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I am going to graduate soon. Can I still have a student job?

As a general rule, no, a student job is reserved for students! But ... there is one exception. If you graduate in June, you can still do a student job during the summer holidays. This is allowed until the 30th of September of the same year.

If you do not immediately have a job in prospect, it is important to register as a job-seeker as soon as possible with VDAB (if you live in Flanders), Actiris (if you live in Brussels), Forem (if you live in Wallonia) or Arbeitsamt (if you live in East Belgium).

Only upon your registration does the 'professional insertion time' start to run. This is the 12-month period you have to wait before receiving unemployment benefits. Therefore, the longer you wait to register, the longer you will have to wait for any benefits.

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You are only eligible for unemployment benefit ('professional insertion benefit') once your professional insertion time is over. This lasts 12 months and starts when you register with VDAB (Flanders), Actiris (Brussels), Forem (Wallonia) or the Arbeitsamt (East Belgium). Student jobs you carry out in the months of August and September after the end of your studies will count towards this professional insertion time.

At the end of the professional integration time, you register with a payment institution: a trade union or the Auxiliary Fund for Unemployment Benefits. They will apply for the benefit for you at the NEO.

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A good place to start your job search is the employment service of the region where you live.

For Flanders this is the VDAB, for Brussels Actiris, for Wallonia Forem and for East Belgium the Arbeitsamt.

In addition to job vacancies, these services also offer guidance and training, so that you can enter the job market better armed. Their websites offer many practical tips.

You can also search for a job via:

  • websites of companies and organisations that interest you;
  • your own network (family, friends, acquaintances);
  • social media;
  • job fairs;
  • employment agencies;
  • selection offices.

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You've spotted a job opening that you like and think you're qualified for. It’s time to take action. Read the tips and advice on applying on the employment services’ websites.

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As an employee, you are only entitled to holidays if you have worked the previous year. For a year's work you get four weeks' holiday, for a half year two weeks, and so on. In short, holidays have to be earned.

If you are a recent graduate, you don't have the chance to accumulate a full holiday. That is why there is a system of 'youth holidays'. To be entitled to that holiday, you must have worked for at least 1 month during your graduation year. The following year, you can use that youth holiday to supplement your incomplete number of paid holidays up to a period of four weeks. You will receive an allowance of 65% of your salary for those days. The benefit is capped at a certain level. Are you entitled to youth holidays? Read the conditions for youth holidays on the NEO website (in French) . That is also where you apply for your youth holiday.

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Once you turn 25, you have to join a health insurance fund.

From that age, you are no longer covered through your parents' health insurance affiliation.

If you are not yet 25, there are several options:

  • Are you still studying? You don't have to do anything. You just remain 'dependent' on your parents. Your medical care is covered through their affiliation to a health insurance fund.
  • Are you working as a job student? You do not have to do anything as long as your income and the number of hours you work are within certain limits.
  • Are you working as a paid employee and your employer pays social contributions for you? Join the health insurance fund of your choice if your gross salary exceeds a certain ceiling. Each health insurance fund has specific conditions for this. So inform yourself before making your choice.
  • Do you receive unemployment benefit? Join the health insurance fund of your choice.

Why do you need a health insurance fund?

Health insurance funds or 'mutualities' in Belgium provide payment of:

  • reimbursements of medical expenses
  • maternity benefits
  • benefits in case of incapacity for work or invalidity

Which health insurance fund do you choose?

You can choose from several mutualities. You will find an Overview of the health insurance funds on the website of the NIHDI (in french) .

Health insurance funds are private organizations. If you prefer to call on a government organization, you can join the Auxiliary Illness and Disability Insurance Fund (AIDIF) .

Over time, you forget a lot of details about your career. Because chances are you will try out more than one job in the following years. And maybe you will not only start working as an employee, but also as a self-employed person or a civil servant.

It is important to have a record of when exactly you worked where. For example, to create your resume. Or to prove to your new employer that you have many years of useful experience. Or to prove that you have worked enough to qualify for time credit.

One address: mycareer.be. This is an online service of the federal government where you can find all your jobs. You can see not only when you worked where, but even how much you earned each time.

The data are automatically supplemented from Belgian social security databases. That makes mycareer.be the most reliable career/memory aid you can imagine!

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