Joint committee 220 covers white-collar employees in the Belgian food industry: from breweries and dairies to biscuit makers and meat processors. On 1 January 2026, all salaries rose by 2.19%. The lowest monthly pay is now € 2,333.06 gross. You pay a year-end bonus of a full month and € 250 in eco vouchers per year.
Who falls under joint committee 220 in the Belgian food industry?
JC 220 covers employees who mainly do intellectual work in a food industry company. The list is long: flour mills, industrial bread bakeries, biscuit and chocolate factories, sugar refineries, breweries and malt houses, soft drinks and fruit juice, canned vegetables and fruit, meat processing and slaughterhouses, dairy and ice cream, coffee roasters, fish processing, ready meals, crisps and pre-fried chips, animal feed and pet food. The laboratories and the depots or sales departments of a food producer are included too, even as a separate company, as long as they are an integral part of production or trade.
The boundaries with other committees:
| Situation | Committee |
|---|---|
| White-collar staff of a food producer | JC 220 |
| Blue-collar workers of a food producer | JC 118 |
| White-collar staff of a food wholesaler with no production of its own | JC 200 |
| White-collar staff of a food shop | JC 201 or JC 202, depending on size |
| White-collar staff of a purely logistics company working for third parties | JC 226 |
A food company therefore almost always has two committees: JC 118 for the production floor and JC 220 for the office, the lab and sales. The difference with JC 200 is larger than it seems. JC 200 indexed by 2.21% in January and starts class A at € 2,242.80. JC 220 starts higher, at € 2,333.06. Our page on JC 200 shows the scales of the auxiliary committee. If you only do storage and transport for other companies, look at JC 226.
If you run a bakery and are unsure, have the classification checked. The JC 220 list only names industrial bread bakeries, while the JC 118 list also names craft bakeries and patisseries.
JC 220 pay scale for 2026
The JC 220 pay scale is a monthly salary for a full-time employee. It depends on three things: the sub-sector, the pay class and the career in years. There are 7 pay classes. Classes 1 to 6 follow the sector's job classification, class 7 applies to any job above that. The amounts are set in the collective agreement of 28 April 2026 and published in the minimum wage database of the Federal Public Service Employment.
The table shows the minimum salaries in 220.02, the food industry outside vegetable canning. That covers most companies.
| Category | 0 years | 5 years | 10 years | 20 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | € 2,333.06 | € 2,496.02 | € 2,648.41 | € 2,855.01 |
| 2 | € 2,409.24 | € 2,599.43 | € 2,778.69 | € 3,039.74 |
| 3 | € 2,485.24 | € 2,702.83 | € 2,909.45 | € 3,224.62 |
| 4 | € 2,572.21 | € 2,816.85 | € 3,050.71 | € 3,420.13 |
| 5 | € 2,724.42 | € 3,028.80 | € 3,278.91 | € 3,702.63 |
| 6 | € 2,816.85 | € 3,148.32 | € 3,425.62 | € 3,903.80 |
| 7 | € 2,912.43 | € 3,272.57 | € 3,578.96 | € 4,115.93 |
How pay progresses. Classes 1 to 4 have 26 annual steps, classes 5 to 7 have 25. A new step starts on the first day of the month after the employee completes another year of career. The highest minimum in 220.02 is € 4,363.42, for class 7 after 25 years. In class 1 the scale stops at € 2,920.24 after 26 years.
Vegetable canning (220.01). Companies that can, dry or freeze vegetables have their own, slightly lower scale:
| Category | Starting pay 220.01 | Starting pay 220.02 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | € 2,267.83 | € 2,333.06 |
| 2 | € 2,341.67 | € 2,409.24 |
| 3 | € 2,415.56 | € 2,485.24 |
| 4 | € 2,499.83 | € 2,572.21 |
| 5 | € 2,647.38 | € 2,724.42 |
| 6 | € 2,737.21 | € 2,816.85 |
| 7 | € 2,830.07 | € 2,912.43 |
After ten years in class 5, an employee in 220.01 earns at least € 3,185.28. The highest minimum in 220.01 is € 4,236.80.
Students. A student on a student employment contract receives 90% of the lowest pay in the class that matches the job. JC 220 has no separate youth scale.
What counts as career?
This is where mistakes happen. Career in JC 220 means all actual work, in Belgium or abroad, regardless of job, status, contract, working pattern or sector. Years as a blue-collar worker or in another sector therefore count. On top of that, periods of suspension and inactivity are treated as career, up to 5 years in total, including sickness or accident up to 3 years over the whole career. The number of career years must appear on the payslip.
Job classification: which class does your employee belong to?
The sector classifies jobs with the ORBA method. An employee is placed in the class of the job he or she actually does, not the title on the contract. The sector list gives examples:
| Class | Example jobs |
|---|---|
| 1 | post room clerk, caretaker, lab assistant, shop assistant |
| 2 | accounts clerk, dispatch clerk, production quality inspector, van driver |
| 3 | invoicing clerk, cashier, lab technician, telesales, inside sales order handler |
| 4 | consumer service clerk, accounts receivable clerk, operator, production team leader |
| 5 | purchasing assistant, accountant A, dispatcher, HR and payroll clerk |
| 6 | accountant B, company nurse, food safety coordinator, network administrator |
| 7 | any job above class 6 |
An employee who disagrees with the class can appeal under the procedure in the classification agreement. A written job description prevents that discussion.
JC 220 indexation 2026
JC 220 indexes once a year, on 1 January. The percentage follows consumer prices from November to November. Minimum and actual salaries both rise, so pay above the scale goes up too.
| Indexation on 1 January | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.19% |
| 2025 | 3.57% |
The next indexation is on 1 January 2027. It will be the first in JC 220 under the cents index, in force since 1 June 2026. For a full-time reference wage above € 4,000 gross per month, the first 2% of indexation is calculated only on that threshold. In JC 220 this can affect scale salaries too: the highest minimum is already € 4,363.42. More in our piece on the cents index.
JC 220 year-end bonus
The year-end bonus is set by an agreement in force since 1 January 2025. You pay it yourself, not the social fund.
- Amount: the gross monthly salary for December, plus the monthly average of variable pay from January to December. Expense allowances do not count.
- Condition: at least 1 month of service with the company.
- Pro rata: one twelfth per month of actual service. An employee who joins on or before the 15th of the month gets that month in full. One who leaves after the 15th does too.
- Treated as worked: sickness or accident up to 12 months, maternity leave, birth leave, holidays, public holidays, short leave and temporary unemployment. Months of unemployment with company top-up give 20% of the rest of the bonus.
- Loss of entitlement: on dismissal for serious misconduct, and on voluntary departure within the first year of service (1 year).
- Payment: before 25 December 2026 for employees in service on 1 December, otherwise on departure.
Worked example. A quality inspector in class 2 with five years of career earns € 2,599.43 a month. He starts on 10 June. June counts, so he has seven twelfths: 2,599.43 x 7 / 12 = € 1,516.33 gross for this year.
How the bonus compares with other sectors is explained in calculating the year-end bonus.
Eco vouchers and meal vouchers in JC 220
Eco vouchers. A full-time employee receives € 250 a year, or € 20.82 per month of actual work. You hand them out in one go, with the first salary after 31 December. The first 12 months of sickness or accident count. Part-timers receive a proportional share. An eco voucher is valid for 24 months. If your company has an agreement replacing eco vouchers with another benefit, that agreement applies.
Meal vouchers. The purchasing power agreement for 2025-2026 does not add a one-off bonus but a lasting benefit. Everything depends on your situation on 1 October 2025:
| Situation on 1 October 2025 | What you must do |
|---|---|
| You already gave meal vouchers | employer share up by € 1 from 1 January 2026 |
| No meal vouchers, but a union delegation | equivalent benefit through a company agreement before 15 February 2026 |
| No meal vouchers and no union delegation | introduce an equivalent benefit before 1 July 2026 |
After the increase, the employer share may be at most € 8.91 and the employee share at least € 1.09, for a voucher of at most € 10. More on the new ceiling in 10-euro meal vouchers.
Commuting costs in JC 220
A new scheme applies since 1 February 2026. You reimburse every month.
- Train: on average 80% of the season ticket, based on a distance table.
- Bus, tram and metro: also 80% if the fare depends on distance. For a flat fare, 80% of the price paid, capped at the contribution for 7 km.
- Own transport: a fixed amount from the table, from 1 km. On average it equals 85% of the price of a train season ticket. For 20 km one way, that is € 93.50 a month.
- Bicycle: € 0.31 per kilometre, there and back, not combined with another contribution for the same distance. Speed pedelecs count, mopeds do not.
The differences with other sectors are covered in our blog on the cycling allowance.
Short leave, end-of-career days and parental leave in JC 220
Short leave. On the death of a father, mother, parent-in-law or step-parent, JC 220 grants 5 days, to be taken within 6 months. The law grants 3. The sector text gives the same number of days on the death of a partner or child, but the law now grants 10, and the more favourable rule applies. For other events, follow the statutory list in our blog on short leave.
End-of-career days. An employee with 5 years' seniority with you receives paid days off per calendar year:
| From the age of | Days per year |
|---|---|
| 55 | 1 |
| 57 | 2 |
| 59 | 6 |
| 62 | 8 |
The days do not add up, and you grant them on 1 January of the year in which the employee reaches the age. Part-timers receive them pro rata. From 59, you may offset existing extra company leave days against 2 of these days.
Parental leave. An employee who takes at least 3 months of parental leave in a calendar year, full-time, half-time or one fifth, receives an extra day off the following year. The social fund refunds you € 200 per day.
What does the JC 220 social fund pay?
The Social and Guarantee Fund for white-collar employees in the food industry pays several benefits directly to the employee. That saves you costs, but the employee needs to know about them.
- Childcare: € 5 gross per day of care started and per child, up to € 1,000 per child per year, until the year the child turns 12. The employee applies to the fund with the tax certificate. The right lapses 3 years after the end of the year. If both parents work in the sector, both receive it.
- Long-term sickness: a daily top-up from month 4 up to and including month 12 of sickness, with no seniority condition.
Through the NSSO you pay 0.20% of salaries to the fund and 0.20% for training through Alimento. The sector pension costs 1.19% of gross pay since the third quarter of 2026, plus 0.06% for solidarity and 8.86% NSSO on the pension contribution. That rate rises every July, to 1.28% in 2027 and 1.46% in 2029.
Training. You provide on average 5 training days per full-time employee per year, with an individual right of 4 days. From 2027 that becomes 5 days. From 20 employees, you draw up a training plan every year.
Flexi-jobs in joint committee 220
Since 1 July 2026 you may also use flexi-jobbers in JC 220. JC 220 is not on the list of excluded sectors. Flexi pay is at least the scale pay for the job, plus 7.67% flexi holiday pay, and you pay a special contribution of 28%. For an employee with fixed hours, such as a stand-in in accounts, an ordinary part-time contract is often simpler. The rules per sector are in flexi-jobs in all sectors.
Worked example: what does a JC 220 employee cost per year?
An accountant in class 5 with ten years of career, at a biscuit factory (220.02), earns at least € 3,278.91 gross a month.
| Item | Per year |
|---|---|
| 12 monthly salaries | € 39,346.92 |
| Year-end bonus | € 3,278.91 |
| Double holiday pay (92% of monthly pay) | € 3,016.60 |
| Employer NSSO, base rate 25% on salaries and bonus | € 10,656.46 |
| Social fund (0.20%) and training (0.20%) | € 170.50 |
| Sector pension (1.19%, plus 8.86% NSSO) and solidarity (0.06%) | € 577.77 |
| Eco vouchers | € 250.00 |
| Total | € 57,297.16 |
That is about € 4,775 a month, before meal vouchers, commuting costs and NSSO reductions. The structural reduction and any target group reduction bring the figure down.
Mistakes we often see in JC 220
- Ignoring career in another sector. The scale counts all experience, also outside food. An experienced new employee therefore starts above the starting rate.
- Declaring the employee under JC 200. A food producer that declares its office staff under JC 200 pays scales that are too low and misses the sector benefits.
- The wrong scale: 220.01 or 220.02. Only canned, dried or frozen vegetables follow 220.01.
- Forgetting the 2026 purchasing power rule. An SME with no meal vouchers and no benefit on 1 July 2026 owes a net amount every year.
- Refusing the year-end bonus to leavers. After the first year of service, an employee who resigns keeps the right. After termination for medical force majeure you also pay a top-up, for 1 week per full year of seniority.
What Business Centrum does for you
Business Centrum runs payroll for food companies in East Flanders, together with Acerta. We pick the right committee for blue-collar and white-collar staff, calculate career at every hire, apply the January indexation and pay the year-end bonus, eco vouchers and purchasing power benefit on time.