Stricter penalties for social fraud and social dumping
On 30 December 2025, the Act of 19 December 2025 was published in the Belgian Official Gazette. This Act has the aim of imposing stricter penalties for social fraud and social dumping. On the one hand, the surcharges are being increased so that the fines are brought into line with price developments in recent years. On the other hand, sanction level 4 will be made more severe in the case of infringements with aggravating factors. This new Act implements the coalition agreement.
The ambition of the coalition agreement
One of the ambitions of the De Wever government is to step up the fight against social fraud and social dumping as much as possible. After all, this undermines support for social security, hinders the proper functioning of the labour market, disrupts the economy through unfair competition and jeopardises the safety and health of employees and the self-employed.
In light of this objective, the coalition agreement contains three concrete measures to tighten the punishment of social fraud and social dumping:
- For infringements under the Social Penal Code with an aggravating factor, the level 4 penalty must be tightened.
- The surcharges must be increased from 70 to 90.
- Employers who are guilty of social dumping and do not contribute to the system should not enjoy the same benefits as employers who do follow the rules. Therefore, social fraudsters should lose their right to future social security discounts for a certain number of quarters.
The Act of 19 December 2025 introduced the first two measures. The Minister for the Fight against Social Fraud, Rob Beenders, is developing the last measure together with his administration. This measure will be discussed in Parliament as soon as possible.
Tightening of sanction level 4 for infringements with an aggravating factor
The Social Penal Code has four levels of sanctions. Levels 1 and 2 are the lowest levels and apply to minor infringements, such as an employer failing to comply with certain formalities or notifications. Level 3 punishes infringements of medium severity, such as failure to pay wages (on time). Level 4 punishes serious infringements, such as undeclared work and illegal employment.
Level 4 infringements may be accompanied by an aggravating factor. Knowingly and willingly committing a level 4 infringement is an aggravating factor. In the case of obstruction of supervision, physical or psychological violence or threats against a social inspector also constitute an aggravating factor. This aggravating factor must then be taken into account by the court or the administration when determining the penalty to be imposed.
Until now, the presence of an aggravating factor only meant that the judge was obliged to take it into account when determining the penalty. However, this has changed with the Act of 19 December 2025. From now on, when the court or administration establishes an aggravating factor, the amount of the penal or administrative fine may not be less than 50% of the maximum amount set.
Some infringements that are normally punished with a lower level of sanction are ultimately punished with a level 4 sanction because they were committed “knowingly and willingly.” The new rules do not apply to these infringements. For this category of infringements, the fact that they were committed “knowingly and willingly” would otherwise give rise to a double increase.
Increase in the surcharges for fines
The Act of 19 December 2025 also aims to adjust penal and administrative fines to the price evolution of recent years, so that the penalties retain their deterrent effect. This is achieved by increasing the surcharges from 70 to 90. In concrete terms, this means that the amounts of the fines no longer must be multiplied by 8 but by 10. This increase in the surcharges applies not only to infringements under the Social Penal Code, but also to infringements under other criminal laws (e.g., traffic offences). All fines will therefore be increased.
New sanction levels
This table shows the adjusted penal and administrative fines, taking into account the new higher surcharges and the increased penalties for level 4 infringements with an aggravating factor.
Penal fine | Administrative fine | |
Level 1 | / | EUR 100 – 1,000 |
Level 2 | EUR 500 – 5,000 | EUR 250 – 2,500 |
Level 3 | EUR 2,000 – 20,000 | EUR 1,000 – 10,000 |
Level 4 | Natural person: EUR 6,000 – 70,000 Legal entity: EUR 30,000 – 720,000 | EUR 3,000 – 35,000 |
Level 4 with aggravating factor | Natural person: EUR 35,000 – 70,000 Legal entity: EUR 360,000 – 720,000 | EUR 17,500 – 35,000 |
For level 4 infringements with aggravating factors, the penalties have been significantly increased. Currently, legal entities are punished for these infringements either with a penal fine of EUR 24,000 to EUR 576,000 (including surcharges) or with an administrative fine of EUR 2,400 to EUR 28,000 (including surcharges). By applying higher surcharges and an aggravating factor, the minimum amount of the penal fine will be EUR 360,000. The minimum amount of the administrative fine will be EUR 17,500. For some infringements, these amounts must be multiplied by the number of employees involved.
Entry into force of the two new measures
The Act of 19 December 2025 will enter into force on 1 February 2026. The new penalties will apply to infringements committed after its entry into force. The previous penalties will continue to apply to infringements committed before its entry into force.
Key message
Fines are being significantly increased in the fight against social fraud and social dumping. For all infringements in the Social Penal Code, regardless of the sanction level (1, 2, 3 or 4), the fines must now be multiplied by 10 instead of 8. For infringements of sanction level 4 where an aggravating factor is established, the minimum fine is equal to 50% of the maximum fine.