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For employers

Hiring e-commerce student workers | Flexible by the hour

A webshop does not run on an average. Your volume comes in waves: a campaign, a weekend, Black Friday, the weeks before the end of the year. Permanent contracts for those peaks are too expensive, and an unfilled peak costs more still.

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Staff for your webshop and parcel flow in 2026

We deploy student workers across the whole chain around your online sales. Order pickers and packers in the fulfilment centre, staff for returns processing and stock control, loading staff for the outgoing flow, and sorters and driver’s mates in parcel delivery. You set the hours; we arrange the student employment contract, the Dimona declaration, payroll and the insurance.

Since 1 June 2026 the night work rules for the distribution sector and e-commerce have also changed. That affects your evening and night windows directly, and it affects your agency workers too. What exactly changed is set out below.

Why us

Why companies choose e-commerce staff through Recruit a Student

Available by the hour

You hire students exactly for the hours you need. If your volume scales up, the staffing scales with it.

Screened in advance

Our recruiters assess skills and motivation. You are presented with candidates who know what a pick order is and what pace means.

Short waiting times

Thanks to our pool, students can often start the same week. Your peak gets staffed straight from our pool.

Fully taken care of

Contracts, Dimona, pay calculation, contributions and insurance run through us. You get one invoice and we handle the staff administration.

Our services

Our services: student workers for your e-commerce chain

Order picking and packing

Assembling orders, scanning, packing and making them ready for dispatch. The role where extra hands are needed quickest during a campaign or a peak day.

Returns processing and stock control

Unpacking returns, checking them, revaluing them and putting them back into stock. After a peak this is often the work that is left over, with capital sitting in boxes.

Loading and the outgoing flow

Preparing roll containers, loading, checking labels and documents. Work with fixed windows, tied to your carrier’s collection time.

Sorting and parcel delivery

Sorting at the depot, and riding along or delivering where the job requirements allow. For driving roles we look per assignment at what a student worker may and can do.

How it works

How does hiring a student worker through Recruit a Student work?

  1. Request

    In an introductory conversation we discuss your situation, map out what you need and advise on a suitable, flexible use of students.

  2. Selection and matching

    Our recruiters screen thoroughly on skills and motivation and select suitable students from our pool.

  3. Match and quick deployment

    Within a few days we propose flexible candidates, and thanks to our pool students can often start the same week.

  4. Ongoing support

    Our students are well prepared, you decide on the introduction and we provide continuous support with planning, replacement and scaling up.

What are the rules for student work in e-commerce in 2026?

A student worker may work 650 hours per calendar year at the reduced solidarity contribution of 8.13 per cent in total, of which you as the employer carry 5.42 per cent and the student 2.71 per cent. Above those 650 hours the ordinary contributions of 13.07 per cent apply, and then only to the hours above the limit. Work is possible from the age of 15, for light, non-industrial work.

Night work, changed since 1 June 2026. The general ban on night work was abolished by the Act of 18 May 2026. Night work is work between 8 pm and 6 am. For the distribution sector and related sectors, including e-commerce, a special regime applies: for employees who start from 1 June 2026, the night premium is limited to the hours between 11 pm and 6 am. That regime applies only in certain joint committees and certain activities, including online retail, wholesale, third-party logistics and e-commerce.

The point employers miss most often: agency workers count as ordinary employees. Anyone who already worked for you before 1 June 2026, and one worked day between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2026 is enough, keeps the right to the night premium from 8 pm. That also applies when the person only moves to a night shift later. We check per file which regime applies to which student, so that you plan on the right premium.

The maximum working time of 9 hours a day and 40 hours a week stays the same after the abolition. The minimum night premium for working arrangements with night work, meaning work usually between midnight and 5 am, has been 1.51 euro per hour since 1 January 2026, and 1.82 euro for employees of at least 50. Source: Securex, 2 June 2026.

Hiring student workers for your webshop

Demand for labour in e-commerce is both large and unpredictable. A successful campaign doubles your outgoing volume within two days, and a week later it is back to normal. That is exactly the pattern student work is made for: you buy hours instead of months. And because we work with a fixed pool, you can draw on the same people at every peak.

Logistics roles have moreover been on the VDAB list of shortage occupations for years; the edition of 12 February 2026 counts 227 occupations. Each region keeps its own list: the VDAB for Flanders, Le Forem for Wallonia and Actiris for Brussels. Competing on the regular labour market for temporary staffing is therefore an uneven fight. Through student work you fish in a different pond, with people who are looking for flexibility themselves.

From a one-off assignment to lasting cooperation

Many clients start with one peak period and keep a fixed core afterwards. If a student works well and it fits their studies, you can take them on permanently. It turns peak staffing into a recruitment channel: you have seen the person at work for months before you offer a contract, and that is a better selection than any interview.

Pool management from Recruit a Student

With pool management we build a fixed group of students who know your processes. They know how your scanners work, where your returns flow comes in and what your quality requirements are. That saves induction time at every scale-up, and it saves mistakes in the weeks when you can least afford them.

The pool stays available to you while we remain their employer. You report a peak, we deploy the familiar faces. If someone drops out, we replace them from the same group. That ends the yearly restart from scratch in October, and it makes your staffing predictable, however your volume moves.

More about pool management

Your rate

One transparent hourly rate, with all costs clear upfront

You pay per hour worked, and that rate includes the pay, the contributions, payroll, the insurance and our support. You pay only for the hours you use, free of recruitment costs and subscriptions.

What it comes to in your situation depends on the role, the shift times and the volume. Request a no-obligation quote and we will work it out for you.

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One dedicated account manager as your point of contact

You have one dedicated account manager who knows your company, your planning and the way you work. You go to this person for a new request, a change in the planning or a question about payroll.

That way you always talk to someone who already knows your situation, and we act fast when you need extra students.

Want to get acquainted? Request a no-obligation quote or let us call you back.

Two Recruit a Student account managers talking in the office

Student staffing agency with offices in Belgium and the Netherlands

Recruit a Student Belgium has offices in Antwerp and Brussels. From there, we place students with employers across Flanders and Brussels. Our recruiters work from these offices and know the region.

In Belgium we have been active since 2015, with a pool of more than 500 students. In the Netherlands, Recruit a Student has been active since 1999, with 21 offices.

AntwerpFrankrijklei 5
2000 Antwerp View the office BrusselsKoning Albert II-laan 4
1000 Brussels View the office

All offices

GroningenLeeuwardenAssenZwolleZaandamAmsterdamAlmereSchipholEnschedeApeldoornLeidenAmersfoortUtrechtDen HaagArnhemRotterdamNijmegenTilburg en Den BoschBredaEindhovenVenloAntwerpAntwerpBrusselsBrussels
Belgium: Antwerp and BrusselsNetherlands: 21 offices

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about hiring e-commerce student workers

You request a no-obligation quote or you call us. In an introductory conversation we discuss your volume, your shift times and the roles you want to fill. Our recruiters then select candidates from our pool and present them to you. We arrange the student employment contract, the Dimona declaration and payroll.

You pay one hourly rate per hour worked, which includes pay, social security contributions, payroll, insurance and support. The exact rate depends on the role, the shift times and the volume, so we set that out in your quote. You stay free of recruitment costs and fixed monthly charges.

Within a few days we propose candidates, and thanks to our pool students can often start the same week. For an announced peak, for instance around the end of the year, it is sensible to plan a few weeks ahead, because then we reserve the staffing for you.

Yes, that is possible. Many clients use a peak period exactly that way: you see someone at work for months before you offer a contract.

Need extra hands in your webshop straight away?

Call +32 14 15 17 35 or request a no-obligation quote online.

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