen; Securex, Nacht- en ploegenarbeid: zo behoud je de fiscale vrijstelling na 1 april 2024 (6 februari 2024) (checked on 22 October 2026)
Do you get your shift premium when sick?
During the guaranteed wage period your employer keeps paying your normal wage: for blue-collar workers 100% for the first seven days and then a declining percentage up to the thirtieth day, for white-collar staff 100% for thirty days. Whether your shift premium is part of that normal wage depends on your agreement and your roster: if you work in shifts permanently, the premium belongs to the pay you would normally have earned; for occasional shift work it differs per sector. Check with your payroll provider or union and look at how the premium is described on your payslip. After the guaranteed wage the health insurance fund pays a benefit based on your capped gross wage.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, Schorsing van de arbeidsovereenkomst: ziekte en ongeval; Securex, Heeft de werknemer recht op gewaarborgd loon? (16 februari 2026) (checked on 22 October 2026)
Does the shift premium count towards your pension?
Yes. Your employee pension is calculated on your gross income on which social security contributions were withheld: wages, premiums and single holiday pay. The shift premium is such a premium and therefore counts, up to the wage ceiling per career year. The same goes for a sector or company pension plan that calculates on your gross wage; check the pension regulations for that.
Source: Federale Pensioendienst, Lonen werknemers (checked on 22 October 2026)
Does the shift premium count for public holidays and holiday pay?
For a public holiday you get the wage you would normally have earned. For those paid by the hour that is the normal hourly wage times the lost hours, and the hourly average of the premiums is calculated over the pay period before the holiday. A regular shift premium is therefore included. For the holiday pay of blue-collar workers the National Office for Annual Leave counts 15.38% on your gross annual wage at 108%, as declared to social security; the shift premium is part of that gross wage. For white-collar staff the employer calculates holiday pay itself; your payroll provider can tell you how regular premiums count in it.
Source: Securex, Hoe wordt het loon voor de feestdag berekend? (13 februari 2026); Rijksdienst voor Jaarlijkse Vakantie, Berekening vakantiegeld (checked on 22 October 2026)
How much is a shift premium?
There is no fixed amount for the whole of Belgium. The sector minimums in this hub range from 10% for an early or late shift and 20 to 25% for night work (metal, construction, electricians, garages, metal trade, meat) to fixed amounts per hour (chemicals) or per month (white-collar food). Company agreements are often higher; the sector premium is the floor. A full-continuous system with weekend work has no separate sector premium in any of these committees: that is agreed per company.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, sectorfiche PC 111 (laatste aanpassing 10/07/2026); FOD Werkgelegenheid, sectorfiche PC 124 (laatste aanpassing 13/10/2026); FOD Werkgelegenheid, sectorfiche PC 116 (laatste aanpassing 14/07/2025); FOD Werkgelegenheid, sectorfiche PC 118 (laatste aanpassing 26/02/2026) (checked on 22 October 2026)
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