Sunday work in Belgium is prohibited in principle: section 11 of the Labour Act allows no deviation, not even by agreement. Yet many employees do work on Sunday, because the law and royal decrees provide exceptions for hospitality, care, transport, security, maintenance and shops. Whoever works on Sunday gets compensatory rest within 6 days: a full day for more than 4 hours of work. The law imposes no general Sunday supplement: it comes from your committee's CLA, except for overtime on Sunday, at 100% overtime pay. Below are the exceptions, compensatory rest, what you pay and what goes in the work rules.
Sunday work: the principle and the exceptions
It is prohibited to have employees work on Sunday, from 0.00 to 24.00. The rule is a matter of public policy: employer and employee cannot deviate from it by agreement (section 11 of the Labour Act). The exceptions are in the law itself or in a royal decree, full or partial.
| Exception | Basis | What is allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Security, maintenance, repairs, urgent work, preventing damage to materials | Section 12 | All day, if not possible on another day |
| Sectors with a royal decree | Section 13 | According to the decree, sometimes part of the day or a number of Sundays |
| Hospitality, entertainment, care, transport, energy, pharmacies, fairs and markets, food businesses for immediate consumption and others | Section 66, as long as there is no decree | All day |
| Retail in general | Section 14 | From 8 to 12 |
| Bakeries, butchers, food shops with fewer than 5 employees per shop, newspapers, tobacco, flowers | Royal Decree of 3 December 1987 | All day, all year |
| Other shops | Royal Decree of 3 December 1987 | 3 freely chosen Sundays, plus 3 more under conditions |
| Shops in seaside resorts and tourist centres | Section 14, paragraph 2 | Up to 39 Sundays per employee per year |
| Shift work | Section 17 | With a weekly break of 24 hours, of which 18 on Sunday |
The procedure for new work arrangements also lets a company deviate from Sunday rest. If in doubt about which exception covers your activity, check your sector's decree or have it checked.
Working on Sunday in a shop
Shops have their own rules. Every shop may employ staff on Sunday from 8 to 12. Bakeries, butchers, food shops with fewer than 5 employees per shop, newsagents, tobacconists, florists, petrol stations and medical equipment shops may do so all day.
Other shops may have staff work all day on 3 Sundays a year of their choice, for example during the sales. On top of that, 3 more Sundays are possible if a sectoral CLA sets the pay for those Sundays. In joint committee 201 for independent retail, that is a supplement of 50%. Without a sectoral CLA it is possible through a company CLA, and otherwise only through an individual agreement with a supplement of at least 100%, and only in a company with a works council or union delegation. Details for your sector are in joint committee 201 and joint committee 202.
A shop allowed to open later or on Sunday may not, for that reason, have its staff work longer. What changed in opening hours is in shops open until 9 pm.
Sunday work and compensatory rest
An employee who works on Sunday is entitled to compensatory rest within the 6 days after that Sunday (section 16):
- a full day if he worked more than 4 hours;
- at least half a day if he worked 4 hours or less. That half day falls before or after 13 hours, and on that day he works at most 5 hours.
Compensatory rest is unpaid, like the normal rest day. It may fall on a day your company does not normally work, often Saturday, but not on a replacement public holiday, a holiday day or a day of short leave. For shift workers, the weekly break of 24 hours replaces this rest. How a public holiday on Sunday is replaced is in replacement public holiday.
Sunday work pay: what do you pay?
| Situation | What you pay | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hours on Sunday within the schedule | Normal pay, unless your committee's CLA provides a supplement | No general statutory supplement |
| Overtime on Sunday | Overtime pay of 100% | Labour Act, section 29 |
| Additional shopping Sundays in retail, PC 201 | Supplement of 50% | Sectoral CLA PC 201 |
| Additional shopping Sundays without CLA, individual agreement | Supplement of at least 100% | Rule from the Royal Decree of 3 December 1987 |
| Compensatory rest | Unpaid | Section 16 |
Worked example. A sales assistant in a clothing shop under PC 201 earns 16 euros gross an hour. She works 6 hours on an additional shopping Sunday.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Normal pay | 6 x 16 euros | 96 euros |
| Supplement under the CLA | 96 euros x 50% | 48 euros |
| Total for that Sunday | 144 euros | |
| Compensatory rest | More than 4 hours worked | A full day, unpaid, within 6 days |
Check your committee's CLA for a Sunday supplement in your sector, even for non-overtime hours. Your pay scales and CLAs are via find your joint committee. How overtime pay works is in paying overtime.
Decision aid: may my employee work on Sunday?
- Does your activity fall under section 12? Security, maintenance, repairs or urgent work that cannot be done another day: yes, all day.
- Is there a royal decree for your sector, or is your activity in section 66? Hospitality, care, transport, entertainment and more: yes, within the conditions of that decree. For hospitality see social secretariat for horeca and joint committee 302.
- Are you a shop? Always from 8 to 12. All day if you are a baker, butcher, small food shop or another exempt business, or on 3 plus 3 Sundays a year.
- Do you work in shifts? Yes, with a weekly break of 24 hours, of which 18 on Sunday.
- None of these? Then it is not allowed, even if the employee asks for it.
If an exception applies, check two more things: is the Sunday schedule in the work rules, and is the compensatory rest planned?
Sunday work in the work rules
An employee may only work within the schedules or working time framework of the work rules. If you want Sunday work, that schedule must be in the work rules before you use it. Work outside that working time is, under the Social Penal Code, a level 2 offence: an administrative fine of € 250 to € 2,500, multiplied by the number of employees concerned. How to add schedules is in drawing up work rules. If you want to change an employee's schedule, first read may an employer change the schedule.
Sunday work, public holidays and registration
If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the replacement day rule applies, not compensatory rest. Which holidays fall on a Sunday next year is in Belgium public holidays 2027. If an employee works on a public holiday falling on a weekday, he is entitled to a replacement rest day under the public holidays act.
Keep a record per employee of Sunday work: the number of hours, the date of compensatory rest and, in retail, the number of shopping Sundays used. That record is your proof during an inspection. The plans for general time registration are in time registration belgium. For white-collar staff in the auxiliary committee, the rules of joint committee 200 apply alongside the general rules of the Labour Act.
Students and flexi-jobbers on Sunday
The Sunday rest rules apply to all employees, including students and flexi-jobbers. They may work on Sunday if your activity falls under an exception, with the same rules on compensatory rest and work rules. Flexi-jobs are now possible in many sectors: see flexi-job rules 2026. For students, the student hour quota applies: see hiring a student.
What you do as an employer: step by step
- Determine the exception your Sunday work falls under, using the decision aid above.
- Put the Sunday schedule in the work rules before you use it.
- Check your committee's CLA for a supplement or specific rules.
- Plan the compensatory rest within 6 days: a full or half day depending on the duration.
- Record the hours and pass them on for payroll, with the supplement where it applies.
- Track the limits per employee, such as the 39 Sundays in tourist centres or the number of shopping Sundays.
Mistakes we often see
- Sunday work without an exception, because the employee wanted it.
- No Sunday schedule in the work rules. Even with a valid exception, that is an offence.
- No compensatory rest, or rest that coincides with a public holiday or holiday day.
- Forgetting the CLA supplement on additional shopping Sundays.
- Paying Sunday overtime at the ordinary overtime rate instead of 100%.
- Thinking that open on Sunday means staff may work all day.
What Business Centrum does for you
We put your Sunday schedules correctly in the work rules and follow the amendment procedure. In payroll we apply your committee's Sunday supplement, pay Sunday overtime at the right rate and track compensatory rest, together with Acerta. More on processing hours is under payroll. Unsure whether your Sunday work is allowed? Have it checked before you draw up the schedules.