Flexi-jobs hit a fresh record in Liège province — and the CSC union says that is no cause for celebration
The number of flexi-jobs in the province of Liège has climbed to a new high, according to Belgian daily DHnet — but the Christian union CSC argues the milestone masks eroding job quality, thinner social-security financing and a shift of regular hours into a…
In 30 seconds
- Flexi-jobs in the province of Liège have reached a new record, according to Belgian daily DHnet.
- The CSC (French-speaking Christian union) says the record is not cause for celebration, citing job-quality and social-security concerns.
- Flexi-jobs were introduced in 2015, originally only for the hospitality (horeca) sector, before being extended to retail and other sectors.
- Workers must be employed at least four-fifths of full time elsewhere, or be pensioners, to qualify; pay is largely tax- and contribution-exempt.
Flexi-jobs are a Belgian employment regime created in 2015 to let people who already work at least four-fifths of full time elsewhere, or who are pensioners, take on additional paid work that is largely exempt from personal income tax and ordinary social contributions, while employers pay a reduced flat-rate charge. Originally limited to the hospitality (horeca) sector, the scheme has been progressively extended by federal reforms to retail, care, events and other sectors. Key named entities: DHnet (reporting the Liège record); the CSC / ACV-CSC (Christian trade union confederation, French-speaking wing, voicing criticism); the province of Liège in Wallonia; La Libre (reporting on Belgian aviation and a risk over Liège Airport at Bierset).
Background
Flexi-jobs were introduced in Belgium in 2015 as a narrow remedy for the horeca sector, which argued it could not legally staff busy evenings without punitive overtime costs. The design deliberately favoured net take-home pay for the worker and a reduced flat charge for the employer, on the premise that this was supplementary income for people already in full-time-equivalent work or retirement. Successive federal reforms extended eligibility well beyond hospitality into retail and other sectors, steadily enlarging what began as a sectoral exception into a broader parallel track of employment.
What to do
For a Belgian household, a flexi-job can add well-paid hours with minimal deductions, but those hours build weaker pension, sick-pay and unemployment cover — a trade-off between immediate take-home pay and longer-term protection that the CSC urges workers to weigh.
The Belgian angle
Liège province, part of a Walloon economy long marked by industrial decline and above-average unemployment, is the epicentre of this record. Local retail, hospitality and care employers benefit from a cheaper way to cover peak hours, while the CSC warns that the province's workers are increasingly relying on lightly protected top-up work to cope with cost-of-living pressure.
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- Published:
- 13 Jul 2026, 02:00
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 14 Jul 2026
- Published:
- 9 Jul 2026, 02:00
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 14 Jul 2026
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