Expanded and increased specificity allowance for prison staff

King Philippe signed a royal decree on September 15, 2026, extending the specificity allowance to technical experts within the surveillance, technical, and logistics framework and increasing the amounts of this annual bonus. Published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) on September 22, 2026, page 51130, under reference 2026/006879, the text enters into force on November 1, 2026, for all staff of the external services of the Directorate General EPI - Penitentiary Establishments.

The royal decree of September 15, 2026, amends the royal decree of April 4, 2003, granting a specificity allowance to certain staff serving in the external services of the Directorate General EPI - Penitentiary Establishments, excluding surveillance and technical staff. It was adopted on the proposal of the Minister of Justice A. Verlinden, based on Article 27 of the law of March 23, 2019, concerning the organization of penitentiary services and the status of penitentiary staff.

The government justifies the extension by the fact that the function of technical expert did not exist in the career path of surveillance, technical, and logistics staff when the royal decree of April 4, 2003, was adopted. Other functions within this framework have already received a revaluation of their specific salary scales following a social agreement on December 22, 2004, which provided for the two-phase integration of the specificity allowance provided for by the royal decree of August 2, 2002.

A scope expanded to technical experts

• Article 1: the title of the royal decree of April 4, 2003, is replaced and no longer mentions the exclusion of surveillance and technical staff.
• Article 2: Article 1, 2°, is supplemented by the bullet point “technical expert (surveillance, technical, and logistics framework)”.
• The preamble emphasizes that the specificity of working in a penitentiary environment concerns all staff members working in the external services.

The text further notes that the level B function of technical expert bears abnormal burdens that are not compensated, despite being subject to the same working conditions as other members of the penitentiary staff.

Amounts revalued after more than twenty years

• Article 3, § 1: the amount of 1,660.89 EUR is replaced by 1,791.58 EUR.
• Article 3, § 2: the amount of 669.31 EUR is replaced by 800 EUR.
• Article 4: the amount of 669.31 EUR is also replaced by 800 EUR.

The preamble indicates that the amount of the annual specificity allowance had not been adjusted for more than twenty years, regardless of the level of the staff member concerned.

Suspension of payment and social plan framework

Article 5 supplements the 2003 decree with a paragraph 3: the general provision regarding the suspension of payment of a specific allowance provided for in Article 4 of the Royal Decree of July 13, 2017, establishing the allowances and indemnities of the staff of the federal civil service, applies to the annual allowance referred to in Articles 2 and 4.

The preamble presents this regulatory initiative as a measure that is part of the implementation of the 2026-2028 social plan, which aims to make the profession of prison officer more attractive and to improve working conditions in penitentiary establishments. This 2026-2029 social plan was concluded on January 9, 2026, within the Sector Committee III - Justice between the political authorities and the representatives of the trade union organizations (protocol 570).

Procedure and entry into force

The file received the opinion of the Management Committee of the FPS Justice on June 10, 2026, that of the Inspector of Finance on May 19, 2026, the agreement of the Minister of the Civil Service on June 18, 2026, and that of the Minister of the Budget on July 14, 2026. Protocol No. 579 of August 27, 2026, of the Sector Committee III - Justice was concluded, and the Council of State was dispensed from providing an opinion, as request No. 79.910/1/V was struck from the roll on July 27, 2026.

The decree enters into force on November 1, 2026, and the Minister of Justice is responsible for its execution. It was issued in Brussels on September 15, 2026.

For the agents concerned, the measure results in an increase in the annual allowance and the opening of the right to this bonus for technical experts of the surveillance, technical, and logistics framework, starting from November 1, 2026.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette of September 22, 2026, p. 51130, reference 2026/006879.