Youth holidays offer newly graduated young persons a chance to still take paid vacation days when they have not yet worked for a full year. In the private sector, you are normally only entitled to 4 weeks of paid vacation if you have worked for 12 months in the year before.
As a job starter, you often don’t start working until June or September, which means you aren’t really given the opportunity to work for a full year. Youth holidays therefore consist of vacation days paid by the RVA to supplement your incomplete entitlement to regular vacation days. The youth holidays allowance amounts to 65% of the gross salary that you earn as a young person during the first month in which you take your holidays. This amount is subject to a limit of 2,751.99 euros per month.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Youth holidays conditions: who is entitled to it and when?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"First of all, there are some conditions that you must meet:
Moreover, if you meet these conditions, you are entitled to youth holidays only after you have used up all of your regular legal vacation days.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How many days of youth holidays can you take? How is this calculated?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Since all full-time employees in Belgium are usually entitled to four weeks of annual vacation, youth holidays also allow you to supplement any vacation days to which you may already be entitled up to a maximum of four weeks.
How much regular paid vacation you may and must take first depends on your number of days worked in the previous holiday credit year. Those who work 12 months are entitled to four weeks of vacation. Those who work six months are only entitled to two weeks of paid vacation, and so on.
An example: If you start working in October in 2023, you are entitled to five paid vacations in 2024 without a youth holidays. Fortunately, you can then take another 15 days of youth holidays which means you can still enjoy four weeks off.
"}},{"componentType":"highlight","title":"Saving up for your dream holiday?","richBody":{"value":"Thanks to these savings tips, you can leave sooner than you might think.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Applying for youth holidays online: all steps at a glance"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"In order to receive your youth holidays benefit, it is important to submit your application on time and correctly. Here’s a summary of the most important steps: