Reward Survey Employees 2024

1. Salary Increases Normalize

Employees saw their salaries increase by an average of 2.5%, including indexation. This brings salary growth back to pre-pandemic levels. In recent years, wages rose much more sharply due to high inflation. Last year, for example, the increase was 11%, the largest salary growth in over twenty years. Excluding indexation, salary increases remained roughly the same compared to last year (1.2%).

The proportion of employees who received no or a small salary increase remained the same (46%), while the share of those receiving a salary increase of more than 4% significantly decreased. When salary increases were granted, they were mostly limited to between 1% and 4%.

2. Starting Salaries Stabilize

After a significant rise in starting salaries for bachelor’s degree holders (20%) and master’s graduates (18%) from 2020 to 2023, starting salaries are now stabilizing and even slightly declining. The job market is clearly cooling down. A recent graduate with a master’s degree now earns an average gross monthly salary of 2,845 euros, while a bachelor’s graduate earns 2,739 euros.

3. Employees More Frequently Receive Individual Bonuses

More than half of employees receive a bonus, with individual bonuses being granted more frequently again. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of employees receiving variable compensation. This year, 54% of employees received a bonus, mostly in the form of a CAO 90 bonus, which is awarded to all employees when certain predetermined goals are met.

Traditional bonuses are also on the rise. This year, 22% of employees received a traditional bonus, an 8% increase compared to last year. For management roles, the share of employees receiving variable compensation has remained stable in recent years.

4. Mobility Budget Struggles to Gain Traction

Few companies seem eager to adopt the legal mobility budget, which was introduced in 2019 as an alternative to the company car. With this budget, employees can exchange their company car for a budget that can be used for a more sustainable car, public transportation, or even renting or paying off a home.

Currently, only 10% of surveyed Belgian organizations have implemented the mobility budget. The Hudson Reward Survey also shows that 41% of organizations do not plan to implement it. Despite simplifications, the system is still often perceived as too complicated.

5. More Than a Quarter of Belgian Companies Have a Gender Pay Gap of More Than 5%

Starting in 2026, every EU member state will be required to implement legislation in line with the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which will also require European companies to report their pay policies to the government. The 2023 EU Pay Transparency Directive stipulates that the gender pay gap must not exceed 5%. But how are our companies currently faring with regard to the 'Gender Pay Gap'?

First, the good news: the gender pay gap in Belgium is shrinking. The overall pay gap for Belgian employees is 2.41%. This compares men and women in the same job with the same level of experience, regardless of the organization. On average, this means the 'adjusted pay gap' for employees is within the EU Pay Directive’s target. However, in 22% of Belgian organizations, female employees still receive an average salary that is 5% lower than their male counterparts. The issue is particularly prevalent in mid-sized companies (50-250 employees).

Why is this the case? On one hand, we know that men are more likely to ask for a raise. They tend to highlight their own performance more easily. On the other hand, there’s automatic wage indexation. If a man earns 200 euros more per month and that salary is indexed every year, the gap grows larger with each increase.

We also observe a difference between companies with relatively young teams and those with older employees. In companies with many younger employees, the gap is smaller because their wages have not yet been indexed and therefore haven’t had the opportunity to grow. In industries such as IT, the pay gap tends to be smaller. We also suspect that younger people today are more sensitive to wage disparities, leading to more open communication and faster identification of these gaps.

6. The Higher You Go, the Bigger the Gender Pay Gap Becomes

When we look at job levels, we see that women are still underrepresented at the management and top management levels. And when they do reach these positions, they earn substantially less than their male counterparts. In fact, the higher a woman climbs, the bigger the pay gap becomes. Only 1 in 3 women hold management positions, and only 1 in 4 hold executive positions. Women who do reach these levels earn 5.43% and 6.17% less than their male colleagues, respectively. These are significant differences.

Want to learn more about compensation in your organization? Contact us for more information.