Budget agreement 2024: what is in it?

The federal government reached a compromise on the budget agreement for 2024 last Monday.

The measures announced include, among other things:

• the increase in the minimum wage by 50 EUR net from 1 April 2024 by reducing charges on labour;
• the increase in the employers’ activation contribution to discourage them from exempting their employees from work, with full or partial pay, rather than making use of the scheme of unemployment with company supplement;
• the expansion of the system of flexi-jobs to 12 new sectors, including among others childcare, education, food, events, sports and agriculture.

The system of flexi-jobs will be revised:

• sectoral scales must be respected, except in the hospitality sector, where specific conditions will apply;
• the employer’s contribution will be raised from 25% to 28%;
• for non-retired flexi-job workers, a ceiling of 12,000 EUR will apply on an annual basis for the flexi-wage tax exemption.

Important note! These measures still have to be transposed into legal or regulatory texts.

We will keep you updated as soon as we have more details.

Source: press