Planning the 2026 year-end peak: how to deploy student workers under the new labour rules
The rules on evening work, part-time hours and temporary agency work changed on three points at once on 1 June 2026. For anyone who has to absorb a peak in November and December, that changes the planning as well. Within the quota, a student worker costs you 5.42 percent in employer contributions instead of roughly a quarter of gross pay. By autumn, the 650-hour quota is already largely used up for many students, and you only find out if you plan too late. Fix your shifts now and you still have a choice in the second week of November. Start in November and you don't.
You probably know the scenario
Mid-November, order volumes climb, the first sick note comes in, and the permanent team is already running at the top of what it can handle. Three names from the summer get a phone call. Two of them are now in exam period, the third has almost used up his 650 hours. That isn't bad luck: that's the result of planning that started six weeks too late.
Employers in retail and logistics typically plan their year-end six to ten weeks ahead. Which means the decision about November and December falls in the last week of September, not in October. The rules below determine what you can build those weeks on.
Your year-end peak in four steps: from planning to first shift
End of September — set your evening window
If you want to keep working past 8 pm during the peak, you need an amended work regulation or a company-level collective agreement. That procedure takes weeks, not days. Decide now whether you need that window, because in November it is too late to start.
Early October — request the quota attestations
Mid-October — choose weekly contracts over single days
First week of November — organise the first working day
A student who lands on the floor without an introduction on the busiest day of the year costs you productivity instead of delivering it. Plan a short walk-through, clear tasks, the safety instructions and one fixed point of contact. On a peak crew, that pays for itself within two shifts.
What has changed since 1 June 2026 for evening and night work?
The general ban on night work was lifted by the Act of 18 May 2026 containing various labour provisions, published in the Belgian Official Gazette of 1 June 2026. Night work is therefore permitted in principle in any company, provided you follow the procedure: an amendment to the work regulations, or a company-level collective agreement.
Note what does not change. In legal terms night work remains work between 8 pm and 6 am, and the maximum working time of nine hours per day and forty hours per week still applies. The minimum night premium for working arrangements involving night work, meaning where work is normally performed between midnight and 5 am, has been 1.51 euros per hour since 1 January 2026, and 1.82 euros per hour for employees aged fifty and over, according to Securex.
A special regime applies to the distribution sector and e-commerce, and that is where most of the misunderstandings sit. In those sectors you only owe a night premium to new employees for work performed between 11 pm and 6 am. So this concerns the premium, not the definition of night work. Three conditions apply together: your company falls under one of the listed joint committees, it carries out one of the listed activities such as retail, wholesale, third-party logistics or e-commerce, and it concerns employees who start from 1 June 2026 onwards. Anyone already employed before 1 June 2026, a single day worked between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2026 is enough, keeps the right to the night premium from 8 pm.
One detail matters more to your planning than it appears: agency workers count as ordinary employees here. So a student who worked a single day for you last winter through a temp agency falls under the old rule.
How short can a shift be?
Since 1 June 2026, the minimum weekly working time for a part-time employee is one tenth of a full-time employee in the same category within the company, where it used to be one third. On a full-time week of 38 hours, that works out at 3.8 hours per week.
That looks like a wide opening for short peak shifts, but there is a limit. The rule that every work period lasts at least three consecutive hours has not changed, although some joint committees provide for an exception. A shift of an hour and a half covering the busiest two hours of a Saturday therefore remains impossible in most sectors.
For student workers, less changes on this point than for your permanent part-timers. Student work subject only to the solidarity contribution already appears in the Royal Decree of 21 December 1992 on the list of exceptions to the minimum weekly working time. So you already had that room with a student worker. What is new is that you can now fill those same short weeks with your own part-timers. Existing part-time contracts do not change by themselves, incidentally: a lower weekly duration has to be agreed contractually.
What does a student worker cost you during the peak?
Within the quota you pay 5.42 percent solidarity contribution as the employer, and the student pays 2.71 percent, making 8.13 percent in total. That is the comparison that counts against the roughly 25 percent in ordinary employer contributions. No payroll withholding tax is due within the quota, and the only tax formality is the 281.10 form.
The average hourly wage for a student worker in 2026 was 14.21 euros, according to Securex. Add that the sectoral pay scale of your joint committee takes precedence, plus any night premium as set out above, and you have a realistic cost per shift.
Above the quota the picture flips. On hours beyond 650 the ordinary contributions apply, and for the student that means 13.07 percent instead of 2.71. That flip applies only to the hours above the threshold, not retroactively across the whole year, but it does make your last week of December more expensive than your first week of November.
Where does the 650-hour counter run out in November?
The quota is 650 hours per calendar year and counts only hours actually worked. Public holidays and paid sick days don't count towards the counter, although the solidarity contribution is still owed on that pay. One calculation rule is consistently forgotten: every hour started counts as a full hour, so a shift of 7 hours 36 takes 8 hours off the counter.
The counter is in the student's name, not yours. You cannot check the balance yourself, and you're only notified once it's exceeded. The student consults the balance via Student@work and can give you an attestation or, with their consent, an access code with a limited validity period.
In practice that means one thing for your year-end planning: ask for the attestation in September, not in the week the shift starts. A student who worked full-time in July and August will easily be close to the ceiling by November, and then you've simply moved the problem to December.
What does this mean for your November and December planning?
Four decisions are on the table now. Take them in this order, because they build on each other.
- Set your evening window first. If you want to work past 8 pm, you need an amended work regulation or a company-level collective agreement, and that procedure takes time. Don't start on it in November.
- Lock in the names before exam period. First-semester exams begin in early January, but classes at most Flemish institutions run until mid-December. Agree in September and you're planning with students who already know their semester.
- Request the quota attestations in September. The 650-hour balance is your real capacity figure, not the number of names in your file.
- Choose weekly contracts over single days. That saves you both the responsibilisation levy and a share of the Dimona declarations, and a late Dimona puts every hour on that declaration outside the quota.
What we take on
Recruit a Student is Belgium's specialist student staffing agency. We've been active in Belgium since 2016, starting with the logistics operation at Brussels Airport, and today we work with a pool of 500 active students.
During a year-end peak we take over three things. We are the legal employer, so the contracts, the Dimona declarations, the payroll calculation and the occupational accident insurance sit with us. We monitor the quota balances of the students we place with you, so no regularisation lands on your desk in December. And we scale up and down with you: a pool that doubles in November and falls back to normal in January is exactly what pool management is for.
On 12 February 2026 the VDAB counted 227 shortage occupations in Flanders, with logistics among the hardest-hit fields. A student pool doesn't solve that structural shortage, but it does take the peak off without you hiring permanent staff for eight weeks of work.
In 2026 the legislator opened up room in three places: night work is permitted in principle, part-time weeks may be shorter, and one administrative obligation in agency work has been scrapped. You only make use of that room if you set it up before the peak, because amending a work regulation and requesting a quota attestation are both jobs measured in weeks, not days.
The arithmetic underneath has stayed the same: 8.13 percent within the quota, 650 hours per student per calendar year, and every hour started counted in full. Put those three figures next to your shift planning and you'll know by the end of September what your December looks like.
Student staffing agency with national coverage and local expertise
We work from two Belgian offices, in Antwerp and in Brussels. We also manage a student pool in Ghent. Our candidate pool holds 500 active students, across hospitality, retail, logistics, cleaning, holiday parks, transport and administration.
We've been active in Belgium since 2016, starting with the logistics operation at Brussels Airport. That amounts to ten years of experience with Belgian student employment, and therefore with the counter, the Dimona and the quarterly declaration.
Personal contact at our locations
Recruit a Student is always close by. You'll find us in person in Belgium's main student cities. Find us in your region. Our recruiters are ready for you directly at the locations below:
Also active in your region: beyond our office locations we operate throughout Belgium. We have extensive student pools and active recruitment channels across Flanders and Brussels. Thanks to our recruitment tools and regional networks, we can supply the right temporary staff at short notice anywhere in Belgium.
Still looking for qualified staff?
We'll gladly work out with you how many students your peak can realistically absorb, and what that costs per shift. Request a free quote, or have us call you at a time that suits you via Call me back. Want to know first how we divide up the work? Read more about temporary staffing or about pool management.
Frequently asked questions
Since 1 June 2026, can I simply put student workers on night shifts?
No. The general ban on night work was lifted by the Act of 18 May 2026, but you still have to introduce night work through an amendment to the work regulations or through a company-level collective agreement. Stricter rules also apply to underage students, and the maximum working time of nine hours per day and forty hours per week remains fully in force.
From what hour do I have to pay a night premium in e-commerce?
If your company falls under the distribution sector or e-commerce, carries out one of the activities listed in the Act, and it concerns an employee starting from 1 June 2026, then the night premium is limited to the hours between 11 pm and 6 am. For employees already in service before 1 June 2026, the premium still applies from 8 pm. Agency workers count as ordinary employees here.
How many hours does my student worker have left in November?
Only the student can tell you. The quota is 650 hours per calendar year, the counter is in their name at Student@work, and as an employer you're only notified once it's exceeded. So ask for an attestation in September, or an access code with a limited validity period.
What happens if the student goes over 650 hours?
On the hours above the quota, ordinary social security contributions apply — 13.07 percent for the student instead of 2.71 percent. In the event of a regularisation, the employer pays both the employer contributions and the personal contributions. Hours reserved via Dimona cannot be corrected afterwards.
Is a run of daily contracts more expensive than a weekly contract?
Often, yes. The NSSO levies a responsibilisation contribution per user and per six months: 10 euros per contract at 40 to 59 consecutive daily contracts, 15 euros at 60 to 79, 30 euros at 80 to 99, and 40 euros from a hundred onwards. Students under the solidarity contribution are included.
Can I use a student worker for a two-hour shift?
In most cases, no. The minimum weekly working time was lowered to one tenth of a full-time equivalent on 1 June 2026, but the rule that every work period lasts at least three consecutive hours remains. Some joint committees provide for an exception, so it's worth checking your sector.
From what age can a student worker work for me?
From fifteen, for light and non-industrial work, under the Royal Decree of 19 April 2026, published in the Belgian Official Gazette of 4 May 2026. Additional restrictions on working hours and types of task apply to minors.
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