Year-end bonus made mandatory for property management

A Royal Decree of August 27, 2026, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on September 8, 2026 (p. 49235), makes the collective labor agreement of February 12, 2026, regarding the granting of a year-end bonus, mandatory. The measure, signed by King Philippe and the Minister of Employment D. Clarinval, applies to employers and workers falling under the Joint Committee for property management, real estate agents, and domestic workers. The text is referenced under official number [2026/201829].

An agreement extended to the entire sector

The Royal Decree, issued on the basis of Article 28 of the Law of December 5, 1968, on collective labor agreements and joint committees, gives binding force to the agreement concluded on February 12, 2026, within the joint committee. This agreement was registered on February 24, 2026, under number 198199/CO/323.

It enters into force on January 1, 2026, and replaces the collective agreement of September 29, 2020 (No. 161877) which already governed the granting of this bonus in the sector. Concluded for an indefinite period, it may be terminated by either party subject to three months’ notice notified by registered letter to the chairperson of the joint committee.

The amount and conditions for granting

The year-end bonus is set at 8.33% of the gross salary paid during the reference period, which corresponds to the current social year from July 1 to June 30. To benefit from it, the worker must meet several cumulative conditions:

• prove seniority of at least 2 months in the sector as of June 30 of the social year;
• for employees who resign during the year, have sectoral seniority of at least one full year;
• not have been dismissed for serious cause during the social year.

Workers who do not reach two months of seniority by June 30 but remain active without interruption until the following December 31 also receive the bonus. Neither the year-end bonus nor the double holiday pay is part of the gross salary on the basis of which the amount of the bonus is calculated.

Payment modalities

Payment differs according to the type of employment contract:

• for white-collar employees, the bonus is paid directly by the employer, at the same time as the December salary;
• for blue-collar workers, it is paid at the end of December by the Social and Guarantee Fund for the real estate sector.

Assimilated days of inactivity are identical to those provided for by the regulations in force regarding annual leave, to which are added the days of work stoppage for temporary unemployment due to force majeure related to the coronavirus pandemic. In the event of a dispute over the interpretation of the agreement, only the board of directors of the social fund is competent to decide.

A concrete impact for sector employees

By making this agreement mandatory, the royal decree guarantees all property management workers, real estate agents, and domestic workers a uniform right to the year-end bonus, without distinction of gender or type of contract. Employers in the sector are now required to pay this bonus, the amount of which is indexed to the gross salary actually received, thus providing additional financial security at the end of the year to employees who are often in precarious situations.

Official source: Belgian Official Gazette of September 8, 2026, p. 49235 — Royal Decree of August 27, 2026, making mandatory the collective labor agreement of February 12, 2026, concluded within the Joint Committee for property management, real estate agents, and domestic workers, relating to the granting of a year-end bonus (reference [2026/201829]).