The end-of-year bonus in JC 304 is at least € 1,760 gross in 2026 for a full-time employee with a full reference period. It does not apply to the whole entertainment joint committee, but to employers with their seat in Flanders or on the Dutch-language register in Brussels that receive Flemish subsidy. Who pays depends on the length of the contract: below 4 months the Sociaal Fonds voor de podiumkunsten, from 4 months you as the employer.
Who gets the end-of-year bonus in JC 304?
The collective agreement applies to employers and employees of JC 304, the joint committee for the entertainment sector, if the employer meets two conditions:
- The seat. A legal entity with its registered office in the Flemish Region, or in the Brussels-Capital Region on the Dutch-language register at the NSSO.
- The subsidy. During the reference period the employee works for an employer subsidised by the Flemish government, including through the arts decree, the circus decree, the decree on supralocal cultural activities, the participation decree, the organisations listed by name, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund or Literatuur Vlaanderen. Structural and project subsidies both count, except at the Audiovisual Fund and Literatuur Vlaanderen.
The bonus is not compulsory for student workers, employee codes 840, 841, or for flexi-jobs, employee codes 050, 450.
French and German-speaking employers. All JC 304 agreements on the end-of-year bonus since 2020 only apply to Flemish employers. For drama productions on the French or German-language register and for musicians, the collective agreement database holds no sector end-of-year bonus on 29 October 2026. A company agreement, the employment contract or an established practice can still grant one. Which agreement applies to your organisation is in our guide to joint committee 304.
How much is the JC 304 end-of-year bonus?
For a full-time employee with a full reference period the bonus is at least € 1,760 gross, since 1 January 2025. With part-time work or an incomplete reference period you pay in proportion to the days worked. This is how the minimum evolved under the successive agreements:
| Year | Minimum for a full-time year |
|---|---|
| 2025 and 2026 | € 1,760 |
| 2024 | € 1,682 |
| 2023 | € 1,725 |
| 2022 | € 1,625 |
| 2021 | € 1,575 |
The 2025 agreement applies for an indefinite period. Until a new agreement raises the amount, € 1,760 remains the minimum, also for the December 2026 bonus. It applies on condition that the Flemish government actually makes the funds under the VIA agreements available.
Already a thirteenth month? If you already pay a full thirteenth month, or if the increase would exceed a full thirteenth month, you may limit the end-of-year bonus to the amount of that thirteenth month. How a thirteenth month works is in our explanation of the 13th month.
Worked example: a half-time employee
This is an example, not a calculation for your situation. A production manager works half-time for all of 2026 at a company subsidised by Flanders, on an open-ended contract. In December you pay at least € 1,760 x 1/2 = € 880 gross. If a full-time technician only started in September, you calculate the bonus in proportion to the days worked from September to December.
Who pays: the fund or the employer?
The sector fund and the employer split the bonus by the length of the employment:
| Employment shorter than 4 months | Employment of 4 months or longer | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays | The Sociaal Fonds voor de podiumkunsten | You as the employer, with a contribution from the fund |
| Reference period for the 2026 bonus | 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 | calendar year 2026 |
| When | the fund calculates and pays | in December, or when the employee leaves |
Successive contracts. Contracts that follow each other without a break count together. Three one-month contracts in a row remain shorter than four months together, so the fund pays. If together they reach four months or more, you pay.
Over the turn of the year. If a contract of four months or longer continues into the new year, you pay in December the bonus for the work of the current year. The part for the following year is paid at the end of the contract.
On a simple request, the fund can ask you for the information it needs for the bonus or for the contribution.
Periods that count as worked in JC 304
The bonus follows the days worked in the reference period. Some absences count as worked:
- the periods of inactivity that the royal decree of 30 March 1967 on annual holidays treats as days worked;
- palliative care leave and leave to care for a seriously ill household or family member, for at most 3 calendar months;
- the periods, days and hours worked under article 1bis of the law of 27 June 1969, the scheme for artists.
Unpaid leave, all forms of time credit and the other thematic leaves do not count.
When do you pay the end-of-year bonus in JC 304?
You pay the bonus in December. If an employee with a contract of 4 months or longer leaves earlier, you pay the bonus when they leave and include it in the social documents on dismissal.
The bonus goes through the normal payroll calculation, with 13.07% personal social security and withholding tax under the scale for exceptional payments. On top of that you pay the employer contribution, with a base of 25%. From gross to net and to the total cost, you can recalculate with our explanation of calculating the end-of-year bonus and calculating the net end-of-year bonus.
Reporting to the fund. By 31 January 2027 at the latest you give the Sociaal Fonds voor de podiumkunsten a list by name with, per employee, the gross amount of the 2026 bonus and the social security contributions.
An equivalent benefit. If you already paid an end-of-year bonus before the first VIA agreement and an equivalent benefit was agreed since, such as keeping purchasing power or jobs, you only abolish it in consultation with the union delegation or, without a consultation body, with the union secretaries. If you grant the bonus as a thirteenth month, you explain to the employees how you use the VIA amount.
Mistakes we see with the end-of-year bonus in JC 304
- Looking for the sector bonus at a French-speaking company. The sector agreement only covers Flemish employers with Flemish subsidy.
- Letting the fund pay for a long contract. From 4 months you pay yourself, even if the contract consists of successive shorter contracts.
- The wrong reference period. For short contracts it runs from July to June, for long contracts over the calendar year.
- Counting time credit. Only palliative leave and care for a seriously ill relative count, up to 3 months.
- Forgetting the report. Without a list to the fund by 31 January 2027, it lacks the data for the contribution.
What Business Centrum does for you
Business Centrum calculates your staff's end-of-year bonus under this agreement, together with Acerta, as part of your payroll administration. We track per employee whether the fund or you pay, add up successive contracts, calculate the bonus in proportion to the days worked and prepare the list for the fund. The pay scales of the Flemish performing arts are on our page JC 304 performing arts pay scale, the approach for a non-profit on our page social secretariat for a non-profit. The rules of the other committees are in our overview of the end-of-year bonus in 2026 per joint committee.