The end-of-year bonus JC 311 equals, for a full-time employee on a permanent contract, his actual salary of the month of December, and you pay it yourself as the employer during December, between 1 December 2026 and 31 December 2026. The rules apply to blue-collar and white-collar employees alike. Anyone with at least 3 months of service in the company in the calendar year is entitled; the agreement has no condition "on the payroll on 31 December".
Who is entitled to the end-of-year bonus in JC 311?
Joint committee 311 covers employees in general, blue-collar and white-collar, and their employers in companies that usually operate fewer than 3 distinct trade branches and where the blue-collar and white-collar staff has a permanent headcount of at least 50 people. Blue-collar workers in departments for manufacturing, processing, maintenance or construction that form an independent operating unit and fall under another committee are not included.
The agreement grants the bonus to the employee on fixed pay who meets the conditions and whose job is in the sector job classification of 5 November 2002. The conditions are:
- During the year, the employee had an employment contract with the company.
- At least 3 months of service in the calendar year, consecutive or not.
- Did not leave the company voluntarily, unless he has at least 5 years of service. Leaving with a view to retirement or SWT does not count as voluntary.
- Was not dismissed for serious cause.
These are minimum conditions: more favourable provisions agreed in your company take precedence.
End-of-year bonus JC 311 calculation
The agreement links the bonus to the employee's attendance during the year and pays it in proportion to the annual work. The amount depends on the type of contract:
| Employee | End-of-year bonus |
|---|---|
| Full-time, permanent contract | the actual salary of the month of December |
| Part-time | the actual pay that matches the monthly average of hours worked and treated as worked in the reference period |
| Fixed-term contract or contract for a clearly defined job | the average of the annual work, if the employee was employed for at least 3 months in the year |
The reference period starts on the first day of the month after the last payment of the end-of-year bonus. If a full-time employee does not have twelve months of service in that period, the amount may be reduced in proportion to his service and equivalent periods.
Variable pay. An employee paid wholly or partly on a variable basis, such as commission or profit share, only gets an end-of-year bonus if his annual pay, without double holiday pay, for 1,872 hours of actual or equivalent work does not exceed his minimum annual pay (the scale minimum x 12 months) by more than 30%. For a part-time employee, those limits apply in proportion to his work. The agreement sets no separate method for calculating the amount for this group.
No double bonus. The bonus is not combined with an advantage at least equivalent that the company already grants, whatever its name or the way it is granted, as a contractual bonus or as a gift.
Worked example: a full-time cashier on a permanent contract
This is an example, not a calculation for your situation. A cashier works full-time on a permanent contract. She worked all of 2026 without absences apart from her holidays. Her actual salary for December 2026 is € 2,450 gross. Her end-of-year bonus equals that salary: € 2,450 gross, to be paid during December, between 1 December 2026 and 31 December 2026.
Which absences reduce the end-of-year bonus in JC 311?
You may reduce the bonus in proportion to absences during the year. These absences do not count for that reduction:
| Absence | Reduces the bonus |
|---|---|
| Annual holidays and public holidays | no |
| Short leave and family leave days | no |
| Occupational disease, accident at work and maternity leave | no |
| Sickness or accident | not for the first 30 days |
| Hours credit for a union mandate, union training and social advancement courses | no |
| Temporary unemployment for economic reasons or force majeure | no, treated as worked since 1 January 2024 |
The agreement literally says the bonus "may be reduced". For more on temporary unemployment itself, read our guide on temporary unemployment.
If the employee is on time credit, palliative leave, leave to care for a seriously ill family member or parental leave at the time of payment, you calculate the bonus in proportion to the number of months of actual or equivalent work, as under the annual holiday legislation.
End-of-year bonus JC 311 on dismissal or leaving
For an employee whose employment contract ended during the year and who meets all conditions, the bonus is calculated in proportion to the number of months of actual or equivalent work.
| Situation | End-of-year bonus |
|---|---|
| Dismissal by the employer, not for serious cause | yes, pro rata to the months of work |
| Dismissal for serious cause | no |
| Resignation with less than 5 years of service | no |
| Resignation with at least 5 years of service | yes, pro rata |
| Leaving on retirement or SWT | yes, pro rata: the agreement does not treat this as leaving voluntarily |
| Termination by mutual agreement | the agreement does not regulate this case separately |
| End of a fixed-term contract | the agreement does not regulate this case separately; it does grant employees on such a contract a bonus if they worked at least 3 months in the year |
The rule for resignation after 5 years applies since 1 January 2024. It comes from the sector agreement of December 2023. Include the bonus in the final settlement and on the social documents on dismissal.
When do you pay the end-of-year bonus in JC 311?
The bonus is paid during the month of December, for 2026 that is between 1 December 2026 and 31 December 2026. Another moment is possible if the practice in your company or an agreement in the company provides for it. No social fund is involved: you pay the bonus through the normal payroll.
On the bonus you withhold 13.07% personal social security, then withholding tax under the scale for exceptional payments. Without dependent children, that withholding tax is zero up to a normal gross annual salary of € 10,675, 40.38% between € 26,340 and € 31,830, and 53.50% above € 59,900. As the employer, you pay the basic contribution of 25% on the gross amount. The full calculation is in our explanation on calculating the end-of-year bonus.
What may your company arrange itself?
The agreement leaves three things to the company:
- More favourable conditions. The conditions apply "apart from other more favourable provisions" at company level.
- An equivalent advantage. If you already grant an advantage that is at least equivalent, the sector bonus does not come on top of it.
- The payment moment. The practice or an agreement in the company can set a moment other than December.
The agreement provides no conversion of the end-of-year bonus into other advantages.
Besides the end-of-year bonus, JC 311 also has two annual bonuses from the sector agreements 2005-2006 and 2015-2016, paid in June. These are separate bonuses with their own rules. They do not replace the end-of-year bonus.
Mistakes we see with the end-of-year bonus in JC 311
- Requiring the employee to be on the payroll on 31 December. That condition is not in the agreement. Anyone who leaves during the year and meets the conditions gets a pro rata bonus.
- Paying nothing on resignation after long service. Since 2024, anyone who resigns with at least 5 years of service gets a pro rata bonus.
- Deducting every sick day. The first 30 days of sickness or accident do not reduce the bonus.
- Deducting temporary unemployment. It has been treated as worked since 2024.
- Forgetting the variable pay test. With commission, entitlement depends on the comparison with the minimum annual pay plus 30%.
What Business Centrum does for you
Business Centrum calculates the end-of-year bonus of your blue-collar and white-collar employees under this agreement, together with Acerta, as part of your payroll administration. We include the bonus in the December payroll and in the final settlement when an employee leaves. The rules of the other committees are in our overview of the end-of-year bonus in 2026 per joint committee.