Sick leave by country / Belgium
Sick leave and sick pay in Belgium
Who pays when someone is ill, how much, for how long, and what the certificate rules are — in plain English, whether you run a team in Belgium or work on one.
In Belgium the employer pays a guaranteed salary (salaire garanti / gewaarborgd loon) for the first 30 days of sickness — 100% for white-collar employees and, for blue-collar workers, 100% for the first week then a tiered percentage for the rest of the month. From day 31 the health insurance fund (mutualité) pays 60% of capped salary for up to a year of primary incapacity, then invalidity. Since 2024, employees in companies of 50 or more may take three one-day absences a year without a certificate.
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How it works
Belgian sick pay starts with the employer. For white-collar employees the guaranteed salary is 100% of gross pay for 30 calendar days. For blue-collar workers with a month's service it is 100% for days 1–7, 85.88% for days 8–14, and for days 15–30 a combination of a percentage of capped salary plus 85.88% of the part above the cap, with the mutualité contributing. After 30 days the employee moves to the mutualité, which pays 60% of the capped salary during the first year (primary incapacity) and an invalidity benefit thereafter. The law of 22 November 2022 removed the certificate requirement for up to three single-day absences a year in companies with at least 50 employees; otherwise the work rules (règlement de travail) decide when a certificate is due. Employees must notify immediately and may be examined by a control doctor at the employer's expense.
Worth knowing: A relapse within 14 days of returning to work does not restart the 30-day guaranteed-salary period unless a certificate says it is a new illness.
If you run a team in Belgium
Pay the guaranteed salary from the first day — there is no waiting day. Check whether the employee is white- or blue-collar for the correct scale. You may send a médecin-contrôleur to verify incapacity. Certificates can be required under your work rules, except for the three certificate-free single days in companies of 50 or more. Sick days do not count as annual leave, and annual leave accrues during the first 12 months of incapacity.
If you work in Belgium
Tell your employer immediately and send a certificate if the work rules require it (in companies of 50+, three single days a year need none). You receive your normal salary for 30 days; after that your mutualité pays 60% of a capped salary, so register with it promptly. A control doctor can check on you at home or in a consultation.
Sickness and annual leave
Since 2024, an employee who falls ill during annual leave and provides a certificate keeps those days as leave to take later. Annual leave entitlement accrues on periods of sickness treated as assimilated days, up to 12 months.
The annual leave entitlement itself is covered on our Belgium annual leave page — 20 working days minimum.
Keeping the record straight
Sick pay rules turn on dates: the day the illness started, the day the certificate was due, the day the employer's obligation ends and the benefit takes over. In Belgium those dates decide who pays and how much, and they have to be provable months later — to a payroll auditor, an insurer, or the employee. A shared spreadsheet rarely survives that; a tracker like Leavo records each absence with its dates and approvals alongside annual leave, so the record exists before anyone asks for it. We compare the options in our leave management software guide, and the policy side — carryover, payout, accrual — in our guides.
Sick leave in Belgium: common questions
Is there a waiting day?
No. The unpaid first day (jour de carence) for blue-collar workers was abolished in 2014; guaranteed salary starts on the first day for everyone with the required service.
How much does the mutualité pay after the first month?
60% of the salary up to a ceiling during the first year of primary incapacity, subject to minimum amounts, then an invalidity benefit whose rate depends on family situation.
Can my employer send a doctor to check on me?
Yes. A control doctor may verify your incapacity from the first day; refusing the check without good reason can cost you the guaranteed salary for the days concerned.
What happens if I fall ill during my annual leave in Belgium?
Since 2024, an employee who falls ill during annual leave and provides a certificate keeps those days as leave to take later. Annual leave entitlement accrues on periods of sickness treated as assimilated days, up to 12 months.
Source
Primary source: Loi du 3 juillet 1978 relative aux contrats de travail (salaire garanti); assurance indemnités INAMI. Rates and caps change — often every January or April — and collective agreements frequently improve on the statutory scheme. Confirm against the current text before acting. See our methodology.