Employee type - Student employment
Student jobs as an employer
Max. 650 hours per year at the advantageous solidarity contribution rate. Above this limit, normal NSSO rates apply. One contingent per student, across all employers combined.
Definition
What is student employment?
Student employment is work performed under a student employment contract by persons still enrolled in full-time education. The main advantage: instead of normal NSSO contributions, a reduced solidarity contribution applies, as long as the annual student hours contingent of 650 hours is not exceeded.
Popular sectors: hospitality, retail, events, tourism and the service industry. Any employer in any sector can employ student workers, provided the legal conditions are met.
Who qualifies as a student?
Persons enrolled in a recognised educational institution as full-time students. Compulsory schooling applies up to the age of 18. The legal minimum age is 15, and the young person must in principle no longer be in full-time compulsory education; since 4 May 2026, a 15-year-old still in full-time compulsory education may do light work outside school hours. In practice that means 15 or 16.
When does one lose student status?
Upon graduation or de-registration from education. According to the NSSO, a student who graduates in June may still work as a student until 30 September. If more than 650 hours are worked in the same year, normal rates apply to the excess hours, but the student status itself remains valid as long as enrolment continues.
Act of 3 July 1978 - Employment Contracts Act, art. 120-130ter
The student employment contract is governed by the Employment Contracts Act. It must be drawn up in writing before the start of employment and must contain all legally required details (parties, start and end date, remuneration, working arrangements).
DIMONA & legal framework
DIMONA type STU
The DIMONA declaration for student workers has specific timing and content requirements that differ from those for regular employees.
DIMONA type: STU
Student workers are declared using DIMONA type STU (Student). This type activates the solidarity contribution rate for the relevant period, as long as the 650-hour student hours contingent has not been exceeded.
Timing: no later than before the start
The DIMONA STU must be submitted no later than on the day of employment, before the start of the performance. A forgotten or late DIMONA automatically results in the normal NSSO rate for that period.
Contingent check: per student, all employers
The 650-hour contingent is tracked per student across all employers via the RSZ Student App. With the access code on the student's certificate, an employer can consult the remaining hours. Business Centrum does this on your behalf and sends an alert at 600 hours.
Quarterly periods
The 650 hours apply per calendar year and can be spread freely over the year. Hours worked during the holidays count just as much as hours during the school year. No quarter falls outside the contingent.
NSSO & remuneration
Solidaritycontribution
vs. normal rate
NSSO rates - comparison
| Situation | Employer | Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Student ≤ 650h (solidarity, 8.13% total) | 5.42% | 2.71% |
| Student > 650h (normal NSSO) | ~25% | 13.07% |
| Regular employee (for comparison) | ~25% | 13.07% |
Rates for 2026. Student solidarity contribution = 8.13% total (5.42% employer + 2.71% student). From 2026, a CBA-90 wage bonus paid to a student is subject to the 33% special contribution + 13.07% solidarity contribution.
Student minimum wage
Student workers are entitled to the minimum wage of the joint committee under which they work. Some sectors do have a lower student wage by age, such as JC 302 (hospitality) for minor students and JC 201 (retail). Without a sectoral CBA, the guaranteed average minimum monthly income (GGMMI) applies, reduced by age for students under 21. Always check the scale of your own sector.
No holiday pay within the 650 hours
Within the 650-hour contingent, only the solidarity contribution is paid. The student therefore builds up no holiday entitlement and no holiday pay, not via any other fund either. Hours above 650 with ordinary NSSO contributions do create holiday entitlement.
650 hours is less than you think when a student works for multiple employers.
The 650-hour risk
What if the student has already used up their contingent?
You cannot tell by looking at the student. Only the RSZ Student App allows you to check the remaining contingent. If you do not check and the student has already worked 650 hours with other employers, full NSSO rates apply from the very first hour with you — retroactively.
Scenario
Student Jana - 580h elsewhere
Only 70h remaining with you
Jana has already worked 580 hours this year with two other employers. She applies to you for the summer. Without a contingent check, she works 100 hours with you in July. After 70 hours the solidarity rate is exhausted — the remaining 30 hours are at the normal NSSO rate. You pay ~25% employer contribution instead of 5.42%.
Business Centrum checks the remaining contingent for every student via the Student App before the first DIMONA STU declaration.
Scenario
Student Pieter - school year vs. summer
700 hours across the whole year
Pieter works 200 hours in Q1 (school year), 300 hours in Q2 and Q3 (holidays), and then another 200 hours in Q4. Total contingent used: 200 + 300 + 200 = 700 hours. Holiday hours count too, so the last 50 hours in Q4 exceed the 650 hours and attract normal NSSO contributions.
Every hour counts, whatever the quarter. Business Centrum tracks the balance across the whole year for you.
Frequently asked questions
Student workers - FAQ
The most common questions about employing student workers.
Related services
Managing student workers correctly
DIMONA management
DIMONA type STU for every student worker, with prior contingent check via the RSZ Student App.
Employment contracts
Correct student employment contracts with all legally required details, drawn up and signed before the start of employment.
Payroll administration
Payroll processing with the correct solidarity contribution, monitoring of the 650-hour contingent and notification in case of excess.
Read next
- Late Dimona declaration: fines and what to do now
- Joint committee 302: hospitality pay scales 2026
- Joint committee 201: pay scales, index and bonuses
- Joint committee 322 in Belgium: pay, year-end bonus and rules for temporary agency work and service vouchers in 2026
- Probation period Belgium 2026: no clause, but 1 week's notice
Sources
Every amount and deadline on this page was checked against these official sources, last consulted on .
- FOD WASO, algemene verlaging van de loonkost
- FOD WASO, overeenkomst voor tewerkstelling van studenten
- Justel, wet van 3 juli 1978 betreffende de arbeidsovereenkomsten, titel VII
- RSZ, Administratieve instructies 2026/3, Bijzondere bijdrage niet-recurrente resultaatsgebonden voordelen
- RSZ, administratieve instructies 2026/3, studenten
- RSZ, administratieve instructies, socialezekerheidsbijdragen
- RSZ, administratieve instructies, solidariteitsbijdrage studenten
Hire student workers without risk
From contingent checks to DIMONA STU and a correct student employment contract: Business Centrum ensures every student contract is compliant and monitors the 650-hour contingent on your behalf.
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