Hiring your first employee.
The step that
changes everything.
Most SME owners postpone their first hire for months because they don't know what it costs, how it works, or what the obligations are. Business Centrum removes that uncertainty.
The real cost
What does a first employee actually cost?
The question every business owner asks before taking the step. Here is the concrete answer, based on a realistic profile.
Scenario
Administrative employee, JC 200, full-time 38h/week
| Agreed gross salary | 2.500,00 |
| + Employer NSSO (25%) | + 625,00 |
| + Meal vouchers (22 days x €8.91) | + 196,02 |
| + Eco-vouchers (€250 / 12 months) | + 20,83 |
| Total employer cost | 3.341,85 |
Target group reduction first employee
If you have never had staff, or had no one employed in the 12 months before this hire, you are entitled to an NSSO reduction of €2,000 per quarter (from 1 July 2026), for an indefinite period. That is up to €666.67 per month, but never more than the employer contributions you owe. At this salary, together with the structural reduction for low wages, the employer NSSO contribution disappears entirely.
| Total employer cost | 3.341,85 |
| - NSSO reductions (structural and first employee) | - 625,00 |
| Net employer cost per month | 2.716,85 |
Indicative calculation based on rates applicable on 1 October 2026. Exact amounts depend on sector, CBA and individual situation. Not included in this monthly table: the end-of-year bonus and the annual bonus of JC 200 and the double holiday pay, which you pay on top every year. Meal vouchers: max employer contribution €8.91/day (NSSO-exempt). Business Centrum prepares an exact tailor-made calculation for you.
euro / month after reduction
The NSSO reduction for the first employee applies if you have never had staff, or had no one employed in the 12 months before the hire. The new employee may not replace anyone who worked in the same technical business unit during those 12 months, including in a previous business or a sister company. Business Centrum verifies your status with the NSSO.
For the 2nd through 5th employee a reduction of €1,000 per quarter applies for up to 12 quarters within a 20-quarter window. The 4th and 5th hire have been reinstated as eligible since 1 July 2026.
Not granted automatically
The target group reduction is not calculated automatically. You or your social secretariat must claim it in the quarterly declaration (DmfA) to the NSSO. If you forget it, you can still correct the declaration up to three years after paying the contributions; after that, the reduction is lost.
Legal obligations
What must have been done before day 1?
Most mistakes in a first hire do not stem from bad faith, but from not knowing what is required at what point. This is the chronology.
Before the start date
Draw up and sign the employment contract
In writing and at the latest at the start: mandatory for a fixed term, a clearly defined job or part-time work, strongly advised for a full-time open-ended contract. Define the type of contract and duration.
Business Centrum does this for you
Submit DIMONA IN declaration
Mandatory before the start of services. One hour late is already a violation.
Business Centrum does this for you
Affiliate with a social secretariat
Not legally required: you may file the quarterly DmfA declaration yourself, but most employers leave it to an approved social secretariat.
Business Centrum does this for you
Affiliate with occupational health service
Mandatory for all employers. Failure to affiliate is a violation of the welfare law.
Business Centrum does this for you
Make work regulations available
Missing at the first hire? Fines from the labour inspectorate.
Business Centrum does this for you
Week 1
Employee on the payroll
Correct processing of salary, including any target group reductions.
Business Centrum does this for you
Update NSSO declaration
The quarterly DmfA declaration covers all wages and NSSO contributions. Correct coding of the work regime is crucial.
Business Centrum does this for you
Pay slip ready for month 1
Every employee is entitled to a detailed pay slip with each payment.
Business Centrum does this for you
Month 1 and beyond
First salary paid
White-collar workers at least monthly, blue-collar workers at least twice a month. No later than the fourth working day after the pay period, unless a CBA or the work regulations set another term (at most the seventh working day). Retain proof of payment.
Business Centrum does this for you
LIMOSA for foreign employee
Employee posted from another EU member state? LIMOSA notification mandatory before start.
Business Centrum does this for you
Follow up holiday pay
White-collar employees accrue holiday days based on the previous year. Blue-collar: holiday fund. Business Centrum monitors this.
Business Centrum does this for you
Monitor scale indexation
Sectoral minimum wages are periodically indexed via CBA. Failing to index is legally underpayment.
Business Centrum does this for you
Law of 5 December 1968 / Wellbeing at Work Act
Work regulations are legally mandatory for every employer (Law 8 April 1965). A fixed-term, specific-job or part-time contract must be in writing at the latest at the start (Employment Contracts Act 1978). DIMONA: Royal Decree 5 November 2002. Occupational accident insurance is mandatory from the first working day (Occupational Accidents Act of 10 April 1971); without a policy, Fedris affiliates you automatically against a flat-rate contribution. The absence of any of these during a social inspection leads to a separate sanction for each element.
NSSO subsidies
Money you get back
Target group reductions are discounts on employer NSSO contributions. They exist to encourage hiring and some are specific to small businesses or certain profiles. These are the most relevant for SMEs.
| Target group | Discount / quarter | Duration | Main condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| First employee (1st) | €2,000 (from 1 July 2026) | Unlimited | Never had staff, or no one employed in the previous 12 months; no replacement within the same technical business unit |
| 2nd through 5th employee | €1,000 (from 1 July 2026) | 3 years (12 quarters) | Never this many employees at the same time in the previous 12 months; 4th and 5th reintroduced as of 1 July 2026 |
| Long-term job seekers (Flanders) | €1,000 | 4 quarters | Registered as a non-working job seeker with VDAB for at least 2 years. This target group reduction has replaced the AWI premium since 1 October 2023 |
| Flemish target group reduction under 25 | Abolished | Ends on 31 March 2026 | Existing entitlements stop on 31 March 2026. No new applications possible in Flanders |
| Flemish target group reduction 55+ | Abolished | Ends on 31 March 2026 | For older sitting employees the reduction already stopped on 30 June 2025. Existing entitlements for older job seekers hired before 1 July 2024 ended on 31 March 2026. No new applications possible in Flanders |
Business Centrum automatically checks at every hire which target group reductions apply. We apply for them, follow up the files and link them correctly to the quarterly NSSO declaration. You don't have to think about it.
Amounts based on regulations applicable from 1 July 2026. The federal target group reduction for first hires has been reformed: the 4th and 5th employees are eligible again, and amounts are capped at €2,000 (1st) and €1,000 (2nd through 5th). The Flemish target group reductions for under-25s and older workers (55+/58+) have been definitively abolished as of 31 March 2026. Conditions may differ by region. Always consult your social secretariat for the current situation.
Your first employee is also our first concern.
Honest answers
What you wonder before you decide
Do I immediately need a social secretariat?
Not legally. You may file the quarterly NSSO declaration (DmfA) and your other social declarations yourself, and you always remain responsible for them. In practice the declaration requires specific software and legal knowledge. That is why 83% of employers were affiliated with an approved social secretariat in 2025.
How do I determine which joint committee applies?
Based on the activity your company actually carries out, not the employee's job; blue-collar and white-collar workers often fall under a different committee. The NACE code at the CBE is an indication, not a decisive criterion. Business Centrum establishes this during onboarding based on your activity and your company file at the CBE. Wrong joint committee means wrong minimum wage. During a social inspection this leads to recovery of the wage difference plus interest, retroactively over several years.
Your NACE code is on your company number at the CBE. If it is outdated or wrong, you correct it via the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.
Can I first take someone on a trial basis?
Not with a probation clause: it was abolished on 1 January 2014, for blue-collar and white-collar workers alike. Only student work and temporary agency work still treat the first three working days as a trial period. From the first weeks on: written contract before start, DIMONA correct, all obligations apply.
A probation clause in a contract concluded from 1 January 2014 onwards is invalid.
When must I have work regulations?
As soon as you hire your first employee. The work regulations contain working hours, locations, disciplinary measures, the salary payment moment and internal behavioural rules. Missing during an inspection by the labour inspectorate? Fines. Business Centrum draws up a standard work regulation tailored to your sector at the start of the collaboration.
Must I affiliate with a union or employers' organisation?
Affiliation with an employers' organisation is not legally mandatory, but can offer benefits: representation in CBA negotiations, legal advice, discounts on certain services. What is mandatory: affiliation with the occupational health service (IDEWE, Mensura, Cohezio, or others). An approved social secretariat for the NSSO declaration is not mandatory, but it is the usual choice.
Our role
As a small SME you are not a large company. You have no HR department, no in-house social secretariat specialist, and frankly you also have no time to immerse yourself in NSSO legislation.
Business Centrum is for you what a large company has in-house: someone who knows your file, who proactively calls when your salary scales need to be increased, who submits your DIMONA before your employee turns their key, and who gives you an answer on a Friday evening when you need it.
You pay per employee. No fixed overhead. No call centre. No queue.
Our offer
What we arrange for small SMEs
Frequently asked questions
Questions about your first hire
Read next
- First employee RSZ reduction 2026: amounts and rules
- External prevention and protection service in Belgium: obligation, cost and choice
- Work rules in Belgium: what every employer must draft, file and update
- Late Dimona declaration: fines and what to do now
- Choose a social secretariat: seven criteria for SMEs
- Temp agency costs Belgium employer guide: what agency staff really cost against hiring yourself
Sources
Every amount and deadline on this page was checked against these official sources, last consulted on .
- FOD WASO, de proefperiode
- FOD WASO, Limosa-fiche PC 200 (laatste aanpassing 27/01/2026)
- FOD WASO, schorsing wegens ziekte en ongeval (gewaarborgd loon, herval)
- Justel, wet van 12 april 1965 betreffende de bescherming van het loon der werknemers, art. 9
- Portaal van de sociale zekerheid, DmfA en Dimona online
- RSZ administratieve instructies 2026/3, de verjaring (vorderingen tegen de RSZ: 3 jaar vanaf de betaling) en het wijzigen van een ingediende aangifte
- RSZ administratieve instructies 2026/3, jonge werknemers (Vlaams Gewest)
- RSZ administratieve instructies 2026/3, nieuw dit kwartaal (Programmawet 30 mei 2026, KB 30 juni 2026), gids-id ea-datum-nieuw
- RSZ administratieve instructies 2026/3, oudere werknemers (Vlaams Gewest)
- RSZ administratieve instructies 2026/3, personen zonder recente duurzame werkervaring (Vlaams Gewest)
- RSZ administratieve instructies 2026/3, werkgeversbijdragen (basis 19,88% plus loonmatiging 5,12%), zoals in de gids eerste-werknemer-rsz-vermindering
- RSZ administratieve instructies, structurele vermindering en eerste aanwervingen; rekenwijze zoals de gids eerste-werknemer-rsz-vermindering
- RSZ, administratieve instructies 2026/3, maaltijdcheques (KB 10 november 2025)
- RSZ, Jaarverslag 2025, Adviseren en toezicht houden (gids welk-sociaal-secretariaat-kiezen, werkgevers-ess-aandeel)
- Sociaal Fonds 200, cao-brochure 2026 (cao 9 juni 2016, ecocheques 250 euro vanaf 4/5), zoals in de gids paritair-comite-200
Your first hire, fully arranged
Contract, DIMONA, social secretariat, target group reduction, work regulations. Business Centrum arranges everything so your first employee can start in the right way on the right day.
Free introduction meeting→