Draft program act at the Chamber: employer social security cap and parental leave for foster care
06 Jun 2025
Last week, a draft program act containing (part of) the measures agreed on by the federal government in their so-called Easter agreement, was introduced in the Chamber. While a large portion of the draft program act is dedicated to tax measures and the reform of the system of unemployment benefits, it also contains two employment-related measures, which we’ll focus on in this newsletter. More specifically, it concerns the introduction of a salary cap for employer social security contributions and the extension of the right to parental leave to long-term foster parents. The draft program act must still be voted into law, so the measures explained below could still be subject to changes, but this is unlikely.
Salary cap for employer social security contributions
Firstly, the draft program act introduces a salary cap of EUR 85,000 per quarter (EUR 340,000 per year) for the calculation of employer social security contributions. This means that, starting 1 July 2025, no employer social security contributions will be due on the part of an employee's gross salary that exceeds EUR 85,000 per quarter. As evidenced by the text of the government agreement, this salary cap was first planned to be set at the level of the prime minister’s gross salary, which is appr. EUR 270,000 per year. The fact that the cap will start out higher is reportedly for budgetary reasons, however, it would still be the intention to lower the cap to the level of the prime minister’s salary, but only by 2027.
This legislative initiative marks a significant shift in Belgium’s social security regulations, as it will be the first time since 1982 that employer social security contributions will not be due on an employee’s uncapped salary. While the number of employees to which this new cap will apply will – at least initially – be somewhat limited due to its high amount, it represents a notable conceptual change in the framework of employer contributions. Given that the cap can be adjusted by Royal Decree, it holds the potential to bring substantial changes to the scope and application of these contributions in the future.
Parental leave for long-term foster care
Additionally, the program act expands the right to parental leave to employees who provide long-term care (at least six months) for a foster child in their household. This measure, which will apply for requests for leave as of 1 July 2025, will entitle foster parents to a maximum of four months of parental leave or equivalent in reduced working hours. During this period of leave, foster parents will be eligible for an interruption allowance provided by the National Employment Office.
More reforms are on the horizon
Further implementation of the Easter agreement
Although the draft program act already covers some of the employment-related measures included in the Easter agreement, the other ones must still be incorporated into a legislative text. They will likely form part of an act holding various matters, to be agreed upon by the council of ministers and presented to the Chamber soon. This mainly concerns the Easter agreement’s measures that focus on the reintegration of (long-term) ill employees, including but not limited to, introducing a 30% employer solidarity contribution on invalidity allowances during the two months following the period of guaranteed pay and reducing the medical force majeure waiting period from nine to six months.
Ongoing negotiations to keep on your employer radar
Next to the above-mentioned reforms that are already progressing on their respective legislative track, the Minister of Work also announced to have started negotiations on the next round of employment reforms, in line with the government agreement. These negotiations will reportedly cover topics such as introducing so-called ‘accordion-working schedules’ and a uniform system of voluntary overtime, limiting the notice period (or indemnity in lieu of) to 12 months in case of termination by the employer, changes to the system of flexi-jobs and more.
We will of course monitor these reforms and negotiations closely and will keep you posted on any future developments. If you have any questions in the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out; we’d love to hear from you!
