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Understand · Payroll glossary

What is a pay scale?

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A pay scale is an official table that sets an amount according to criteria: the minimum wage according to the job and experience, or tax according to income. In 2026: €2,242.81 (JC 200, scale I (first year in the company), class A, no experience, since 1 January 2026). In Dutch: barema.

Definition of a pay scale

In the private sector, each joint committee sets minimum pay scales, by job category and years of experience: the employer cannot pay less. It can pay more.

In the public sector, the usual term is salary scales. In tax, the withholding tax ‘scales’ give the monthly deduction according to taxable pay.

The key figure in 2026

€2,242.81JC 200, scale I (first year in the company), class A, no experience, since 1 January 2026

Source: JC 200: minimum salaries as of 1 January 2026, scales I and II, indexation of 2.21%, CSC/ACV (secondary source). Value in force on 1 October 2026.

Worked example

In joint committee 200, a class A white-collar worker with no experience must earn at least €2,242.81 gross a month; in class D, at least €2,555.73. At the class A scale, a single white-collar worker takes home €2,108.38 net.

In Dutch: barema

On a Dutch-language payslip (loonbrief), the pay scale is called ‘barema’; on a French-language one (fiche de paie), ‘barème’. On Indexo’s English pages: pay scale.

Dutch term taken from: Securex (secondary source).

Not to be confused with…

  • Salary scale: the code that sets your salary in the public sector, according to your grade or post and your qualifications.
  • Guaranteed average minimum monthly income: Belgium’s statutory minimum wage: €2,233.61 gross a month for a full-time worker aged 18 and over, since 1 July 2026.

Calculate it for your situation

Compare your salary with your joint committee’s pay scale: the gap in gross and net.

Am I paid my joint committee minimum?

Related terms

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.