# How recruitment agencies charge for finding candidates in Belgium > Demystify Belgian recruitment costs. Compare success fees, retainers, and the "Price per Hire" for agencies in Belgium. - **Author:** Robin Keyen - **Category:** tmgXwfBTmoDvzx4s5EcX - **Published:** 2026-04-01 - **Language:** en You pay a recruiter for their personal network, not just to read a resume. Knowing how they set their prices helps you control your hiring budget. Standard recruitment fees in Belgium usually fall between 18% and 25% of the candidate's first-year pay. ## Pay when you hire vs paying upfront Most recruiters will only send you a bill if they actually succeed. You only get an invoice when your new employee actually signs a contract. Some recruiters want you to pay in three stages before they even find someone. These upfront payments cost the same 20% to 30% overall, but they guarantee the recruiter spends dedicated time on your job. 💡 Tip: Stick to paying only when you hire for normal jobs, but pay upfront for top executives or super rare IT skills. ## Fixed prices for basic jobs You should not pay a huge percentage for a standard office admin job. Recruiters will often agree to a flat fee between €3,000 and €5,000 for everyday administrative roles. - A fixed price keeps your costs low even if the candidate wants a higher salary. - It pushes the recruiter to fill the job fast instead of hunting for someone who costs more. ## Why language skills cost extra Belgian recruiters ask for more money if you need someone who speaks fluent Dutch, French, and English. Because everyone in Brussels wants these exact people, recruiters will rarely drop their 25% fee. Does it cost a different amount to hire factory workers compared to office workers? Yes, factory workers usually get hired through temp agencies that charge an hourly markup, while office workers cost a percentage of their yearly salary. ## 📊 Comparing recruiter pricing models ## What exactly is the percentage based on? Recruiters do not just look at the monthly salary to calculate their cut. They add up the entire yearly compensation package before applying their percentage. ### Why they multiply the salary by 13.92 In Belgium, you have to look at the gross annual salary. Recruiters multiply the monthly pay by 13.92 to include the mandatory 13th month and double holiday money. Why do recruiters include holiday pay in their math? Belgian law forces companies to pay these extras to office workers, so recruiters count it as part of the guaranteed yearly cost. ### Adding the car and food vouchers Extra perks get turned into a cash value and added to the total before the recruiter takes their cut. Giving a candidate a company car usually adds €5,000 to €8,000 to the total amount the recruiter uses for their math. - Food vouchers: With the 2026 rule making them €10 a day, recruiters will add about €2,200 to the total package. - Eco vouchers: The normal €250 a year gets added straight into the final calculation. ### Dealing with the 2026 wage freeze The government will not let companies give big salary bumps in 2025 and 2026. You can no longer just offer massive salary jumps to steal candidates from other companies. Recruiters now have to work harder to sell your company culture and extra days off. They often use this extra effort as an excuse to keep their fee at 25%. ⚠️ Warning: If a candidate signs after January 1st when wages go up automatically, you have to pay the recruiter based on that new, higher salary. ## Hidden fees and tricky contract rules you need to watch out for The paper you sign is what actually determines how much you pay. Always read the recruiter's contract carefully to spot hidden costs and unfair rules. ### The one-year ownership rule Recruiters legally claim a candidate as theirs for a full 12 months after sending you their resume. If you say no to a person today but hire them yourself 11 months later, you still have to pay the recruiter. - Always write down the exact date you get a resume. - Tell the recruiter immediately if they send you someone you already know. ### Paying for people you don't hire If you pass a candidate's resume to a friend at another company and they hire them, the recruiter will send you the bill. Standard contracts make you pay the fee if anyone in your network hires that person. Canceling a job opening after the recruiter has already set up interviews will cost you. Recruiters charge a cancellation fee of €1,000 to €2,500 to cover the time they wasted. ### Fake admin fees Some recruiters try to sneak in an extra bill just for opening a file or posting a job ad online. Tell them no, because a standard placement fee should cover all their basic work. When exactly do I have to pay the recruiter?Most contracts say the recruiter will send you the bill the exact day the candidate signs your job offer. ## What happens if the person quits or gets fired? Sometimes a new hire just does not work out. Your contract must have a refund period to make sure you do not lose all your money if they leave. ### Getting a refund or a replacement A standard refund period in Belgium lasts for 8 to 12 weeks. If the person quits or gets fired for a good reason during this time, the recruiter has to find a new person for free or give you some money back. - Leaving in month 1: You get 75% to 100% of your money back. - Leaving in month 2: You get half your money back. - Leaving in month 3: You get 25% of your money back. ### Why the old trial period rules do not matter Belgium got rid of the old legal trial period rules back in 2014. Recruiters now base their refund purely on how many days have passed since the person started. ⚠️ Warning: The recruiter will not give you a refund if the person quits because you changed their job duties or laid off a bunch of staff. What if the candidate fails a legally required medical test? If your industry requires a passed medical exam by law, a failure means the recruiter has to find you a free replacement. ## Do different types of recruiters charge different prices? Not all hiring companies work the same way. Picking the right type of recruiter for your specific problem changes how much you pay and how fast you hire. ### Headhunters and specialists Companies that hunt for top executives in Brussels usually charge 2% to 5% more than recruiters in Antwerp. This extra cost covers the high demand for people who speak perfect French and Dutch. Recruiters who only look for IT, science, or legal experts cost way more than general recruiters. You will almost always pay a strict 25% to 30% because they have to convince people who already have good jobs to leave. ### Renting a worker Some recruiters will hire the person themselves and just rent them out to you for a project. They will charge you 30% to 50% more than what they actually pay the worker. Trying to use a recruiter from Wallonia to find someone in Flanders rarely works and does not save money. People in Belgium like to work close to home, so always pay a local recruiter who knows the local people. How can I check if a recruiter is legally allowed to work in my area? Ask for their official registration number and look it up on the government websites for Flanders, Wallonia, or Brussels. ## How to lower your recruitment bill and negotiate better terms You can change almost anything in the contract before you sign it. Use these exact talking points to make the recruiter share the risk and lower the price. ### Set a maximum price and offer to use them exclusively Always agree on a maximum amount you will pay before they start looking. If a candidate talks you into paying them a huge salary, your bill from the recruiter should not shoot up too. Tell one recruiter they are the only one you will use for 30 days. You can easily get them to drop their price by 2% to 5% because they know they do not have to race against other companies. 💡 Tip: Ask for a discount if you promise to pay their bill in 7 days instead of waiting a whole month. ### Try before you buy Use temp work to test someone out before offering them a permanent job. The recruiter pays them by the hour for about 130 days, and then you can hire them directly without paying any extra fees. ### Stop them from stealing your staff Make sure your contract says the recruiter is not allowed to hire away your current employees. This stops them from taking your best people to fill jobs for other companies. How much money does my HR team save by using a recruiter?Your internal HR team saves hours of reading resumes and doing first interviews, which easily justifies paying the recruiter's fee. --- *Source: [Joobs.be](https://joobs.be/en/blog/how-recruitment-agencies-charge-for-finding-candidates-in-belgium)*