What is Time Credit in Belgium?

Time credit (crédit-temps in French, tijdskrediet in Dutch) is a private-sector right that lets an employee stop working, work half-time or reduce their hours by one fifth for a period, while keeping their job. The National Employment Office (ONEM, also known as RVA) can pay an allowance for the time not worked. There are two types: time credit with a motive and end-of-career time credit.

Time credit with a motive

An employee can take it to care for a child under 8, a child with a disability under 21, a seriously ill minor child, a seriously ill family or household member, or a person in palliative care, or to follow recognised training. The maximum is 51 months for care and 36 months for training. For childcare, allowances are paid for up to 48 months, and for full-time time credit only while the child is under 5.

The employee needs 24 months of service with the employer, or 36 months to receive allowances for childcare. Half-time requires at least three-quarter-time work beforehand, and the one-fifth form requires full-time work. For some motives, full-time and half-time time credit are only possible if a sector or company collective agreement allows them.

End-of-career time credit

Employees aged 60 or over with 24 months of service can work half-time or four-fifths until retirement. They also need a minimum career, which rises from 1 January 2026: 31 years for men and 26 for women, increasing by one year each year to 35 and 30 years in 2030. Exceptions from age 55 apply, for example, to heavy jobs and to companies in difficulty or restructuring.

Notice, postponement and dismissal protection

The employee must give written notice 3 months in advance in companies with more than 20 workers, or 6 months in smaller ones. In companies with 10 workers or fewer, the employer can refuse. Larger employers can only postpone the start for serious internal or external reasons, or when the limit on simultaneous absences is reached, and must reply by the end of the month after the notice.

From the notice until 3 months after the time credit ends, the employee is protected against dismissal. An employer that dismisses without serious cause or a sufficient reason unrelated to the time credit owes a flat 6 months’ pay on top of the notice indemnity.

Time credit when you hire through an EOR

With TopSource as your Employer of Record in Belgium, we handle the request as the legal employer: we check eligibility and the collective agreement, complete the employer’s part of the application on Break@work, adjust working time and payroll, and take the dismissal protection into account in any later decision.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays during time credit in Belgium?

The employer pays salary only for the hours still worked. ONEM can pay an interruption allowance for the time not worked, if the employee meets the conditions.

Can an employer refuse time credit?

An employer with 10 workers or fewer can. A larger employer can only postpone the start for serious internal or external reasons, or when the maximum number of simultaneous absences is reached, and must justify the postponement.

What changed for end-of-career time credit in 2026?

The career condition rose to 31 years for men and 26 years for women from 1 January 2026, and it increases by one year each year until 2030.

Time Credit (Belgium)