A particularly nice jump for cleaners and shop assistants

Good news for workers in the cleaning, construction, agriculture, gardening and food industry sectors. They will see their wages adjusted to their current age on January 1, according to Melissa Menchart, a legal expert at human resources services firm Partena Professional. “This is also the case for catering staff, logistics staff and electricians. The approximately half a million employees working in the Joint Commission Additional 200 can also expect immediate indexation early next year, just like the banking and insurance sector.

Forget the 10 percent or more that gave your pay an unprecedented jump this year. “Anyone who sees their gross salary adjusted for life expectancy in January can expect a healthy 1.5 percent increase,” says labor expert Stijn Bart. “Why this percentage? Our wages follow the smoothed health index. This is the average lifespan for the past four months without taking into account unhealthy products such as alcohol, tobacco, gasoline and diesel. Well, this smoothed health index is currently about one and a half percent higher than it was before.” general.

However, not everyone will find that extra money in their paycheck. “The reality is that not all wages are adjusted by the same index number, because the calculation formulas used can vary by sector.” Also, the timing of indexing is not the same everywhere. “All this is not inconsequential when you know that unions and employers have concluded more important agreements in this area than in many other countries.”

Joint Commission Staff 200: +1.52 percent

According to current index forecasts, the largest group of white-collar workers, the Joint Commission Additional 200, can count on an index of 1.52 percent in January. This means that an employee with a gross salary of €2,500 will increase this amount to €2,538. Anyone earning €4,000 will receive an additional monthly lump sum of €60.80. Mainchart: “Only one PC 200 index is planned for management workers in 2024.”

Wait longer, for multiple increments

Not everyone has to pay more attention to the January salary slip: some sectors index at different times, others do so only when the central index is exceeded. Minschaert: “In the metals sector, for example, we have to wait until July 1, 2024. According to the latest forecasts, the index will be 4.16 percent. In chemistry, indexation is applied at a fixed percentage of 2 percent. The current forecast is that this will be achieved in March-June “.

In some sectors, wages are indexed several times a year. For example, those who work in construction can expect the biggest increase later in the year: after a meager 0.45 percent on January 1, construction workers will get an additional 1.24 percent on April 1. Carpenters may be allowed to pass through the cash register three times, Partena Professional knows: on April 1 (+1.69 percent), July 1 (+1.71 percent) and October 1 (+0.62 percent).

A big jump for cleaners and shop assistants

After the metals and chemicals sectors, the largest indicator from January until the summer holidays is expected to be for cleaning assistants and shop assistants. “Cleaners will see their wages increase by 0.97 percent on January 1, but they are expected to rise another 3.08 percent on July 1,” Meinschaert says.

Very strong indicators are also expected for retail workers. As it stands today, shop assistants at most well-known retail chains (PC 311) will receive an additional 2 percent each time in May and November. For employees in most major supermarket chains (PC 202), a 1 percent raise is provided each four times, on March 1, April, June and October. To be clear: In all cases, these are projections, and the percentages and timings mentioned are not certainties.

Pensions and benefits are also indexed

According to the current estimate of the Planning Office, the central index will be exceeded in March and October 2024. Burt: “This means that pensions and unemployment benefits will rise in April and November. Pay for government civil servants will follow in May and December. In all cases, this amounts to an increase of 2 percent. This 4% is also in line with the Planning Office’s general forecast that life will become approximately 3.9% more expensive globally by 2024.