Since 4 May 2026, in derogation from the ban on child labor, Belgian law now allows minors under 15 years of age under full-time compulsory schooling to conclude a student contract under two conditions: on the one hand, they only carry out light work and on the other hand, they respect the schedules set by law. These provisions are intended to protect student-workers who are occasionally confronted with the labor market. The employment contract remains ancillary to the studies. Previously, student work was not allowed for young people who were still subject to full-time compulsory education. This ends when the young person has completed at least the first two years of full-time secondary education and ends in any case when he or she reaches the age of 16. The conditional authorization to carry out light student work is therefore aimed at 15-year-olds who have not yet completed the first two years of full-time secondary education.
In concrete terms, authorized light work is defined in the Royal Decree of 19 April 2026 as non-industrial work of a light nature, which does not require any training and does not entail risks, namely:
- Help at the reception or in the cloakroom
- In-store restocking, labelling, packaging
- Sales support in a local shop
- Simple order picking
- Washing, setting up or clearing in a restaurant or café
- Harvesting or sorting crops in agriculture or horticulture
- Logistical support at local events or festivals
- Light animation or supervision in a playground or amusement park
In terms of working time, 15-year-olds who are still subject to compulsory schooling benefit from enhanced protection, insofar as student work cannot primarily prevent regular school attendance. Specifically, the following conditions must be met:
- Working time limited to two hours per teaching day and twelve hours per week during the school term and outside teaching hours; In no case may the daily working time exceed eight hours. During periods of inactivity at least one week at school, authorization to work eight hours a day and forty hours a week.
- Prohibition of overtime.
- Prohibition of work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- Work without interruption for a maximum of four and a half hours. If the working time per day exceeds four and a half hours, half an hour's rest is granted. If this time exceeds six hours, the rest is one hour, half an hour to be taken at one time.
- Minimum fourteen consecutive hours of rest between the end and the resumption of work.
- Work prohibited on Sundays or public holidays.
- Additional day of rest immediately following or preceding Sunday.