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Can I have a job as a student?

You can work under the 600 hour regulation if you:

  • are a student;
  • are old enough;
  • are not working when you are supposed to be in training or other school activities.

Are you a student?

For the purposes of calculating social contributions you are a student when:

  • you are following a recognised course of study in a secondary, higher or university education
  • studying is your main activity and any job is clearly a subordinate activity. For instance: an employee studying for a bachelor degree after his working day is not considered a student.

You are no longer considered a student if:

  • you have a contract of 12 months or more with an employer. Once these 12 months have passed you can no longer perform a student job for this employer. From then on you and your employer will have to pay the normal social contributions in any case. However, you can still take on a student job with another employer.
  • you are attending night school or any other form of education with a restricted curriculum. In this case also you can no longer take on a student job.
Determining whether or not studying is your main activity is not always simple. Are you not sure about your situation? Get in touch with the Monitoring of Social Legislation (in French)(new window) (Supervision of Social Security) of the Federal Labour Administration.

Are you old enough?

You must be of a certain minimum age to be allowed to work as a job student.
You can start as a job student once you are:

  • 16 years old
  • 15 years old and have finished the first two years of secondary education

Do you attend school part-time?

If you attend school part-time, you can only work as a student if:

  • you conclude a student agreement with a different employer than the one where you follow your practical training in the workplace;
  • you conclude a student agreement with the same employer than the one who looks after your practical training, but for a period in time when the apprenticeship agreement is not applicable;
  • your student job takes place outside the hours you are expected to follow your theoretical or practical training;
  • you do not receive any unemployment benefit or integration allowance.