BELGIUM PEO & EOR
Hire in Belgium without
a local entity today
As a Global PEO & EOR service provider, we pride ourselves on our global reach, in-country knowledge, and ability to swiftly and efficiently mobilize workers around the world. Our robust PEO/EOR covers everything from global HR, payroll, compliance, in-country support, immigration, visas, and more.
Get started and hire in Belgium today with Gibson Watts Global.
DID YOU KNOW
- Despite its name and popularity, French fries are not actually French. According to lore, they are thought to originate from Belgium.
- Aside from its fantastic food scene, Belgium is also known for having more castles per square meter than any other country.
- Belgium is home to the Delirium Café, a bar that holds the Guinness World Record for the longest beer list, standing at a staggering 2,004! Belgium also hosts one of the best beer festivals in the world: Belgian Beer Weekend.
Forget software,
this is expansion
with a human touch
Belgium PEO Services
Where European charm meets lively urban culture
Nestled between France, Germany, and the Netherlands, Belgium is the perfect launchpad for global expansion in Europe. Renowned for its pastoral landscapes, rich historical heritage, and exceptional living standards, the country consistently ranks among the top places to live in the world.
Many of the world’s biggest brands, such as Toyota Motor Europe, Google, and Procter & Gamble, have set up offices here to take advantage of the country’s world-class logistics and infrastructure. It is an important hub for international politics and diplomacy too, with the European Union and NATO located in its capital, Brussels.
Belgium boasts superb and affordable healthcare, high-quality education, and fantastic food and cultural scenes. With its highly educated, bilingual workforce, and history of assisting the growth of international business, Belgium is an ideal place for entrepreneurs to establish a business. Moreover, it is one of the best countries to look for top talent as the country has excellent universities and research and development centres that produce highly qualified workers.
The country offers a myriad of opportunities for international companies wanting to expand their reach into Europe, and this can be made easier with the help of a PEO provider, such as Gibson Watts Global. We offer comprehensive HR, benefits, payroll, and tax support to help businesses expand their teams abroad. By outsourcing these services to Gibson Watts Global, new hires and teams can have more time and energy to devote to the growth and success of their business.
Working in Belgium
Working hours
In 2022, Belgium approved a four-day work week, allowing all employees in Belgium, whether they work in the public or the private sector, to have the choice of working nine and a half hours a day over four days or eight hours a day over five days.
Leave entitlement
In Belgium, full-time employees are usually entitled to 4 weeks’ leave per year, but this varies for blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, apprentices, workers in the arts, and civil servants.
Mothers are entitled to 15 weeks of maternity leave or 19 weeks in the case of multiple births: this includes two periods:
Prenatal leave: A maximum period of 6 weeks before the expected due date. A mother is obliged to take at least 1 week prior to childbirth, and the remaining weeks can be postponed as postnatal maternity leave.
Postnatal leave: A period of 9 weeks starting on the day of birth.
The amount of maternity benefit is calculated as 82% of the employee’s salary for the first 30 days and 75% from the 31st day onwards. If self-employed, the benefit is a flat-rate amount each week.
Following the birth of a child, fathers or co-parents are entitled to ten days of paid paternity leave, seven of which are paid by the social security system at 82% of their salary.
Public holidays
Belgium has 10 official public holidays:
- 1st January
- Easter Monday
- 1st May
- Ascension
- Whit Monday
- 21st July
- Assumption (15th August)
- All Saints’ Day (1st November)
- Armistice Day (11th November)
- Christmas Day (25th December)
If any of the public holidays fall on a weekend, your annual leave is automatically incremented, meaning you can choose the extra holiday day freely yourself.
Visas
You will need both a visa and a permit to study, work, or live in Belgium if you plan to stay longer than three months.
Depending on the situation, you can apply for two types of visas: a Belgian short-stay visa (up to 90 days) and a Belgian long-stay visa (longer than 90 days).
After travelling to Belgium with a long-term (D) visa, you have to apply for a residence permit to live there long term. The residence permit will then replace the D visa.
Taxes
Income tax must be paid by all people who have settled in Belgium or made it their centre of financial interest, regardless of nationality.
The general tax rate for business tax is 25%. Small and medium businesses are taxed at 20% on the first €100,000.
| Yearly taxable income | Tax rate |
| €0–€13 540 | 25% |
| €13,541–€23 900 | 40% |
| €23,901–€41 360 | 45% |
| €41,360+ | 50% |
Cultural Information
Belgium is so much more than the land of waffles, chocolate, and beer. It is a country also known for its diverse cultural heritage, rich history of art, architecture, and their national football team, the Red Devils.
Travelling around Belgium is never difficult. As a small country, there is an extensive public transportation system that will allow you to see all the sites at a reasonable price.
There are three official languages of Belgium: Dutch (Flemish), French, and German, but many people also speak English as a second language. The country has a long tradition of bilingualism, with many people able to speak at least two languages fluently. While Dutch and French are spoken by almost 100% of Belgians, German only counts for roughly 1% of the entire population.
The majority of the population in Belgium is Roman Catholic, with about 60% of the population identifying as Catholic. However, there is a significant minority of Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish communities as well.