Flexi-jobs in all sectors 2026: the employer's guide
It's now official: on 18 June 2026, the Chamber approved the reform that opens up flexi-jobs to almost every sector. From 1 July 2026, you can hire a flexi-jobber even if your activity previously fell outside the limited list of authorised sectors (hospitality, retail, and so on).
This reform completely reverses the logic: where the flexi-job used to be the exception reserved for a handful of sectors, it now becomes the rule, unless your sector decides otherwise. For you as an employer, this significantly widens your pool of flexible workers, but it also assumes you follow a precise procedure to keep the favourable status. This complete guide walks you step by step through everything you need to know and put in order before you welcome your first flexi-jobber under the new rules.
What exactly is a flexi-job?
The flexi-job is a flexible employment scheme, advantageous in both tax and social terms, designed for people who already have a large enough main activity (or who are retired). The idea: let someone work a few extra hours without adding a tax burden, neither for the employee nor for the employer.
The big advantage is the "gross = net" principle. The flexi-jobber pays no personal social security contribution and no withholding tax on their flexi-wage: whatever they earn, they keep. On your side, you pay a single special employer contribution, without the classic social security contributions.
This is how the flexi-job stands apart from the other forms of flexible work:
- vs. temporary agency work: no agency in between, you hire the employee directly;
- vs. student work: no hours quota with a reduced status, but a condition of main employment instead;
- vs. the extra in hospitality: its own framework, with a specific contract and declaration.
What changes on 1 July 2026: the overview
Before diving into the detail of each step, here's an overview of the main changes the reform introduces.
| Before | From 1 July 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sectors | Limited list (hospitality, retail, etc.) | All sectors (private and public), except opt-out |
| Care roles | Excluded | Allowed with the required diploma |
| Affiliated companies | Prohibited | Allowed for full-time employees |
| 150% rule | On base wage + bonuses | On the base wage only |
| Hospitality ceiling | ± €17/hr | €21/hr (fixed indexed amount) |
| Pensioners | Assessed in quarter T-2 | Assessed in quarter T (faster access) |
Now, the practical side.
Step 1: check whether your sector allows flexi-jobs
Even though flexi-jobs are now allowed by default, your Joint Committee (JC) may have activated an opt-out to exclude or limit the system. So that's the very first reflex to have. In the public sector, it's the federal or regional ministers, or the competent administrative authorities, who can decide on this full or partial exclusion.
Mind the transition period: for 2026, opt-outs and opt-ins are exceptionally possible on a quarterly basis. Existing authorisations and exclusions can be adjusted or kept in place by Royal Decree until 31 August 2026, and a new full or partial opt-out can take effect on 1 October 2026 at the earliest. From 2027, the system stabilises: opt-outs and opt-ins are decided annually (application to the NSSO by 30 September at the latest, taking effect on 1 January).
In the care and childcare sectors there's an added nuance: the flexi-job can be limited to a proportional share of the work volume. So check the situation of your Joint Committee before every hire, because it may still change during 2026. When in doubt, your social secretariat will confirm whether your JC allows flexi-jobs and under what conditions.
Step 2: check the candidate's eligibility
Not everyone can take on a flexi-job. Before you sign, it's best to check that your candidate genuinely meets the conditions.
- Salaried employee: they must already work at least 80% (4/5) of a full-time position with another employer. This condition is checked against the third quarter before the flexi-job (T-3).
- Statutory pensioner (66 years old or 45 years of career): they can work as a flexi-jobber without any prior-employment condition.
- Person on early retirement: they can too, but with an income ceiling (see step 5).
- Employee of an affiliated company: an employee working full-time in company A can now take on a flexi-job in company B of the same group.
- Temp worker: they can combine a temp contract and a flexi-job through the same agency, provided they don't work for the same user at the same time.
Good news for pensioners: their status is now assessed in quarter T (no longer T-2), which lets them start sooner, from the very first day of their retirement. The eligibility check happens automatically with the Dimona (immediate employment declaration).
Step 3: get the contractual formalities in order
Three documents structure every flexi-job employment. Neglecting them causes the favourable status to lapse.
1. The framework agreement. For each collaboration, you sign a written agreement with the flexi-jobber that sets out the general terms of the cooperation: the nature of the roles, the agreed flexi base wage, the call-up arrangements and the notice period, and so on. This agreement fixes the framework once and for all. For statutory pensioners it isn't mandatory, but it remains strongly recommended.
2. The flexi-job employment contract. For each work period you conclude a contract (fixed-term or open-ended, full-time or part-time). It can be concluded in writing or verbally, but putting it in writing remains advisable for legal certainty.
3. The Dimona declaration. For each flexi-jobber you must file a correct Dimona-FLX, and specifically before work begins. It triggers the automatic eligibility check and secures the favourable status. A forgotten, late or incorrect Dimona voids the entire scheme (see the section on risks).
With Recruit, these three documents are managed automatically: you generate a compliant framework agreement with all the mandatory legal mentions, and the right Dimona-FLX is created as soon as you schedule your flexi-jobber, with no manual steps and no risk of a late declaration.
Step 4: calculate the flexi-wage correctly
The flexi-wage follows precise rules. It cannot be lower than the sector minimum wage, nor higher than 150% of the minimum base wage for the role.
A new feature of the reform: this 150% ceiling is now calculated on the base wage only. The bonuses and supplements provided for by a legal or regulatory provision (for example the Sunday premium) no longer count in this calculation and can therefore be added on top of the ceiling.
On top of that comes the flexi holiday pay, set at 7.67% of the flexi-wage and paid out together with it. As for the charges, as an employer you pay a special employer contribution of 28%, calculated on the flexi-wage plus the holiday pay.
Worked example
Take a flexi base wage of €14.00/hr:
- Holiday pay (7.67%): 14.00 × 0.0767 = €1.07
- So the employee receives €15.07/hr net (wage + holiday pay, exempt from tax and personal contributions: gross = net)
- Special employer contribution (28%): 15.07 × 0.28 = €4.22
- Total employer cost: €19.29/hr
The general formula fits on one line: flexi-wage × 1.0767 × 1.28 = total employer cost.
Recruit does that calculation for you: you enter the role and the base wage, and the system automatically applies the correct sector salary scale, the 7.67% holiday pay and the 28% employer contribution.
The special case of hospitality
In hospitality, the 150% rule gives way to a fixed amount: on a base wage of about €11.87 per hour, the maximum flexi hourly wage is raised to €21 per hour (indexed amount). This gives businesses in the sector more flexibility.
Step 5: communicate the tax and pension ceilings
Income from a flexi-job is exempt from tax, but within certain limits. Clearly inform your flexi-jobber about the ceilings that apply to their situation, because these vary widely:
- Non-pensioner employee: flexi income exempt up to €18,440 per year (indexed amount 2026). Above that, only the excess portion is taxed.
- Statutory pensioner (66 years old or 45 years of career): top-up without any limit, fully exempt from tax and social security contributions.
- Person on early retirement: ceiling of €8,121 per year in flexi income (2026 amount). If exceeded, the pension is reduced by half of the percentage of the overrun. This limit disappears as soon as the person reaches the statutory retirement age or reaches 45 years of career.
Refer the employee to mypension.be for any question about their personal situation.
What social rights for the flexi-jobber?
Even though they pay no personal contributions, the flexi-jobber isn't a "bargain-bin" employee: they build up real social rights. In concrete terms, their flexi-job work opens or feeds into:
- the pension (the periods count towards the career);
- the holiday pay (the 7.67% mentioned above);
- the rights relating to unemployment and sickness;
- the occupational accident cover, which you must guarantee in the same way as for your other employees.
The flexi-jobber also enjoys the same basic protection as any employee (guaranteed salary, working-time rules, well-being at work). So don't forget to include them in your occupational accident insurance and in your work rules.
Risks and penalties: the pitfalls you avoid
The scheme is only advantageous if it's applied correctly. In the event of a shortcoming, the NSSO can reclassify the flexi-job as ordinary employment, with heavy financial consequences.
- Forgotten, late or incorrect Dimona: you lose the benefit of the flexi status for the employee concerned, and the Social Criminal Code (art. 181) provides for penalties. In case of negligence, a solidarity contribution of three times the basic contribution can be claimed (with a minimum).
- Unmet eligibility conditions (e.g. the 4/5 condition not met): the employment is reclassified as an ordinary contract.
- Reclassification: the ordinary NSSO contributions are then calculated on the base wage, increased by 225% (this increase is not due in the case of a spontaneous regularisation).
- Sector in opt-out: hiring a flexi-jobber in a sector that has excluded the scheme exposes you to the same corrections.
- Exceeding the 150% ceiling or wage errors: regularisations to be expected.
So caution is called for: a meticulous procedure and good payroll software such as Recruit protect you from nearly all these pitfalls.
Your checklist for the first flexi-jobber
- Check that your Joint Committee hasn't activated an opt-out (and keep track of possible changes in 2026)
- Confirm the candidate's eligibility (4/5 in T-3, pensioner, affiliated company, temporary agency work)
- Sign the framework agreement
- Draw up the flexi-job employment contract for each period of employment
- File the Dimona-FLX before work begins
- Calculate the flexi-wage (sector minimum ≤ wage ≤ 150% of the base wage) + 7.67% holiday pay
- Budget for the 28% employer contribution
- Include the flexi-jobber in the occupational accident insurance
- Communicate the ceilings to the pensioner flexi-jobbers
Overview: key dates and changes
| Change | Entry into force |
|---|---|
| Extension to all sectors (private and public) | 1 July 2026 |
| Opening up to care roles (diploma required) | 1 July 2026 |
| Lifting of the ban on affiliated companies | 1 July 2026 |
| Adjustment of the 150% rule (base wage) | 1 July 2026 |
| Maximum hospitality hourly wage at €21 | 1 July 2026 |
| Quarterly opt-out / opt-in (transition) | 2026 (Royal Decree until 31 August 2026) |
| New full or partial opt-out possible | 1 October 2026 at the earliest |
| Annual opt-out / opt-in (NSSO application by 30/09) | From 1 January 2027 |
Well managed, the flexi-job becomes a real lever
Opening up flexi-jobs to all sectors significantly widens your pool of flexible workers, at a controlled wage cost and with relatively simple administration. But the scheme only stays advantageous if every step is respected: authorised sector, eligible candidate, contracts in order, correct Dimona and a properly calculated flexi-wage.
Good payroll software and clear procedures make the difference here. At Recruit, we take the registration, the Dimona and the payroll processing of your flexi-jobbers off your hands, so you can benefit from the reform with peace of mind.
How Recruit helps you
Managing flexi-jobbers by the book is an administrative burden, unless you outsource it. That's exactly why we built Recruit. In practice, it all comes down to two actions: you create a shift, you schedule your worker, and it's that simple. The contract, the Dimona and the wage follow automatically.
With Recruit:
- Framework agreement in under 60 seconds: all the mandatory legal mentions are filled in automatically
- Automatic Dimona-FLX: you schedule, the system files the declaration before work begins, with no risk of delay
- Always the correct flexi-wage: sector salary scale, 7.67% holiday pay and 28% contribution calculated for you
- No fixed monthly costs: you only pay for what you use
Try Recruit or contact our HR experts for tailored advice.
Important note
Some of the implementing arrangements of this reform may still be specified by decree. The broad lines are fixed in the law approved on 18 June 2026, but consult the official sources or your social secretariat regularly for the most up-to-date information.
Last updated: June 2026
Sources: Law approved in the Chamber on 18 June 2026, FPS Employment, NSSO, Securex, Liantis, Partena Professional, UCM, Acerta