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Hire students for your annual stocktake in Belgium

The counting date is usually fixed back in November. The warehouse closes for a day or two, the last deliveries are booked in, and then every location has to be counted before the accountant arrives. That takes hands you do not need for the rest of the year.

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  • Screened student workers
  • Contracts, Dimona and payroll handled
  • Antwerp, Brussels and all of Belgium

Students for counting, scanning and stock control

A stocktake is short, intensive and precise work. You need people who pick up a handheld terminal quickly, who walk a rack systematically, and who report a discrepancy instead of counting it away. We staff that with student workers: counters, recounters, preparers and people who work through the discrepancy list. Contracts, the Dimona declaration, payroll and accident insurance are handled by us. You decide on the counting method and the schedule, we make sure the team is there.

Why us

Why companies choose our student counters

Available by the hour

You hire exactly the hours your counting schedule calls for, from a single evening shift to a full counting day with two teams. No permanent contract, no idle time afterwards.

Screened in advance

Our recruiters check for accuracy, for experience with scanners or point-of-sale systems, and for availability during the counting period. You do not get a random stand-in at your rack.

Short lead times

Because we work with an active pool, you do not have to post a vacancy first. Students from the region know the work and can often start the same week.

Fully taken care of

Student employment contract, Dimona STU, time registration, payroll and insurance all run through us. Your planner keeps time for the stocktake itself.

Our services

Our services: counting in your warehouse

Counting with a handheld

Students walk their assigned zone, scan the location and record the quantity. They follow your counting instruction and report whatever they cannot scan, instead of estimating it.

Blind counts and recounts

For a blind count we assign students who cannot see the expected quantities. Where a discrepancy exceeds your threshold, a second student counts the same location again.

Preparing the count

In the days before the counting date, students help with tidying up, labelling locations, consolidating opened pallets and clearing the receiving area.

Resolving discrepancies

After the count a discrepancy list remains. Students check line by line whether the goods sit in another location or a booking is still open, and record the outcome.

How it works

How does hiring student counters work?

  1. Request

    During an introductory meeting we discuss your situation, map out the need and advise a suitable, flexible deployment of students.

  2. Selection and matching

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

  3. Match and fast 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 arrive well prepared, you decide on the introduction, and we support you continuously with planning, replacement and scaling up.

What are the rules for stocktaking in 2026?

A student worker may work 650 hours per calendar year at the reduced solidarity contribution, according to the NSSO. As the employer you pay 5.42 per cent of the gross wage; the student pays 2.71 per cent. As long as the counter stays below 650 hours, no ordinary social security contributions are due. Above that, the ordinary contributions apply from the 651st hour, which makes that hour noticeably more expensive. We track the counter and tell you before the counting date. The reduced contribution only applies if the Dimona STU declaration was filed before the student starts.

If you count in the evening or at night, two rules matter. Since 1 June 2026 night work is in principle possible in any company. In distribution and e-commerce the night premium only runs from 11 p.m. for staff who join from that date: on a counting shift from 6 p.m. to midnight that is one premium hour, not four. For students under 18, night work stays restricted. They work until 10 p.m., until 11 p.m. for certain forms of work organisation, and never between midnight and 4 a.m. Below the age of 16, night work is excluded entirely.

Student counters for your distribution centre

The annual stocktake is the one moment when your administration and your racks should say the same thing. That only works if enough people count at the same time, because a count spread over a week also counts the movements. With a team of students you concentrate those hours in the window you agreed with your accountant.

The work does not call for years of experience, but it does call for a short, clear instruction. Our students arrive prepared, know the house rules on safety shoes and walkways, and are scheduled by us in blocks that fit their timetable. If someone drops out, we find the replacement, not your team leader.

From one-off assignment to lasting cooperation

Many companies start with a single counting day and then notice that the same students are useful for cycle counts, for a warehouse move or during a peak in returns. If someone works out well, you can take that student on permanently at no cost. We charge no transfer fee. That makes a counting team a way to get to know your next warehouse employee before you hire them.

Pool management by Recruit a Student

A stocktake comes back every year, usually in the same weeks. With pool management we build a fixed group of students who already know your warehouse, your counting method and your product groups. You call them in when you need them, without recruiting and training from scratch each time.

The gain is mostly in speed. A familiar counter reaches on day one the productivity a new counter only reaches halfway through the shift, and makes fewer location errors. We keep the pool warm all year, follow each student’s hour counter and scale up or down together with your planner.

More about pool management

Students at work in a bright, modern office

Your rate

One transparent hourly rate, no hidden costs

You pay a single hourly rate per hour worked. It covers the student’s gross wage, employer contributions, insurance, payroll and our support. There are no recruitment fees, no registration fees and no transfer fee.

Because the wage follows the joint committee of your own company, we draw up the rate per assignment. Request a free quote and you will be working with a figure that fits your situation.

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National coverage and local expertise

Recruit a Student is the specialised student employment agency of Belgium. We work from Antwerp and Brussels and place students across the country, from the warehouse zone around the port to the distribution centres along the E40. In the Ghent region we also run a student pool, and from Antwerp we place students in Zeeland. Your contact knows the region your warehouse is in.

Personal contact at our offices

Also of interest

Also interesting 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

Questions

Frequently asked questions about stocktaking staff

You request a quote or call us. We go through the counting date, the number of counters, the shift times and the instruction, after which our recruiters select students from the pool who are available in that period.

You pay a single hourly rate per hour worked. It consists of the gross wage under the joint committee of your company, employer contributions, accident insurance, payroll and our support. Evening and weekend supplements follow the rules that apply at your company.

Thanks to our active pool, students can often start the same week. For a stocktake needing more than a handful of counters, plan a few weeks ahead so we can complete the team and give everyone the same instruction.

Yes, and we charge no transfer fee for it. Many employers use the counting days precisely to see who works accurately before offering a contract.

Until 10 p.m. yes, and until 11 p.m. for certain forms of work organisation. Between midnight and 4 a.m. a student under 18 may not work. If your count runs past those hours, we staff it with students over 18.

We flag that in advance. We follow each student’s hour counter and propose another candidate when the balance is tight, so you do not move to ordinary contributions halfway through the counting period.

Need a counting team?

Set your stocktake date and let us arrange the staffing. We find the students, put the contracts in order and make sure the team walks in on time and prepared.

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