The JC 121 indexation in January 2027 falls on 1 January 2027: the minimum wages and the wages actually paid in cleaning rise with the average of the smoothed health index of November and December 2026, divided by that of May and June 2026. Cleaning indexes twice a year, in January and in July, so each step absorbs half a year of price movement. The percentage is only known once Statbel publishes the December index on 23 December 2026.
The percentage of the JC 121 indexation in January 2027
Until then there is no official percentage. The entry for January 2026 in the JC 121 history was last edited on 19 January 2026. After that, the committee sets the new minimum hourly wages in its pay agreement.
Federal Planning Bureau forecast. In its inflation forecasts of 6 October 2026 the Planning Bureau estimates the smoothed health index at 102.35 points in November 2026 and 102.92 points in December 2026. That is an estimate of the index, not a percentage for JC 121. The Planning Bureau does not calculate a sector percentage, and neither do we: the percentage only follows from Statbel's final figures. The next forecasts are published on 3 November 2026.
How does the indexation work in JC 121?
The rule is in the collective agreement of 14 November 2018 on linking wages to the smoothed health index, which applies for an indefinite period. At the start of each half-year you calculate a reference index:
- for 1 January: the average of the smoothed health index of November and December of the past year;
- for 1 July: the average of May and June of the same year.
On the date of the indexation you multiply the minimum wages and the wages actually paid by the reference index of the last half-year, divided by that of the half-year before. For January 2027 that is November and December 2026 against May and June 2026. You round the result to € 0.00.
What rises with it? The minimum wages and the wages you actually pay, including piece rates and flat-rate wages. Under the pay agreement of 5 February 2026, the bonuses are also linked to the index, like the wages.
Wages can also fall. The collective agreement also applies reductions if the index drops. For January 2021 the social partners agreed, as a one-off, not to apply the negative index and to offset it in July 2021.
Index first. If a negotiated rise coincides with the index adjustment, you apply the indexation first and then the rise.
JC 121 indexation history since 2023
This is how cleaning wages rose on 1 January and 1 July in recent years, according to the history in the FPS minimum wage database:
| Indexation on | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 | 2.07% |
| 1 January 2026 | 0.56% |
| 1 July 2025 | 1.64% |
| 1 January 2025 | 1.23% |
| 1 July 2024 | 2.32% |
| 1 January 2024 | 0.93% |
| 1 July 2023 | 0.54% |
| 1 January 2023 | 5.70% |
Because cleaning indexes twice a year, a January percentage here is smaller than in committees that only index in January. Add January and July together for a full year. In 2026 the steps were 0.56% and 2.07%.
What is already fixed for January 2027, and what is not?
What is already fixed:
- The date: 1 January 2027, and the next step on 1 July 2027.
- The formula: the average of November and December 2026 against that of May and June 2026.
- Who gets the rise: the minimum wages, the actual wages and the bonuses.
- The cents index: in JC 121 the first moderation is already over, see below.
What is not fixed yet:
- The percentage. It follows from the December 2026 index, published on 23 December 2026.
- The new minimum hourly wages per category. The committee sets them in its pay agreement.
The cents index in the JC 121 indexation of January 2027
In JC 121 the cents index does not bite for the first time in January. The first indexation after its start on 1 June 2026 was that of 1 July 2026, with 2.07%. That is more than the 2% that a full-time reference wage above € 4,000 a month only receives on € 4,000. The moderation of the first period was therefore complete in July. Under the cents index rule, the index then applies to the full wage again. So in January 2027 you index the whole reference wage in cleaning, also above € 4,000.
Meanwhile you pay a special wage moderation contribution to the NSSO. How to calculate it, with a full example, is in our piece on the cents index.
Worked example: how the July 2026 index worked
A cleaner earned € 16.1000 an hour in June 2026. On 1 July 2026 that rose by 2.07%: 16.10 x 1.0207 = 16.43327, rounded to a multiple of 0.0005 € 16.4335 an hour. In January 2027 you calculate the same way with the new quotient.
Where do you find the percentage for January 2027?
You find the percentage and the new amounts in these places:
- Statbel publishes the December 2026 index figure on 23 December 2026. With it, the formula of the collective agreement can be filled in completely.
- FPS Employment puts the percentage and the new amounts in the minimum wage database. The entry for January 2026 was last edited on 19 January 2026.
- The joint committee sets the new minimum hourly wages in its pay agreement, such as the collective agreement of 5 February 2026.
You then also see the new pay scales on our page with the JC 121 pay scale. The committee's standing rules, the pay scales and the bonuses are in our guide to joint committee 121. What a pay rise yields net for your employee is in our guide gross to net. How the 2026 index turned out per sector is in our news on wage indexation in 2026.
What Business Centrum does for you
Business Centrum applies the January 2027 indexation in JC 121 in your payroll administration, together with Acerta, with the percentage that follows from the collective agreement. We apply the quotient to the hourly wage and the bonuses of each cleaner, in January and in July, and follow the cents index per employee. All committees that index in January, with their formula, are in our overview of the January 2027 indexation.