Time credit and end-of-career time credit in 2026: changes explained

Your experienced warehouse manager knocks on your door. She wants to work less. Something to do with time credit, maybe an end-of-career time credit. And you think: fine, but what are the rules again? Because they have changed. Again.

Since 1 January 2026, new conditions apply to time credit in Belgium. The career requirements are stricter, the age limits for end-of-career time credit have gone up, and the distinction between men and women now feeds into the transitional arrangement. That sounds complicated. It is, honestly. But by the end of this article, you'll know exactly where you stand as an employer.

What exactly is time credit?

Let's start with the basics. Time credit is the right of private-sector employees to temporarily interrupt their career or reduce their working hours. It's governed by collective labour agreement (CLA) No. 103 of the National Labour Council.

There are three forms:

• Full-time time credit: the employee stops working entirely
• Half-time time credit: the employee still works half of a full-time job
• 1/5 time credit: the employee cuts back by one day a week (or the equivalent)

During time credit, the employee receives a benefit from the NEO (National Employment Office). The amount varies depending on the form, the household situation and the type of time credit. More on that shortly.

Important for you as the employer: the employment contract is not terminated. Afterwards, the employee has the right to return to the same or an equivalent role. That has direct consequences for your staff scheduling and for calculating notice periods if it later does come to a dismissal.

Time credit with a motive: the standard form

Time credit with a motive is what most employees mean when they talk about time credit. You need a valid reason for it: a "motive", in legal jargon.

Which motives are valid?

The care motives (up to 51 months across your entire career):

• Caring for a child up to age 8
• Providing palliative care
• Assisting a seriously ill household or family member
• Caring for a child with a disability up to age 21
• Assisting a seriously ill minor child

The training motive (up to 36 months across your entire career):

• Following a recognised training course

Combining care motives with a training motive? Then the total may not exceed 51 months. That ceiling applies across your entire career, no matter which employer you take it with.

The new career requirement from 2026

This is where the big change sits. Until the end of 2025, you needed 24 months of seniority with your employer, plus a career history of 25 years for full-time or half-time time credit.

From 1 January 2026, that career history requirement has gone up:

• Men: 30 years of career history
• Women: 26 years of career history (rising gradually to 30 years by 2030)

For 1/5 time credit with a motive, the conditions stay the same: 24 months of seniority with the employer and 60 months of career history in the 15 years preceding the application.

Why the difference between men and women? The legislator recognises that women, on average, have shorter careers due to periods of part-time work and caregiving. The transitional arrangement phases out that difference step by step. In our experience at Recruit, this distinction regularly causes confusion in HR departments, so check carefully which condition applies to the specific request.

The employment condition

On top of the career history, there's also an employment condition within your own company:

• Full-time time credit: at least 24 months of service
• Half-time time credit: at least 24 months of service, and the employee must work at least 75% of a full-time job
• 1/5 time credit: at least 24 months of service, and the employee must be employed full-time

New from 2026: periods of foster care leave now count as worked periods when assessing this employment condition. A small but relevant change.

The end-of-career time credit scheme

The end-of-career time credit, officially the "tijdskrediet eindeloopbaan" (landingsbaan), is designed for employees who want to ease off towards the end of their career. They work less, draw a benefit from the NEO, and glide towards retirement.

This is the part that changed the most in 2026.

What changed for end-of-career time credit?

The minimum age has risen sharply. Until the end of 2025, an exception scheme allowed employees to enter an end-of-career time credit as early as 50 or 55. Those exceptions based on age 50 have disappeared entirely.

The new general scheme (from 1 January 2026):

• Minimum age: 60
• Career requirement for men: 31 years (rising to 35 years by 2030)
• Career requirement for women: 26 years (rising to 30 years by 2030)
• Seniority with the employer: 24 months (reducible by mutual agreement)

Exceptions: end-of-career time credit at 55

There are still situations where an employee can enter an end-of-career time credit at 55. But the conditions have become stricter:

• Long career: at least 35 years of career history
• Arduous occupation: at least 35 years of career history, a set number of which in an arduous occupation (night work, shift work, or physically demanding work)
• Company in difficulty or undergoing restructuring: recognised by the Minister of Employment
• Certificate of unfitness: a medical certificate confirming that the employee is unfit to continue their current work

Note: the rules on arduous occupations and how they're recognised can vary considerably from one Joint Committee to another. In some sectors, additional arrangements are set through sector-level CLAs. Always check the specific rules that apply to your sector.

Forms of the end-of-career time credit

You can take an end-of-career time credit as:

• A 1/5 reduction: one day less per week (or the equivalent), only for full-time employees
• A half-time reduction: working at 50% of a full-time schedule

A full interruption isn't possible with an end-of-career time credit. The whole point is that the employee stays at work, just at a slower pace.

New in 2026: employees in atypical work regimes, think weekend work or full-time hours spread over four days, now also qualify for 1/5 end-of-career time credit. That wasn't the case before and led to inequalities.

Benefit amounts: what does your employee get?

The NEO pays a monthly interruption benefit. These are fixed amounts that don't depend on the employee's salary, but do depend on the form chosen and the household situation. The amounts are indexed annually: the most recent indexation was on 1 February 2025.

Indicative amounts for time credit with a motive (gross per month)

1/5 reduction:

• Cohabiting: around 209 euros
• Single: around 270 euros
• Single with dependent children: around 279 euros

Half-time:

• Cohabiting: around 294 euros
• Single, or single with children: around 354 euros

Full-time:

• Cohabiting: around 551 euros
• Single: around 551 euros (the same amount)

These amounts are indicative and based on the indexed rates from February 2025. Check the NEO website for the most current figures. The amounts for end-of-career time credit are generally slightly higher than those for ordinary time credit with a motive, especially for employees over 60.

In practice, this means a significant drop in income for your employee. That's relevant information for the conversation you, as the employer, have with your staff member. Be transparent about the financial impact: that beats surprises later on.

The application procedure: your role as employer

This is where it gets concrete. Because with time credit, you as the employer have an active role to play.

Step 1: written notification from the employee

The employee must notify you of the request in writing. The notice period depends on the size of the company:

• More than 20 employees: at least 3 months in advance
• 20 employees or fewer: at least 6 months in advance

These periods can be shortened by mutual agreement.

Step 2: your response as employer

You must respond before the end of the month following the month of notification. In concrete terms: if the employee notifies you on 15 March, you have until 30 April to respond.

Want to postpone the start date? Then you have to say so within a month of the notification. You can postpone the time credit by up to 6 months for organisational reasons.

Step 3: the NEO application

This is the administrative part. The application to the NEO consists of two parts:

1. The employer section: you fill this in first, via the social security portal
2. The employee section: only then can the employee complete their part

Both parts must reach the NEO before the application is processed. As the employer, you can do this through the online service at socialsecurity.be or via structured electronic messages.

This is exactly the kind of admin you don't want as a business owner. You can handle it yourself, the online portals are workable, or you can let a payroll partner like Recruit take care of the social documents and declarations. That way you can be sure the deadlines are met and the forms are filled in correctly.

Step 4: the threshold rule

In companies with more than 10 employees, a threshold percentage applies: at most 5% of staff may be on time credit at the same time. If you're above that threshold, a priority mechanism kicks in. New from 2026: employees on informal care leave no longer count towards this threshold. That's a relaxation that can make a difference in practice.

There's also an order of priority when several employees apply at once. Employees who want to care for a vulnerable person, and who have previously taken palliative leave or leave for medical assistance, now get priority. That's new.

Time credit 2026: all the changes at a glance

Let's line it all up. Here's what changed compared with the previous rules:

Stricter career requirements for time credit with a motive (full-time/half-time)

• Before: 25 years of career history
• Now: 30 years (men) / 26 years (women, rising)

Higher age limit for end-of-career time credit

• Before: possible from age 50 (exception scheme)
• Now: minimum age 60 (general) or 55 (exceptions with a 35-year career)

Career requirements for end-of-career time credit (general scheme)

• Men: 31 years in 2026, rising to 35 years in 2030
• Women: 26 years in 2026, rising to 30 years in 2030

Foster care leave as an assimilated period

• Now counts towards the employment condition

Informal care leave and the threshold

• Informal carers no longer count towards the 5% threshold

Priority for caregivers

• Employees with prior palliative leave or medical assistance leave get priority

1/5 time credit for atypical work regimes

• Employees on weekend work or a four-day week now also qualify for 1/5 end-of-career time credit

Transitional arrangement

Employees who submitted their request to the employer before 1 January 2026 still fall under the old rules. That's true even if the time credit itself only starts after 1 January 2026. The date of the written notification to the employer is what counts, not the start date of the time credit.

In our experience with thousands of files, this transitional arrangement regularly leads to disputes. Keep the written notification carefully. A registered letter or an email with a read receipt can prevent later challenges.

Frequently asked questions about time credit 2026

Can my employee still take time credit without a motive?

No. Time credit without a motive was abolished back in 2017. There are no longer any NEO benefits for time credit without a motive. Employees do still have the right to take it if a sector-level or company-level CLA provides for it, but then without a benefit.

Do I, as the employer, always have to approve a time credit request?

Not always. You can postpone the time credit by up to 6 months for organisational reasons. In companies with 10 employees or fewer, there's no automatic right: your agreement as the employer is required. In larger companies, the right is in principle untouchable, unless the 5% threshold has been reached.

What if the employee falls ill during the time credit?

The employee keeps the NEO benefit. There is no right to guaranteed salary from the employer during a period of full suspension. With a half-time or 1/5 reduction, guaranteed salary does apply for the hours still worked.

Does my employee build up pension rights during time credit?

Partly. Periods of time credit with a motive are, for a limited duration, treated as equivalent to worked periods for the pension calculation. The exact rules are complex and depend on the type of time credit. Point your employee to mypension.be for a personal calculation.

Can I hire a replacement during the time credit?

Yes. You're not obliged to hire a replacement, but you may. You can take that replacement on with a fixed-term employment contract. The replacement doesn't have to be in the same role.

What about ongoing time credits? Do the rules change for those too?

No. The new conditions apply only to requests submitted to the employer from 1 January 2026. Ongoing time credits and extensions of existing periods under the old rules are not affected.

Does time credit also apply to temp workers?

No. Time credit is reserved for employees with an employment contract with the user. Temp workers fall under a different set of rules. More on this in our article on temporary agency work in Belgium.

Practical tips for employers

After years of experience with Belgian HR admin, we've learned a few things that make the difference:

Anticipate requests. Employees over 55 start thinking about working less. Map out who qualifies and plan your staffing ahead.

Document everything. Keep every written notification with its date. In disputes over the transitional arrangement, the notification date is decisive.

Know your threshold. Work out what percentage of your staff is already on time credit. If you're close to 5%, you know new requests may end up in a queue.

Keep the dismissal procedure in mind. Employees on time credit enjoy protection against dismissal. You may not dismiss them because of the time credit. If you do, you risk a flat-rate compensation of 6 months' salary.

Check sector arrangements. Many Joint Committees have additional rules on time credit. Some provide a supplementary allowance on top of the NEO benefit. Others have specific arrangements around the threshold rule. The rules can also determine, per sector, which occupations count as "arduous" for the end-of-career time credit.

In short

Time credit in 2026 has become stricter. Longer career requirements, higher age limits for end-of-career time credit, and a gradual alignment between men and women. At the same time, there are relaxations: atypical work regimes now also get access to 1/5 time credit, informal carers no longer count towards the threshold, and foster care leave is treated as an assimilated period.

As an employer, the key is to know the new rules, keep your admin in order, and respond to requests on time. The transitional arrangement still leaves some room for employees who are just too late, but that room shrinks every year.

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How Recruit helps you

Handling time credit correctly takes accurate administration and up-to-date knowledge of the law. You don't have to do it alone.

With Recruit:

• Contracts in under 60 seconds: create trial and temp contracts without the hassle
• Automatic payroll calculation: correct pay in line with current legislation and your Joint Committee
• Dimona (immediate employment declaration) and social documents: we handle all the declarations, you focus on your business
• 24/7 personal support: always a dedicated contact who knows your business
• No fixed monthly costs: pay only for what you use

Try Recruit or get in touch with our HR experts for tailored advice.

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The information in this article is purely informative and does not replace professional legal or accounting advice. Labour legislation changes regularly. Always consult the current legislation or contact an HR expert for advice tailored to your situation.