CLAs and sectoral agreements: what employers need to know
Picture the moment a social inspector shows up at your door. Or an employee asks why their end-of-year bonus is lower than a colleague in the same role, but at a different company. Or your accountant calls with a question: "Are you applying the right salary scales for your Joint Committee?"
That is not the moment you want to be caught speechless. And yet this is exactly where many employers get stuck, because the Belgian CLA structure is hardly a model of simplicity.
In this article we explain, step by step, what a collective labour agreement (CLA) actually is, which levels exist, what you as an employer are required to comply with, and how to look up the CLAs for your sector. No legal jargon, just the information you need to stay compliant.
What exactly is a CLA?
A collective labour agreement (CLA) is a written agreement between employers (or employer organisations) and employees (or employee organisations). It sets out arrangements on pay and working conditions: minimum wages, working hours, holiday days, end-of-year bonuses, notice periods and much more.
The difference from an individual employment contract? A CLA does not apply to a single employee, but to an entire group. Sometimes to all employees in Belgium, sometimes to everyone in a given sector, sometimes only within a single company.
This is where it gets legal. Not boring legal, but important. A CLA has a special status in Belgium. As soon as a sectoral CLA is declared generally binding by Royal Decree, it carries the same binding force as a law. As an employer you cannot simply deviate from it, even if you are not a member of the employer organisation that signed the CLA.
The three levels of CLAs in Belgium
Belgium has a layered system of social dialogue. Think of it as a pyramid with three floors, where each layer becomes more specific.
Level 1: the cross-industry CLA (National Labour Council)
At the top of the pyramid are the CLAs concluded within the National Labour Council (NAR). These apply to virtually all employees and employers in the private sector, regardless of the sector.
The National Labour Council is made up of representatives of the most representative employer and employee organisations. Together they conclude CLAs on topics that affect everyone. Think of the guaranteed average minimum monthly income (GGMMI), the right to time credit, or the rules around outplacement.
A well-known example? CLA No. 109 on the justification of dismissal. It applies to every employer in the private sector.
Every two years, the social partners also negotiate an interprofessional agreement (IPA). Among other things, that agreement sets the wage norm, the maximum margin within which wages may rise on top of indexation. For the 2025-2026 period, that wage norm was set at 0%. This does not mean wages are frozen. Indexations and salary-scale increases based on seniority remain guaranteed. But there is no additional room for pay rises through negotiation.
Level 2: the sectoral CLA (Joint Committee)
One level down, CLAs are concluded within the Joint Committees. Each Joint Committee (JC) groups companies with similar activities. Belgium has more than a hundred of them, from JC 200 (the supplementary Joint Committee for white-collar workers) to JC 302 (hospitality) and JC 124 (construction).
Sectoral CLAs govern matters that are specific to that sector: minimum salary scales, job classifications, end-of-year bonuses, eco-vouchers, transport costs, trade union premiums and training obligations.
In practice, it is these sectoral CLAs that have the greatest impact on your day-to-day HR administration. They determine how much you must pay at a minimum, which premiums are mandatory, and which rules apply to flexibility and overtime.
Want to know which pay conditions apply to JC 200? That depends entirely on the sectoral CLAs concluded within that committee.
Level 3: the company CLA (the business)
At the lowest level, an employer can conclude a CLA with the trade union delegation within its own company. Such a company CLA can cover arrangements on remote work, a bonus scheme (CLA No. 90), specific working hours, or extra holiday days.
Important: a company CLA can never be less favourable than what the sectoral or cross-industry CLA provides. You may do better, never worse. This is what is known as the hierarchy of legal sources.
How the hierarchy between CLA levels works
That hierarchy is crucial to understand as an employer. In short:
- A company CLA may not deviate from the sectoral CLA (unless the sectoral CLA explicitly allows it)
- A sectoral CLA may not conflict with a cross-industry CLA from the National Labour Council
- A National Labour Council CLA may not conflict with the law
In practice, this means that as an employer you must always apply the level most favourable to the employee. Does your sectoral CLA set a higher minimum wage than the cross-industry minimum? Then the sectoral scale applies. Does your company CLA offer five extra holiday days on top of the sectoral arrangement? Then your employees get those five extra days.
Let's take a step back. Employers regularly ask us: "But what if I don't know which CLAs apply to me?" That is not a silly question. With more than a hundred Joint Committees and thousands of CLAs, it is a real challenge. Further on, we explain how to look this up.
What does "declared generally binding" mean?
You will come across this term often, and it is essential. When a sectoral CLA is filed with the registry of the Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue (FPS Employment) and is then declared generally binding by Royal Decree, it becomes binding on all employers and employees who fall under that Joint Committee.
Here is the key point. Even if you are not affiliated with an employer organisation, even if you did not take part in the negotiations, even if you disagree with it: you are bound.
Non-compliance can lead to sanctions. The Social Criminal Code provides for criminal fines and administrative fines for employers who fail to comply with the normative provisions of a generally binding CLA. The fines are multiplied by the number of employees involved, so the bill can add up quickly.
At Recruit we notice that many employers are unaware of this, especially start-up entrepreneurs or businesses hiring staff for the first time. You can keep track of this yourself by regularly checking the FPS Employment website, or you can have your payroll administration and compliance handled by a partner like Recruit. That way you can be sure the correct salary scales and premiums are applied automatically.
Your obligations as an employer: an overview
What do you concretely need to do to be in order with the CLAs that apply to your company?
Know which Joint Committee you fall under. This sounds obvious, but it is the foundation. Your JC number appears on your employees' payslips. Not sure? The FPS Employment can issue a ruling on the competent Joint Committee for your activity.
Apply the correct salary scales. Every sector has its own minimum wages, often linked to job classification and seniority. Those scales are indexed regularly. For 2026, the most recent indexations are already in force. Paying too little? Then you risk not only fines, but also claims for back pay.
Pay the mandatory premiums and benefits. End-of-year bonuses, eco-vouchers, trade union premiums, commuting allowances: it all depends on your sectoral CLAs. Some premiums are monthly, others annual. Some apply to all employees, others only to certain categories.
Respect the sectoral working-time rules. CLAs may allow deviations from the standard working time, set overtime arrangements, or provide for specific rest periods.
Follow the procedures for dismissal. The statutory notice periods are the minimum, but sectoral CLAs can impose additional obligations: outplacement support, specific dismissal procedures, or special protection rules.
Inform your employees. You are required to make the applicable CLAs available to your employees. They must know which rights and obligations apply to them.
After more than 15 years in Belgian payroll, we know this list can feel overwhelming. Especially if you work with several Joint Committees (think of companies with both blue-collar and white-collar workers, or businesses with mixed activities). Our HR experts handle questions about exactly these topics every day.
How to find the CLAs for your sector
Good news: all sectoral CLAs filed since January 1999 are available online. Here are your options.
Via the FPS Employment website (werk.belgie.be). Go to the section "Joint Committees and collective labour agreements". There you will find a search screen that lets you look up CLAs by Joint Committee, topic, or registration number. You can also consult the coordinated scope of competence of each Joint Committee.
Via the minimum wage database. Specifically for salary scales, the FPS Employment offers a separate database. You select your joint subcommittee and get an overview of the applicable minimum wages per job category and seniority.
Via your social secretariat or payroll partner. In practice, this is how most employers do it. Your social secretariat automatically applies the relevant CLAs in the payroll calculation. At Recruit we work with all Belgian Joint Committees and make sure the correct scales, premiums and contributions are calculated automatically.
Via the National Labour Council website (cnt-nar.be). For cross-industry CLAs, you can turn to the website of the National Labour Council. There you will find all its CLAs by topic, including the most recent changes.
A practical tip: keep an overview of the CLAs that apply to your company and check at least once a year whether any new or amended CLAs have been added. Sectoral negotiations generally take place every two years, following the interprofessional agreement.
Sectoral agreements: more than just pay
Many employers immediately think of salary scales when it comes to CLAs. That makes sense, because it is the most tangible aspect. But sectoral agreements go much further.
Training and development. Many sectors have CLAs that impose a minimum number of training days per employee per year. In some sectors there are sectoral training funds that (partly) finance that training.
SWT and end-of-career jobs. The scheme of unemployment with company allowance (SWT/RCC, formerly known as early retirement) and the arrangement around end-of-career jobs for older employees are set out per sector in CLAs.
Trade union rights. The establishment of a trade union delegation, the powers of the committee for prevention and protection at work, and the right to trade union leave are governed by sectoral CLAs.
Flexibility and overtime. In certain sectors, such as hospitality (JC 302) or construction (JC 124), specific CLAs allow additional flexibility in terms of working time and overtime.
Job classification. How are roles classified? Which job description matches which salary-scale level? That is not set out in the law, but in sectoral CLAs.
Note: the rules can differ significantly per Joint Committee and sector. What applies in JC 200 for white-collar workers does not automatically apply in JC 111 for the metalworking sector. Always check the specific CLAs for your JC.
Common pitfalls in CLA compliance
We regularly see companies fall into the same traps. Here are the four most common ones.
The wrong Joint Committee. It happens more often than you would think. A company that combines online marketing with event organisation can fall under two different committees. A wrong classification means wrong scales, wrong premiums, wrong contributions. And if the NSSO finds this during an inspection, a regularisation with retroactive effect follows. That gets expensive.
Not keeping up with amended CLAs. Sectoral negotiations run continuously. New indexations, changed premiums, adjusted job classifications. If you miss those changes, you either pay too little (risk of fines and claims) or too much (money you will not get back).
A company CLA that conflicts with the sectoral CLA. Sometimes an employer concludes an agreement with the trade union delegation in good faith, without realising it conflicts with a higher-level CLA. Such a company CLA is void on the points where it deviates.
Forgotten premiums and benefits. Eco-vouchers, trade union premiums, seniority premiums: these are obligations that sometimes stay under the radar, especially at smaller companies without an HR department.
The interprofessional agreement and wage norm
Every two years, the social partners try to reach an agreement at interprofessional level. That interprofessional agreement (IPA) forms the framework within which sectoral negotiations take place.
One of the most important elements is the wage norm. It determines how much labour costs may rise at most on top of indexation and salary-scale increases. For 2025-2026, that margin was set at 0%, after the negotiations failed and the government set the wage norm by Royal Decree.
What does that mean in practice? As an employer, you may not give your employees a pay rise on top of what indexation and the existing scales provide, unless it concerns exceptions such as a profit premium, a CLA No. 90 bonus, or the purchasing power premium.
The honest truth? This system is complex. Even experienced HR professionals have to check the current state of play regularly. The combination of indexations, salary-scale increases, the wage norm and sectoral premiums makes payroll calculation specialist work.
What about contracts for temporary staff?
For temporary employment, agency work and payrolling, the CLA story remains just as relevant. A temp worker working at your company is entitled to the same pay and working conditions as your permanent employees in a comparable role. That is the principle of equal pay for equal work.
Do your temporary staff work under a different Joint Committee than your permanent staff? Then the CLAs of that committee apply to them. That makes things even more complex when you work with multiple profiles.
In short
The Belgian CLA structure is built on three levels: cross-industry, sectoral and company level. As an employer, you are bound by the CLAs that apply to your Joint Committee, especially once they have been declared generally binding. The obligations range from correct salary scales to premiums, training and dismissal procedures. And yes, the fines for non-compliance are real.
Knowing your CLAs is not a luxury. It is a basic requirement for every employer in Belgium.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a CLA and an individual employment contract? A CLA applies to an entire group of employees (a sector, a company, or all employees in Belgium), while an individual employment contract contains the arrangements between a single employer and a single employee. The individual contract can never be less favourable than what the CLA provides.
How do I know which Joint Committee applies to my company? Your JC number appears on your employees' payslips. Not sure, or just getting started? Then you can ask the FPS Employment for a ruling on the competent Joint Committee. On werk.belgie.be you can also find the scopes of competence per committee.
What happens if I don't comply with a CLA? Failing to comply with a generally binding CLA exposes you to criminal or administrative fines via the Social Criminal Code. The fines are multiplied per employee involved. In addition, employees can claim back pay, including interest.
Can I conclude a CLA myself as an employer? Yes, at company level you can conclude a CLA with the trade union delegation in your business. But that company CLA can never conflict with a sectoral or cross-industry CLA, unless the higher-level CLA explicitly allows it.
Where do I find the current salary scales for my sector? On the FPS Employment website (werk.belgie.be) you will find the minimum wage database. Select your joint subcommittee and you get an overview of the applicable minimum wages per job category and seniority.
How Recruit helps you
Would you rather focus on your core business than on payroll administration? That is what Recruit is for.
With Recruit:
- Contracts in under 60 seconds: create trial and temp contracts without the hassle
- Automatic payroll calculation: correct pay in line with current legislation and your Joint Committee
- Dimona and social documents: we handle all declarations, you focus on your business
- 24/7 personal support: always a dedicated contact who knows your company
- No fixed monthly costs: pay only for what you use
Try Recruit or get in touch with our HR experts for tailored advice.
The information in this article is purely informative and does not replace professional legal or accounting advice. Employment law changes regularly. Always consult the current legislation or contact an HR expert for advice tailored to your situation. Please note: the rules can differ per Joint Committee and sector. This article provides general guidelines. For specific advice tailored to your sector, contact our HR specialists.