Working fixed nights: roster, rules and pay
In fixed nights you always work at night, without switching to an early or late shift. During the day other colleagues run the work, often in two shifts. Your rhythm is fixed, but runs opposite to that of most people around you.
Example roster, fixed nights (every week)
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed night crew | 22-6 | 22-6 | 22-6 | 22-6 | 22-6 | off | off |
| Day crew, early | 6-14 | 6-14 | 6-14 | 6-14 | 6-14 | off | off |
| Day crew, late | 14-22 | 14-22 | 14-22 | 14-22 | 14-22 | off | off |
Example: every company makes its own roster. The night shift starts on Monday at 22:00 and the last night ends on Saturday at 06:00. During the day two other crews work here. At 8 hours a night you work 40 hours a week; you get the difference with the 38-hour week back, for example as compensatory rest days.
In which sectors
You see fixed night crews in maintenance and breakdown service (work on installations that produce during the day), in production and in logistics.
What this system asks of you
- Being able to sleep during the day: a dark, quiet bedroom and fixed sleep hours, as far as possible at weekends too.
- Deciding on your own: at night managers and support services are usually not around.
- A social life you plan deliberately, because your free hours fall while others work.
Advantages
- A fixed rhythm, without a weekly switch.
- You fall under agreements no. 46 and no. 49, with the allowance per night hour and the right to ask for day work later.
- Your days are free for things that can only be done during the day.
Disadvantages
- You live against the rhythm of your family and friends.
- Daytime sleep is lighter and more easily disturbed.
- If you move to day work later, you lose the night allowance.
Working shifts: honest about the pros and cons →
What does the law say?
A fixed night crew from 22:00 to 06:00 is a work scheme with night performances within the meaning of article 38. Agreements no. 46 and no. 49 apply: voluntariness at hiring, the right to ask for work without night performances after 20 years and the allowance per night hour.
What counts as night work
Work between 20:00 and 06:00 is night work. Since 1 June 2026 night work is in principle no longer prohibited in the sectors covered by the Labour Act of 16 March 1971 (Act of 18 May 2026). If you usually work between 20:00 and 06:00, always with work between midnight and 05:00, that is a work scheme with night performances within the meaning of article 38 of the Labour Act: your employer introduces it through a collective agreement or the work rules, after consultation. A roster that only falls outside midnight to 05:00, such as 14:00 to 22:00 or 05:00 to 13:00, is also night work, but not a night scheme within the meaning of article 38. In distribution and e-commerce, separate night premium rules apply to people who start from 1 June 2026.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, Nachtarbeid (regels vanaf 1 juni 2026); FOD Werkgelegenheid, Modernisering van het arbeidsrecht: vanaf 1 juni 2026 nieuwe maatregelen (wet van 18 mei 2026) (checked on 23 October 2026)
Agreement no. 46: your rights in night work
Agreement no. 46 of the National Labour Council applies to people who usually work a roster with performances between 20:00 and 06:00. People who only work between 06:00 and midnight, or who usually start from 05:00, fall outside it. At hiring you only enter such a roster voluntarily, unless your training led you to a profession that normally involves night work. If you are at least 50 and have worked at least 20 years in such rosters, you may ask for work without night performances for serious medical reasons recognised by the occupational physician; from 55 with 20 years you may ask without a medical reason. Your employer then has six months to offer you suitable work in writing. A pregnant employee can ask to leave the night roster. If you are away from home more than 12 hours a day or travel at least 4 hours a day, your employer provides transport or contributes to the cost, unless a sector or company agreement gives at least as much.
Source: Nationale Arbeidsraad, cao nr. 46 van 23 maart 1990 over begeleidingsmaatregelen bij ploegenarbeid met nachtprestaties (gecoordineerde versie) (checked on 23 October 2026)
Agreement no. 49: an allowance per night hour
Agreement no. 49 guarantees a fixed financial allowance per hour on top of your hourly wage for people working a roster with night performances, with the same scope as agreement no. 46, and a higher amount from age 50. It only applies on the days you work those hours, and only if your sector or company had not already settled the matter before 1 January 1995 by agreement or collective arrangement. The current amount and the sector premiums per joint committee are in the shift premium hub.
Source: Nationale Arbeidsraad, cao nr. 49 van 21 mei 1991 over de financiele vergoeding bij nachtprestaties (gecoordineerde versie) (checked on 23 October 2026)
The 38-hour week and the reference period
The Labour Act sets the limit at 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week; since 1 January 2003 the weekly working time has been reduced to 38 hours (Act of 10 August 2001). Those 38 hours need not add up every week: they may be an average over a reference period of in principle one quarter, which can be extended to one year. If you work 40 hours every week, you get the difference back, for example as compensatory rest days. In successive shifts a day may run to 11 hours and a week to 50; in continuous work for technical reasons to 12 hours a day and 50 a week, or 56 if the work is spread over seven days of 8 hours. The average over the reference period must still add up.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, Arbeidsduur en vermindering van arbeidsduur (Arbeidswet van 16 maart 1971, art. 19 tot 26bis) (checked on 23 October 2026)
Rest between two shifts
Between the end of your work and the restart there are in principle at least 11 consecutive hours of rest (article 38ter of the Labour Act; agreement no. 46 says the same). Together with the weekly rest that gives a break of 35 consecutive hours a week. In shift and continuous work the rest may be shorter at the moment you change shifts, but working two shifts back to back is always prohibited.
Source: FOD Werkgelegenheid, Rusttijden (Arbeidswet van 16 maart 1971, art. 38ter); Nationale Arbeidsraad, cao nr. 46 van 23 maart 1990 over begeleidingsmaatregelen bij ploegenarbeid met nachtprestaties (gecoordineerde versie) (checked on 23 October 2026)
What it pays
A shift premium is not in the law but in the agreement of your joint committee or company. The shift premium hub shows per sector what applies; look at the column "Night".
Open shift vacancies
These vacancies mention shift work in their text; those with this system are listed first. Each vacancy states which system it is.
- Line Technician Filling Lines · Permanent · Shifts · Zoersel, Antwerp · €3,650 – €4,200 gross per month
- Breakdown Technician Nights · Permanent · Fixed nights · Waregem, West Flanders · €3,100 – €4,100 gross per month
- Team Leader Production Nights · Permanent · Fixed nights · Kortrijk, West Flanders · €3,300 – €4,500 gross per month
- Heavy Vehicle Maintenance Technician · Permanent · Shifts · Zelzate, East Flanders · €2,950 – €4,000 gross per month
- Technician Brake Systems · Permanent · Full-time · Brasschaat, Antwerp · €2,900 – €3,700 gross per month
- Electrical Technician Train Maintenance · Permanent · Shifts · Gistel, West Flanders · €2,900 – €3,700 gross per month
Frequently asked questions
How much shift premium do you get for fixed nights?
For fixed nights at least the hourly allowance of agreement no. 49 applies, with a higher amount from age 50, unless your sector or company already settled the matter before 1995. Many sectors also have their own night premium in their agreement. The current amount of agreement no. 49 and the premiums per joint committee are in the shift premium hub.
What counts as night work?
All work between 20:00 and 06:00. If you usually work those hours and always also between midnight and 05:00, it is a night scheme within the meaning of article 38 of the Labour Act, with the protection of agreement no. 46 and the allowance of agreement no. 49. The night premium itself is explained in the knowledge base.
Can you go back to day work after years of nights?
From age 50 with at least 20 years in night rosters you may ask for work without night performances for serious medical reasons recognised by the occupational physician. From 55 with 20 years you may ask without a medical reason. You submit a written request and your employer has six months to offer you suitable work, in its company or in another company in the same region.
Must you accept night work if your employer asks?
At hiring you can only enter a night roster voluntarily, unless your training led you to a profession that normally involves night work. If not all colleagues in your company or department work nights, moving to a night roster is in principle voluntary too, unless a sector or company agreement settles it differently.
What if you are pregnant and work nights?
You may ask in writing to leave the night roster, from at least three months before the expected due date until at least three months after the birth. With a medical certificate this is also possible in other periods of the pregnancy or longer after the birth.
This page summarises the legal rules and is not legal advice. Your work rules, your sector agreement and your payroll provider remain the final word.
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