Belgium holiday entitlement calculator (vacances annuelles)
Belgium holiday entitlement calculator (vacances annuelles)In Belgium this year’s statutory leave depends on last year’s work: days worked or assimilated in the previous calendar year convert through the ONVA table to at most 20 days on a full-time five-day week (231 days or more gives the full 20). The maximum is four weeks in any working regime.
Worked example · Days Entitled
With Days worked or assimilated LAST year of 260, this model computes Days Entitled of 20. See the full working.
✓ Verified against 8 self-test cases Updated for 2026 · sources checked 2026-10-12
How vacances annuelles in Belgium is calculated
Belgium is the one country in this family where **this year’s leave is earned last year**. ONVA: *"Le nombre de jours de vacances (durée de vacances) est déterminé en fonction des prestations de l’exercice de vacances"* — the reference year before. Someone who starts a first job in March has almost no statutory leave that year, however much they work.
**The conversion is a table, not a fraction.** Days worked plus assimilated days (sick leave, last year’s holidays) are counted as a full-time five-day equivalent: **231 or more** gives the full **20 days**, 221–230 gives 19, 130 days gives 10, and fewer than 10 gives none.
The ceiling is **four weeks in any regime** — 24 days on a six-day week, 16 on four, 12 on three. The table is ONVA’s for blue-collar workers; white-collar employees reach the same 20 days for a full year through a months-based count paid by their employer. "European" and supplementary holidays for a first job or return to work are not modelled.
Worked example
ShowHide the full working: 3 inputs, 3 computed steps
| Inputs | |
|---|---|
| Days worked or assimilated LAST year (full-time five-day equivalent) | 260 |
| Working days in your week this year | 5 |
| Days already taken | 0 |
| Computed by the engine | |
| Five Day Equivalent Days ✓ pinned | 20 |
| Days Entitled ✓ pinned | 20 |
| Days Remaining | 20 |
Every computed row comes from the engine, run on the inputs above. Rows marked ✓ pinned are also fixed by a published self-test, so a change to the model that moved them would fail its own tests.
Frequently asked questions
Combien de jours de vacances ai-je en Belgique ?
Cela dépend de vos prestations de l’année précédente : 231 jours de travail (ou assimilés) ou plus donnent 20 jours de vacances en régime de cinq jours, soit 4 semaines dans n’importe quel régime.
Why do I have so few holidays in my first year in Belgium?
Because statutory leave is earned in the previous calendar year. Without work in the reference year there are no statutory days, though European or supplementary holidays may apply.
Hoeveel vakantiedagen heb ik bij een vierdagenweek?
16 dagen voor een volledig refertejaar: het maximum is vier weken per jaar in elk arbeidsregime.
Does sick leave count towards my holiday entitlement?
Yes. Days of sickness are among the inactive days assimilated to work days when ONVA counts the reference year.
Sources
- ONVA / RJV — Calcul des jours de vacances: table of days worked to leave days, and the 4-week maximum by working regime · checked 2026-10-12
Estimate. Not tax advice. The verification badge means the model reproduces the stated formula through 8 self-test cases; the sources support that the formula matches the rules.
Check the arithmetic yourself: how this calculator is verified — the formula behind every derived value, the 8 test cases the engine reproduces, and what the badge does and does not claim. Also available as machine-readable JSON.
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