Employer of record Belgium: an advisory meeting with an employer at Business Centrum in Ghent

For foreign companies

Employer of record in Belgium or employer yourself: the difference

An employer of record in Belgium becomes the legal employer of your staff, whereas you remain the employer yourself when you work with a local partner for payroll. Business Centrum is not an employer of record. We are a payroll and HR office in Ghent: if you are the employer in Belgium yourself, we take over your staff administration and payroll.

What we take over

Employer of record or employer yourself: the difference

There are two ways to have people work for you in Belgium:

  1. An employer of record

    A third party hires your people and is their employer under Belgian law. It signs the contract, pays the wage and files the returns. You pay it for that and decide what work is done.

  2. Employer yourself, with a local partner

    Your company is the employer and signs the contracts. A payroll office or social secretariat processes the wages and files the returns. How that works is explained under payroll in Belgium.

  3. What to check first

    Lending staff with a transfer of employer authority is prohibited in Belgium, except in the exceptions provided by law, such as temporary agency work. So have it checked how an employer of record arrangement relates to that.

What Business Centrum takes over when you are the employer

If you are an employer in Belgium with an establishment here, we take this over:

  • The right joint committee and the wage that comes with it
  • The employment contracts of your staff
  • Every Dimona before the first working day
  • Payroll processing every month, with payslip
  • The returns and contributions, through Acerta

What is left for you

You remain the employer: you sign the contracts, pay the wages and direct the work.

Business Centrum is a payroll and HR office and your fixed contact in Ghent. Returns to the NSSO go through Acerta, a recognised social secretariat.

What a foreign employer arranges in Belgium

If you become an employer in Belgium or send your own staff here, you arrange this:

  1. Registration with the NSSO

    A company without an establishment in Belgium can also be an employer here. It identifies itself through WIDE, the social security application, and the NSSO assigns it an enterprise number. See also how to get an NSSO number.

  2. Posted staff and Limosa

    If you send your own employees to Belgium temporarily and they stay under the social security of your country, you file a Limosa declaration before the start. Without it, you risk a fine of € 3,000 to € 35,000 per employee. More in our article on the Limosa declaration.

  3. A work permit

    If your employee comes from outside the European Economic Area, a single permit is often needed. See applying for a single permit.

How to start with Business Centrum

  1. Get acquainted

    A conversation: where is your company established, how many people do you want in Belgium and from when?

  2. Start

    If it fits, we set up your file with Acerta, determine your committee and draft the contracts.

  3. Every month

    You pass on the hours worked, we do the payroll and the returns.

Employer of record in Belgium: frequently asked questions

Is Business Centrum an employer of record?

No. We never become the employer of your staff. You remain the employer, we do the staff administration and payroll, with Acerta for the returns.

Can a foreign company without an establishment be an employer in Belgium?

Yes. It identifies itself through WIDE and the NSSO assigns it an enterprise number. After that, like every employer, it files the Dimona and the quarterly return.

Does Business Centrum work for an employer without an establishment in Belgium?

Call us with your situation. We will tell you whether we can help.

When is a posting enough?

When your employee works in Belgium temporarily and stays on your payroll. Within the European Economic Area he then stays, if the conditions are met, under your social security with an A1, for at most 24 months. More in [our article on the A1 form](/blog/a1-formulier-aanvragen/).

Read more

Sources

Every amount and deadline on this page was checked against these official sources, last consulted on .

Staff in Belgium: employer of record or employer yourself

Staff in Belgium, without an employer of record?

Call us or ask us to call you back. We listen to your plans and tell you what we take over.

Call 09 395 94 00Free consultation