1. Vacation (Statutory vacation)
Setting | Standard for Belgium |
Accrual model | Annual entitlement based on work performed in the previous calendar year |
Vacation period | 01.01 – 31.12 (vacation earned the previous year) |
Annual quota | Typically up to 20 days for full-time employment |
New employees | New employees normally earn vacation during the first year for use in the following vacation year. In practice, advances or supplementary schemes may occur depending on company policy. |
Transfer | Statutory vacation must normally be taken before the end of the year |
Public holidays | Loaded via the public holiday module (official national holidays) |
Annual accrual is configured via the functional article:
🔗 Vacation policy – annual accrual
2. Supplementary balances
Supplementary balances are used for additional days off beyond statutory vacation. These are not created automatically when selecting a country.
Typical supplementary balances in Belgium:
Supplementary balance | Added in BitaBIZ |
ADV days (working time reduction) | Yes |
RTT days (Réduction du Temps de Travail) | Yes |
Extra-legal leave / company-specific days off | Yes |
The period, accrual, and settlement depend on the company agreement. See the functional article:
3. Other leave – Standard Belgian leave types
The Other leave module is used for longer or special leave types, which are registered in full days.
Typical Belgian leave types may include:
Leave type | Affects vacation accrual | Requires approval |
Maternity leave (Congé de maternité / Moederschapsverlof) | No | Yes |
Birth leave / Paternity leave (Congé de naissance / Geboorteverlof) | No | Yes |
Parental leave (Congé parental / Ouderschapsverlof) | No | Yes |
Unpaid leave | Yes | Yes |
Short leave for special events (Petit chômage / Klein verlet) | No | No |
⚠️ Leave is registered in full days. Weekends and public holidays are not counted.
4. Sick leave
Sick leave can be registered as daily registrations or periods. Registration in hours can be enabled if standard hours are configured.
⚠️ Weekends and public holidays do not count as sick days.
5. Working hours and time registration
When selecting Belgium, no time registration method is activated automatically. The administrator must manually choose between:
Time registration without hour bank
Time registration with hour bank
⚠️ The choice depends on whether working hours are accumulated as a balance or only documented.
🔗 See more about creating Time registration with an hour bank
🔗 See more about creating Time registration without an hour bank
Important
The standard setup is based on common practice in Belgium.
Companies covered by collective agreements or special arrangements must adjust the policies manually.