Severance Pay Calculation in Belgium: Loi Peeters Guide 2026

Severance Pay in Belgium: The Legal Framework

Belgium's employment termination system underwent a major overhaul with the Loi relative au statut unique (Loi Peeters), officially the Law of 26 December 2013, which came into force on 1 January 2014. This law unified the notice periods for blue-collar workers (ouvriers) and white-collar workers (employés), eliminating the historic disparity that had existed for over a century.

Notice Period vs. Severance Pay

In Belgium, an employer who dismisses an employee must either:

• Provide a notice period: The employee continues to work during the notice period and receives normal salary
• Pay severance in lieu of notice (indemnité compensatoire de préavis): The employer pays the equivalent salary for the notice period without requiring the employee to work

The severance amount equals the total remuneration (including benefits, bonuses, company car value, meal vouchers, group insurance contributions, etc.) that the employee would have earned during the notice period.

Calculating the Notice Period Under Loi Peeters

The unified notice periods under the Loi Peeters are based on seniority (years of service). The periods apply to dismissals by the employer:

• 0-3 months: 1 week per started month (1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks)
• 3-6 months: 4 weeks
• 6-9 months: 5 weeks
• 9-12 months: 6 weeks
• 12-15 months: 7 weeks
• 15-18 months: 8 weeks
• 18-21 months: 9 weeks
• 21-24 months: 10 weeks
• 2 years: 11 weeks
• 3 years: 12 weeks
• 4 years: 13 weeks
• 5 years: 15 weeks

After 5 years of seniority, the notice period increases by 3 weeks per additional year of service. For example, 10 years of seniority gives 30 weeks, and 20 years gives 60 weeks of notice.

The Transitional Regime (Double Calculation)

For employees hired before 1 January 2014, a transitional regime applies. The notice period is calculated in two parts:

• Part 1: Seniority accrued before 1 January 2014, calculated under the old rules (which differed for blue-collar and white-collar workers)
• Part 2: Seniority accrued from 1 January 2014 onwards, calculated under the new unified rules

The two parts are added together to determine the total notice period. For former white-collar workers earning above EUR 36,785 (2013 threshold), the old Part 1 calculation used the Claeys formula (1 month per year of seniority, approximately). For blue-collar workers, Part 1 was typically much shorter, but a supplementary compensation (indemnité de licenciement) may apply to bridge the gap.

What Counts as Remuneration?

The severance calculation must include all elements of remuneration as defined by the Law of 12 April 1965 on the protection of workers' remuneration:

• Base salary (gross)
• Variable pay, commissions, and bonuses (average over the last 12 months)
• End-of-year premium (13th month) if contractual
• Benefit in kind of a company car (catalogue value formula)
• Employer's contribution to group insurance
• Meal vouchers (employer contribution minus EUR 1.09 employee contribution)
• Housing allowance or free housing

Dismissal for Serious Cause (Faute Grave)

Under Article 35 of the Employment Contracts Law of 3 July 1978, an employer may dismiss an employee without notice or severance pay for faute grave (serious cause). This is defined as a serious breach that makes any further professional collaboration immediately and definitively impossible. The employer must follow strict procedural requirements: notification within 3 working days of learning of the facts, followed by a detailed written statement of the grounds within another 3 working days.

Use DroitAI's Severance Calculator

DroitAI features a built-in Belgian severance pay calculator based on the Loi Peeters rules. Enter your seniority, salary, and benefits, and our tool will compute your exact notice period and severance amount, including the transitional calculation for pre-2014 employment. Our AI assistant can also explain your rights and help you draft a response to your employer.