Salary Indexations: Which Ones Are Coming Up? And Is an Employer Required to Adjust All Salaries?
The principle of salary indexation is simple: when the prices of goods and services rise above a certain threshold (the so-called pivot index), most wages are automatically increased. In recent years, we’ve seen numerous indexations, but the situation is now stabilizing. However, certain sectors can expect a salary indexation in the coming months. Laurence Philippe, a legal expert at Partena Professional, explains to Jobat.be which ones are affected.
“Each month, the Planning Bureau recalculates the smoothed health index, which reflects the impact of inflation and is used in most wage indexation mechanisms. This mechanism is legally established for the public sector, while in the private sector, several mechanisms exist, varying according to the collective labor agreements (CLAs) signed,” explains Laurence Philippe.
According to these forecasts, the “smoothed health index,” which is primarily used to calculate wage indexation, is expected to rise by 3.3% in 2024 and by 2.0% in 2025, compared to 4.33% in 2023 and 9.25% in 2022.
On one hand, some sectors have a fixed indexation date. The amount of indexation becomes more predictable as this date approaches. This is the case for Joint Committee 200, which covers about thirty professional activities, where employees can expect an increase estimated at 3.52% on January 1, 2025. On January 1, 2024, this indexation was 1.48%. In January, employees in the food industry, hospitality, and electricians will also receive this indexation.
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