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Payment of Monthly Salary 13.92 times?
Hello all,
I'm hoping someone could clear this up for me. As far as I understand, under Belgian employment law, monthly salaries are to be paid a total of 13.92 times per year, that is, the employee gets his monthly salary paid for two extra months (almost). I'm unsure as to how this process actually works.
If one were to start work with a contract for a duree indeterminee under Belgian law and their contract does not mention anything about the extra 1.92 months, only explaining the monthly salary, the that employee is entitled to the extra 1.92 months salary, correct?
If that employee were to start work not on the 1st January but during the year, he/she would entitled to the payment of the extra 1.92 months pro rata, correct? So, to give a concrete example, if John were to start work under these conditions on 1st June at a salary of 4,000 euro per month, when the bonus payments are made at Christmas, what percentage of his salary is he entitled to receive?
Thanks for your responses.
'An employee is entitled to the extra 1.92 months salary, correct.'
Incorrect.
This is common but not an absolute entitlement.
Also, the way and timing of payments can vary from employer to employer.
My employer paid an extra full month half way through May and an extra half month with the December salary so I got 13.5 months. Other employers may pay mid-month or with the normal salary and in different months.
All you can do is ask the HR people.
To elaborate a bit on the first reply:
- The so-called 13th month is the holiday pay (“double pécule de vacances”). It is usually paid in May, calculated pro rata based on the months worked as employee in Belgium in the previous calendar year. This 13th month is included in virtually all contracts as employee under Belgian law.
- The so-called 14th month (which is actually the 0.92 taxed at a higher rate) is the end of year bonus (“prime de fin d’année”). It is usually paid in December and calculated pro rata based on the months worked as employee in Belgium in the same calendar year. This is not an absolute entitlement, but quite common. It is not written in the work contract but either in the "convention collective" or in the "réglement de travail".
Regarding your question, it all depends on whether John was previously employed in Belgium or not. If this were John's first contract under Belgian law, he would be entitled to:
- 7/12 of the prime de fin d'année this year
- 7/12 of the pécule de vacances next year
- 100% of the prime de fin d'année next year
- 100% of the pécule de vacances in 2015
The amounts for the first prime de fin d'année and the first pécule de vacances could be adjusted if John came from another Belgian employer.
I have only realised now that the original question dates back to December last year! How on earth has it re-surfaced on the home page? What is going on?
