Yes, you may deliver the payslip and a limited number of other social documents digitally, but only with the employee's prior agreement and through an electronic archiving service. This is governed by the Belgian law of 3 June 2007 on various labour provisions, and those rules still apply today.
For companies with many people in the field, a digital payslip is attractive: no more envelopes to the site, no lost paperwork and fewer questions for HR. Yet there are more conditions than many employers think. If you skip them, you cannot show during an inspection that everything was done correctly.
In our article what is an ESS app the digital payslip was covered briefly. Here we go one step further.
In this article you will read which documents may be digital, which agreement you need and how long it applies, how both parties can return to paper, what an electronic archiving service must do, how to have an employment contract signed electronically, why the citizen eBox is not a channel and which steps you take as an employer.
Which social documents may you deliver digitally?
The law of 3 June 2007 lists the social documents you may send electronically. They are:
- the pay statement, in practice the monthly payslip
- the individual account, the annual overview of pay and work performed per employee
- the statement of work performed
- the posting document
- documents at the end of the employment relationship, such as the employment certificate and the holiday certificate
The FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue calls this list exhaustive: anything not on it is not covered by these rules. The list can only be extended by royal decree or by a collective labour agreement. If you are unsure whether a document is on it, check with your social secretariat before sending it digitally.
The same basic conditions apply to every document on the list: prior agreement and storage with an electronic archiving service. The table sets out the main point of attention for each document.
| Document | Digital allowed? | Condition or point of attention |
|---|---|---|
| Pay statement (payslip) | Yes, it is on the exhaustive list | Prior agreement of the employee and storage with an electronic archiving service |
| Individual account | Yes, with agreement for at least one calendar year | Returning to paper requires notice by the last working day of November at the latest |
| Statement of work performed | Yes, under the same 2007 law | Same agreement and archiving as for the payslip |
| Posting document | Yes, explicitly mentioned in the law | Must be available to the inspection services immediately |
| Employment certificate and holiday certificate | Yes, as a document at the end of the employment relationship | Kept until 5 years after the end of the contract |
| Employment contract | Yes, under a separate rule in the Employment Contracts Act | Qualified electronic signature, nobody can be forced and a copy goes to an archiving service |
| Documents not on the list | Not under these rules | Extension only by royal decree or collective labour agreement |
| Payslip via the citizen eBox | No, not a permitted channel | Employers are not among the senders of the citizen eBox |
Which agreement do you need, and how long does it apply?
Digital delivery is only possible if employer and employee agree in advance which documents will be electronic. So you can agree that the payslip will be digital while the individual account stays on paper.
That agreement applies for at least the current calendar year. Someone who agrees in March therefore in principle stays digital until the end of December. Record the agreement per employee and per document, so you can prove it later.
An employee who does not agree simply receives his documents on paper. That remains the case, even if the rest of the team works digitally. Keep track of which delivery method applies to each person.
How can an employer or employee return to paper?
After that calendar year, either party can end the agreement unilaterally, so both the employer and the employee. The notice takes effect on the first day of the second month that follows. Notice given in June therefore applies from 1 August.
The individual account has its own timing. Notice for it must be given by the last working day of November at the latest. After that, this document follows on paper for at least one calendar year.
So plan a moment every autumn to process notices, so that your social secretariat knows the correct delivery method per employee for the new year.
What must an electronic archiving service do?
Putting a payslip in an email attachment or on a shared drive is not enough. Electronic social documents must be stored with an electronic archiving service. In practice this usually runs through the social secretariat. The service must meet these conditions:
- free of charge for the employee
- always accessible to the employee, also after he has left the company
- storage of the documents until 5 years after the end of the employment contract
- three months before that period ends, the service asks by registered letter what should happen to the documents
- on request, the service transfers the documents to the non-profit SIGeDIS
Mention in the work rules
The work rules must state which archiving service you use and how the employee consults his documents. The first time you add this, you follow the normal procedure for amending the work rules. Allow a few weeks for it.
Immediately available for inspection
During an inspection you must be able to show electronic documents and contracts to the inspection services immediately. So test beforehand who in your company has access and how quickly you can find the payslip of a given month and employee.
May you have an employment contract signed electronically?
Yes. An employment contract signed with the eID or another qualified electronic signature is equivalent to a paper contract. Qualified means: in line with the European eIDAS regulation on electronic identification and signatures, which has applied since 1 July 2016. The rule is laid down in articles 3bis and 3ter of the law of 3 July 1978 on employment contracts.
Two conditions matter. Nobody can be forced to contract electronically, and a copy of the signed contract must be kept with an archiving service. A scanned signature or a tick box in a form is not a qualified signature.
itsme also counts as a qualified signature. In addition, a law of 16 July 2026 sets up a federal service for remote qualified signatures. Be careful with older eID cards: since 21 May 2026 they are no longer recognised automatically, although there is a transitional arrangement. For new contracts, check exactly which signature your signing platform applies.
Can the payslip go through the eBox, and is digital now the default?
The citizen eBox is not a channel for payslips
The citizen eBox looks like a logical digital mailbox. However, it only receives messages from government services, social security institutions and healthcare actors, and only with the citizen's consent. Employers and payslips are not among the permitted senders. You therefore cannot deliver the payslip through the citizen eBox.
There is no law that makes digital the default
In 2019 and 2021, bills were tabled in the Chamber that aimed to make digital the default, with paper as an opt-out (DOC 55 0319). There is no indication that they were adopted, and as far as is known no other change was approved in 2025 or 2026 either. Prior agreement therefore remains the rule. Always read reports about a “digital payslip by default” critically.
Step plan: how to deliver payslips digitally in line with the rules
- Choose the documents. Decide which documents from the exhaustive list you want to deliver digitally, for example only the payslip at first.
- Arrange the archiving. Agree with your social secretariat which recognised electronic archiving service will store the documents.
- Amend the work rules. State the archiving service and how documents are consulted, and follow the normal amendment procedure.
- Ask for agreement in advance. Record per employee which documents will be digital, for at least the current calendar year.
- Provide paper for those who do not agree. A refusal has no consequences for the employee; he receives his documents as before.
- Put November in the calendar. Process notices for the individual account by the last working day of November at the latest.
- Test the inspection request. Check that you can show every document and every contract immediately.
- Explain how to consult documents. Show employees where to find their documents, also on their own smartphone.
How MyVIRO helps
MyVIRO is an employee self-service app for iOS and Android. Employees consult the documents and certificates you make available, even if they spend the whole week on site or at customers. In the same app they register their hours, request leave and report sickness, so without a phone call to HR.
Important: MyVIRO is not an electronic archiving service within the meaning of the 2007 law. The legal storage of payslips and other social documents runs through the recognised archiving service, usually via your social secretariat. MyVIRO makes consulting easier; the archiving itself stays with that service.
- See how MyVIRO works from check-in to full self-service
- Discover MyVIRO for companies with employees in the field
- Are you a social secretariat? Read how you offer MyVIRO in your house style to your clients
Request a demo and see how employees find their documents on their own device.
Read also
- What is an ESS app? Employee self-service explained for Belgian employers
- Reporting sick via an app: when is a medical certificate required in 2026?
- HR administration in Excel: the risks and how to switch to an HR app
Frequently asked questions about the digital payslip
No. You need the employee's prior agreement and the documents must be stored with an electronic archiving service. A plain email without that archiving is not enough.
Yes. Without prior agreement the employee receives his documents on paper. After the first calendar year he can also end an agreement he gave unilaterally.
The archiving service keeps the documents until 5 years after the end of the employment contract. Three months before that period ends, the service asks by registered letter what should happen to them.
Yes, itsme counts as a qualified electronic signature. Such a contract is equivalent to a paper contract, provided nobody was forced and a copy is kept with an archiving service.
No. The citizen eBox only receives messages from government services, social security institutions and healthcare actors. Employers are not among the permitted senders.
No. In MyVIRO employees consult their documents, but the legal archiving runs through a recognised archiving service, usually via your social secretariat.
There is no law providing for that. Bills from 2019 and 2021 to make digital the default were, as far as is known, not adopted.
Sources
- FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue, concluding a valid employment contract and electronic documents (in Dutch): werk.belgie.be
- Crossroads Bank for Social Security, citizen eBox arrangements, pdf (in Dutch): banquecarrefour.fgov.be
- Jubel, Unread but legally valid: the eBox and the fate of your deadlines, 25 June 2026 (in Dutch): jubel.be
- Belgian Chamber of Representatives, bill DOC 55 0319/001, 13 September 2019 (in Dutch): dekamer.be, document 001
- Belgian Chamber of Representatives, DOC 55 0319/006, 23 November 2021 (in Dutch): dekamer.be, document 006
Author: Jean-Philippe Delberghe at MyVIRO. Published on 23 October 2026. Last updated on 23 October 2026.
This article is an informative explanation and not legal advice. Consult your social secretariat for your specific situation.