Belgian public holidays 2023 – deadline for communicating replacement days approaching
16 Nov 2022
In Belgium, public holidays that coincide with a Sunday or a day of usual inactivity in the company must be compensated with a day off on another day of normal activity. Determining these replacement days can be done at the level of the sector – by means of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to be adopted in the relevant joint committee – or, if no such CBA is available, at the level of the company. In the absence of such collective arrangements, the employer can come to an agreement with the individual employee in this respect. The employer must inform the employees, before 15 December of each year, of the days off that have been set at the sector - or company level to compensate for public holidays that coincide with a Sunday or usual day of inactivity.
2023 Public holidays
These are the 10 Belgian public holidays in 2023:
| New Year’s Day | Sunday 1 January 2023 |
| Easter Monday | Monday 10 April 2023 |
| Labour Day | Monday 1 May 2023 |
| Labour Day | Thursday 18 May 2023 |
| Whit Monday | Monday 29 May 2023 |
| National holiday | Friday 21 Juli 2023 |
| Assumption Day | Tuesday 15 August 2023 |
| All Saints’ Day | Wednesday 1 November 2023 |
| Armistice Day | Saturday 11 November 2023 |
| Christmas | Monday 25 December 2023 |
General principles
According to Belgian law, if a public holiday falls on a Sunday or on a day of usual inactivity in the company (which in a lot of companies is Saturday), it must be compensated with a day off on another day of normal business activity. A day of usual inactivity refers to a day on which, according to the work regulations, no work is performed in the company.
The replacement day will then count as a public holiday for the employees concerned.
How to determine replacement days?
The replacement of these public holidays can be organised at the level of the sector, via the adoption of a sector-specific CBA. In the absence of such a CBA, the day(s) off that compensate for the public holiday(s) that fall on a Sunday or on a day of usual inactivity in the company can be determined by the company’s works council.
In the absence of a works council, the employer can come to an arrangement in this respect with the company’s union delegation or – in the absence of a union delegation – with the employees, collectively.
If no decision is taken on one of these levels, arrangements can be made via individual agreement between the employer and the employee.
What if no replacement days are set at sector or company level?
If no replacement days are determined on the basis of the above principles, the public holiday that coincides with a Sunday or normal day of inactivity will be replaced with the company’s first day of business following the public holiday. For instance, if - in a company having Saturdays and Sundays as normal days of inactivity - a public holiday falls on one of those days, it will be replaced by the following Monday.
Obligation of the employer to inform the employees
Before 15 December of each year, the employer must make available – at an easily accessible place on the company’s premises – a dated and signed notice mentioning the following for the year to come:
the days off that have been set at the sector - or company level to compensate for the public holiday(s) that coincide with a Sunday or a normal day of inactivity in the company; and
the rules applicable regarding compensatory rest if the employees are asked to work on public holidays.
In practice, the employer can send the employees a copy of this notice by email.
The employer should also attach a copy of this notice to the company’s work regulations.
If you have any questions regarding the above, or are looking for more guidance in this respect, don’t hesitate to reach out; we’d love to hear from you.
