How to determine the right hourly rate for temporary workers across different joint committees

What is the right hourly rate for a temporary worker? The answer always starts with one thing: the joint committee your company falls under. Each committee has its own pay and working conditions, laid down in collective labour agreements (CLAs). Those rules set the minimum wages, supplements, working time, indexation and sectoral benefits you have to apply to an employee.

In practice, many employers struggle to work out which joint committee is competent for their main activity, and how to move from there to a correct rate. Get the classification wrong, or make a calculation error, and you risk wage claims, NSSO (National Social Security Office) corrections or disputes with the inspection services. Knowing the sectoral rules, and reading them correctly, really matters.

Below, we explain how to determine which joint committee applies, how the sectoral salary scales are built up, and how to use that information to calculate a correct hourly rate for the temporary workers you employ.

How a joint committee shapes the hourly rate

A joint committee is the official consultative body where employers and employee organisations within a sector make agreements about pay and working conditions. The CLAs concluded there set out, among other things, the minimum wages, working time, sectoral benefits and supplements. That makes them the basis for the hourly rate you have to grant a temporary worker.

Because every joint committee has its own scope and applies different rules, wages and conditions vary widely from one sector to another. A company that falls under a different committee automatically has to apply that committee's sectoral agreements. This is why the correct classification matters so much: the hourly rate follows directly from the sectoral CLAs that apply to your activity.

Which joint committee applies to your workers?

The right hourly rate starts with correctly identifying the joint committee. In Belgium, that determination is always based on the company's main activity. Once that activity is clear, it automatically follows which committee is competent for the pay and working conditions of the employees working in that company.

The NACE code in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises gives a first indication, but it is not always conclusive. When in doubt, you are best advised to check the description of the joint committee's own scope, or to seek advice from your social secretariat or FPS Employment (the Federal Public Service Employment). A wrong choice can have consequences for wages, CLAs, Dimona (immediate employment declaration) filings and the application of sectoral benefits.

For temporary and agency workers, nothing changes: they always follow the joint committee of the user where they actually work. That means their hourly rate is also set by the sectoral salary scales of that specific committee.

How sectoral CLAs and pay scales set the rate

Once it is clear which joint committee is competent, the sectoral CLAs form the foundation for the hourly rate you have to grant a temporary worker. These agreements set out, among other things, the minimum wages, salary scales per job category, arrangements on indexation and any scales that depend on training, age or seniority. The rate may never drop below these sectoral minimum wages, and it must be indexed in line with the agreements made at sector level.

On top of that, many joint committees set additional wage components. Think of supplements for night work, weekend work and shift work, extra allowances on public holidays, or specific premiums that apply within a sector. All these provisions mean that two employees with the same role in different sectors can still earn a different hourly rate. So anyone employed temporarily within a given committee always follows the sectoral rules agreed there, regardless of how long the employment contract lasts.

What makes up the gross salary and cost per hour

The hourly rate is more than just the basic wage. Sectoral rules often impose extra obligations that directly affect the gross salary and the total cost of an employee. In some joint committees there are, for example, fixed premiums, eco-vouchers, contributions to the fund for existence security, or top-up allowances under the unemployment-with-company-allowance scheme. Travel expenses, meal vouchers, seniority supplements and indexation also play a part in the total.

Working time can be decisive too. Sectors use different systems: full-time, part-time, specific work schedules, or regimes such as shift work. In the case of temporary unemployment or economic reasons, the sectoral CLA decides how an ordinary working day or a day of inactivity should be accounted for. All of this affects the gross salary you have to pay, but also the professional withholding tax and the NSSO contributions that go with it. A correct hourly rate therefore takes into account every element that the joint committee has made mandatory.

Seniority, premiums and supplements by sector

Seniority plays an important role in setting the hourly rate in many joint committees. Some sectors use fixed salary scales that rise automatically as the employee spends more years in the same job category. In others, seniority is tied to additional benefits, such as higher allowances, extra premiums or specific scales that only apply from a certain number of years of service. Temporary workers fall under these rules too, as soon as they are employed in a sector where seniority is set in the CLA.

Then there are the premiums and supplements that vary from one joint committee to another. These can be supplements for night work, weekend shifts, public holidays, economic reasons or special sectoral circumstances. Eco-vouchers, end-of-year bonuses, top-up allowances during unemployment or contributions to the fund for existence security are often set at sector level too. As an employer, you have to include all these elements correctly in the calculation of the hourly rate, even for temporary staff. After all, workers in the sector are entitled to the same sectoral benefits, regardless of how long the employment contract lasts.

Finally, you have to take joint subcommittees into account. In some sectors, such as transport or metal, several subcommittees exist, each with its own rules. Pay within a joint subcommittee can differ significantly from the main committee, so it is important for the employer to know exactly which scope applies. A social secretariat or an ACLVB secretariat can help with interpretation when the sectoral CLAs are complex.

How working time and schedules affect the rate

Working time and the work schedule play a part in an employee's total pay, but the basic hourly wage itself is always set by the sectoral minimum wages in the joint committee's CLA. Those scales apply to both full-time and part-time employment, regardless of how many hours someone works. What can vary from one committee to another are the specific work arrangements and additional conditions that affect the total cost or extra allowances.

Joint committees decide for themselves which weekly working time applies in the sector. Some use a 38-hour week, while others work with 36 or 40 hours, with or without working time reduction. These agreements do not set the hourly wage itself, but they do determine how work is organised, how schedules are calculated, and when overtime, compensatory rest or deviating time regimes come into play. The same sectoral minimum wages apply to part-time workers too, but sectoral CLAs can impose additional rules on minimum work schedules, flexibility, variable schedules or the way certain days are paid.

There are also sectoral supplements that depend on the type of work schedule. In some joint committees, premiums are granted for night work, weekend shifts, shift work or irregular hours. Not every sector provides these supplements, but when they are set in a CLA, they apply to temporary workers too from the moment those workers are employed in that sector. This kind of supplement and sectoral agreement can significantly affect the total pay per hour worked, even when the basic hourly wage stays the same.

Temporary unemployment, company allowance, sector rules

Temporary unemployment is regulated at federal level in Belgium, but the way it is applied can differ from one sector to another. Joint committees conclude sectoral CLAs that set additional conditions or extra allowances. In some sectors, fixed amounts are paid out through the fund for existence security; in others, there are agreements on top-up allowances that the employer has to pay. These sectoral provisions do not change the hourly wage, but they can affect the total labour cost and determine how certain days or periods should be accounted for.

There are also sectoral rules on unemployment with company allowance. Employees who meet the statutory and sectoral seniority conditions may be entitled to an extra allowance on top of their unemployment benefit. The amount and conditions of this allowance vary from one joint committee to another and are set in the sectoral CLAs. For temporary workers, this is mainly relevant in sectors with specific schemes, so that employers know which obligations apply when someone is entitled to a supplementary allowance.

Inspection services actively check whether temporary unemployment and sectoral allowances are applied correctly. If it later turns out that an employee fell under the wrong committee, this can lead to wage claims, NSSO corrections or a mandatory recalculation of allowances. That is why it is important for employers to always follow the correct sectoral rules and to check that the CLAs are up to date. Temporary workers, too, are entitled within their sector to the same benefits and allowances as other employees who fall under the same joint committee.

Travel expenses, eco-vouchers and sector benefits

Many joint committees impose specific sectoral benefits that can directly affect employees' total pay. One of the best-known examples is eco-vouchers, which are granted on a mandatory basis in many sectors. Although eco-vouchers are not part of the gross salary, they still form part of the pay and working conditions that the employer must apply. When calculating the hourly rate, you therefore have to check which of these benefits are mandatory within the committee, so that no mistakes slip into the total cost calculation.

Travel expenses also play an important role. Many CLAs provide that employees are entitled to a contribution towards home-to-work travel, often based on distance, type of transport or means of transport. Some sectors use fixed amounts per kilometre, while others follow a percentage of the actual costs or work with flat-rate allowances. Temporary workers are entitled to these sectoral travel expenses too as soon as they are employed, which again means the employer has to apply the correct joint committee and the correct CLA to calculate the hourly rate accurately.

In addition, almost every joint committee includes sectoral benefits such as end-of-year bonuses, top-up allowances for certain work, contributions to the fund for existence security, or premiums for certain work arrangements. These provisions vary widely by sector and mean that the hourly rate can never be seen in isolation from the broader pay structure. When setting it, an employer therefore has to look not only at the basic wage, but also at the full remuneration as laid down in the sectoral CLAs and collective agreements that apply within that committee.