Understand · Payroll glossary
What is the guaranteed wage?
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The guaranteed wage is the pay your employer keeps paying during the first days of an illness or accident, before the health insurance fund (mutualité / ziekenfonds) takes over. In 2026: 30 days (guaranteed wage of a white-collar worker, at 100%). In Dutch: gewaarborgd loon.
Definition of the guaranteed wage
A white-collar worker (open-ended contract or one of at least 3 months) receives 30 days of normal pay. A blue-collar worker receives 7 days at 100%, 7 days at 85.88%, then the employer tops up the health insurance fund’s benefit for 16 days.
After that, the health insurance fund pays benefits: 60% of your pay, capped, during the first year of incapacity for work.
The key figure in 2026
Source: Salaire garanti en cas de maladie : employés et ouvriers, Securex (secondary source). Value in force on 1 October 2026.
Worked example
A white-collar worker who is ill for 15 days keeps their pay for the whole month, paid by the employer. Ill for 45 days, they get 30 days of guaranteed wage, then the health insurance fund: 60% of their pay, up to €113.61 a day (6-day week system).
In Dutch: gewaarborgd loon
In a Dutch-language contract or letter from the employer or the National Employment Office (NEO), the guaranteed wage is called ‘gewaarborgd loon’; in French-language ones, ‘salaire garanti’. On Indexo’s English pages: guaranteed wage.
Dutch term taken from: Securex (secondary source).
Not to be confused with…
- Health and disability insurance: the branch of social security that reimburses your health care and pays you a replacement income when you are ill.
Calculate it for your situation
The guaranteed wage, then the health insurance fund’s benefits, compared with your usual net pay.
Related terms
- Health and disability insuranceContract, working time and career · in Dutch: ziekte- en invaliditeitsverzekering (ZIV)
- Notice periodContract, working time and career · in Dutch: opzegtermijn
Sources
Parameters in force on 1 October 2026. Each parameter links to its source, the official one where it exists; a secondary source is flagged as such.
- Salaire garanti en cas de maladie : employés et ouvriers, Securex (secondary source).
- Votre plafond salarial en cas d’incapacité de travail, National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI).
- Beëindiging van de arbeidsovereenkomst in 15 vragen, Securex (secondary source).