The short answer
A Belgian company's joint committee (paritair comité, commission paritaire) is not shown in the public company register. KBO Public Search does not list it, and the public version of the social security employer directory does not either. In practice you find it on a payslip or employment contract, through the company's social secretariat, or, officially, by asking FPS Employment for a competence determination, which takes at least four months. The committee follows what the employer actually does on Belgian soil, not its NACE code. On 1 January 2026 Belgium had 98 joint committees and 66 sub-committees; the auxiliary PC 200 for white-collar employees is the largest. For sales teams selling HR, payroll, insurance, workwear or training, the joint committee is one of the sharpest ways to segment Belgian companies, because it fixes pay scales, bonuses, allowances and sector funds.
What a joint committee is
Joint committees bring together employer and employee representatives for a sector. They are created by royal decree under the Act of 5 December 1968 on collective labour agreements and joint committees. Their main job is to conclude collective labour agreements for the sector, prevent or settle social conflicts, and advise the government. On 1 January 2026 there were 98 joint committees and 66 sub-committees, according to FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue.
Two auxiliary committees catch employers that fall under no specific sector: PC 100 for blue-collar workers and PC 200 for white-collar employees. PC 200, the auxiliary national joint committee for employees, is the largest in Belgium, covering close to half a million employees according to RSZ employment statistics; IT companies, consultancies, agencies and many service firms fall under it.
How a company's joint committee is determined
The activity actually carried out. FPS Employment: the deciding factor is "the activity which it actually exercises by the employer on Belgian territory", the activity "which justifies its existence and determines the nature of the enterprise".
Not the NACE code. The activity recorded in the commercial register is explicitly not a criterion. A NACE code is a useful hint, not the answer. Why NACE codes are often wrong explains the gap.
Not the job titles. What counts is the employer's activity, not the functions individual employees perform.
One employer, one committee. "The accessory follows the principal." A company only falls under several committees if it runs unrelated activities in separate premises, with staff assigned exclusively to each.
Every way to find it
Source | Public? | Shows the joint committee? |
|---|---|---|
KBO Public Search | Yes, free | No |
Social security employer directory (WIDE), public version | Yes, free | No, public data only |
WIDE, secured version | No, employer or mandate login | Shows the employer category |
Payslip and employment contract | No, private documents | Yes, in practice |
Formal determination by FPS Employment | A government service | Yes, after at least four months, and not binding |
Social secretariats, unions, overview sites | Yes, third party | As a reference, not authoritative |
To request a formal determination, email the General Directorate of Collective Labour Relations at coa@werk.belgie.be with the company's name, address, enterprise number and social security number. A labour inspector may visit, you receive a non-binding opinion, and you have 14 working days to object. FPS Employment calls the procedure "relatively long (minimum 4 months)".
Why it matters commercially
The joint committee sets far more than the minimum wage. Examples, as described by social secretariats and sector funds:
Bonuses and cheques. Under PC 200, employees receive a year-end bonus equal to a gross monthly salary and, currently, eco-cheques scaled to working time. The federal coalition agreement plans to phase out eco-cheques, with the timing left to negotiations with the sectors.
Mobility. Since May 2023 employers must pay a cycling allowance for commuting; the national agreement sets a default, and each joint committee can set its own rate.
Sector pensions and funds. Construction workers under PC 124 build a sectoral supplementary pension through the Construo plan, run through the sector's fund Constructiv.
Training and wage categories. Many sectors tie training obligations or wage classification to their collective agreements.
That is why the joint committee is a sharper segment than an activity code for anyone selling payroll, HR services, group insurance, benefits, workwear, safety or training: companies under the same committee face the same rules, the same deadlines and often the same sector fund.
Using it to build a prospect list
Start from the committees your offer fits. A benefits provider may target PC 200; a workwear supplier PC 124 and PC 111.
Filter Belgian companies by joint committee, then by size, region and headcount growth. Bizzy offers joint committee as a filter for Belgian companies, next to NACEBEL codes, employees and vacancies.
Check the details for key accounts. Confirm through the company, its social secretariat or public job ads, which sometimes mention the committee.
Time your outreach around sector changes: new collective agreements, allowance increases or reforms such as the eco-cheque phase-out.
More on segmenting Belgian companies in building an ICP with Belgian filters and finding Belgian companies that are hiring.
The largest committee of all: joint committee 200 explained.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find a company's joint committee? It is not in the KBO. Look at a payslip or employment contract, ask the company or its social secretariat, or request a formal determination from FPS Employment at coa@werk.belgie.be, which takes at least four months.
Is the joint committee linked to the NACE code? No. By law it follows the activity the employer actually carries out in Belgium; the code in the register is explicitly not a criterion.
How many joint committees are there in Belgium? On 1 January 2026 there were 98 joint committees and 66 sub-committees.
What is PC 200? The auxiliary national joint committee for employees, which covers white-collar staff whose employer falls under no specific committee. It is the largest joint committee in Belgium.
Can a company fall under more than one joint committee? Only if it carries out unrelated activities in separate premises with staff assigned exclusively to each. Otherwise the secondary activity follows the main one.
Photo: historic buildings on the Grote Markt in Mechelen, Michielverbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons