Which joint committee (paritair comité) applies to your business?

A joint committee is a consultative body in which representatives of employers and trade unions within a given sector make arrangements on pay and working conditions: minimum wages, working time, notice periods, end-of-year bonuses and — relevant for this guide — training obligations. Those arrangements are laid down in collective labour agreements (cao's) that apply to all employers and employees covered by that committee.

Each joint committee is given a number, and the numbering follows a logic that already tells you a great deal:

• Numbers 100 to 199 are generally committees for blue-collar workers (manual labour, production, execution).
• Numbers 200 to 299 are generally committees for white-collar employees (administrative and intellectual roles).
• Numbers from 300 onwards are usually mixed committees, or committees for a specific, often smaller sector in which blue-collar and white-collar roles are regulated together.

This classification is indicative: some sectors have a separate committee for blue-collar workers and a separate one for white-collar employees within the same industry (for example chemicals, with PC 116 for blue-collar workers and PC 207 for white-collar employees), while other sectors have a single mixed committee for all employees.

The joint committee your company falls under largely determines how you can and must meet the legal training obligations. Three things are directly tied to your PC number:

• The sector fund. Almost every joint committee has its own social fund that (co-)finances training — often free of charge or at a sharply reduced rate, paid for through company contributions you already make. For example, Volta (PC 149.01, electricians) grants a training premium per employee from 2026, and Co-valent (PC 116/207, chemicals) pays a flat-rate subsidy of € 35 per employee per completed training hour.
• Cao training days. The individual training right sets a legal minimum — from 20 employees, for example, 5 training days per full-time employee per year — but sectoral collective agreements may deviate from it and often provide more generous arrangements.
• The contribution to sectoral training efforts. If your company must draw up a training plan, you must also explain in it how your plan contributes to your sector's training efforts — so you need your PC number in any case to complete it correctly.

In short: without knowing the correct joint committee, you may miss out on free training, premiums and cao rights your company is already paying for through its social contributions. If you would rather not work out those cao rules yourself, Smart Lions can automatically calculate the individual training right per employee, taking your company's situation into account.

In practice, there are several quick ways to look up your company's joint committee:

• Your employees' payslips. The PC number must be stated by law on every payslip.
• Your payroll agency. They know the PC number of your file by heart and can confirm it immediately — usually the fastest route.
• Your RSZ data. When your company registers with the National Social Security Office (RSZ), the joint committee is recorded based on your main activity (NACE code).
• Your employers' federation or sector organisation. They generally know exactly which joint committee(s) your sector falls under and can explain whether special sub-committees exist for your specific activity.

If your company is active in several sectors, different groups of employees may fall under different joint committees — for example blue-collar workers under one committee and white-collar employees under another. Your payroll agency also determines this per category of employee.

PC 100 (blue-collar workers) and PC 200 (white-collar employees) are the so-called "residual" or catch-all committees: they cover all employers and employees not covered by a specific sector committee. If you cannot find a joint committee that exactly matches your activity, your company most likely falls under one of these two.

PC 100 — Blue-collar workers

For blue-collar workers without a specific sector committee, OpFo100, the training fund for blue-collar workers, finances free tailor-made training: VCA, first aid, Code 95, soft skills, Excel and sustainable employability. The employer only pays wages and any travel costs during the training.

PC 200 — White-collar employees

For white-collar employees without a specific sector committee, Cevora is the sector fund. Cevora finances free training (half or full day) on, among other things, digital skills, AI and safety, and additionally grants training premiums to employers.

Browse the training offer for PC 100 — Blue-collar workers or PC 200 — White-collar employees.

On Smart Lions Academy you will find, per joint committee, an overview of bookable training courses, matched to the offer and financing of the corresponding sector fund. Choose your joint committee below:

• PC 100 — Blue-collar workers
• PC 106.02 — Concrete industry
• PC 111 — Metal industry (blue-collar)
• PC 116 — Chemicals (blue-collar)
• PC 118 — Food (blue-collar)
• PC 120 — Textiles (blue-collar)
• PC 124 — Construction
• PC 126 — Furnishing and woodworking
• PC 136 — Paper (blue-collar)
• PC 140 — Road transport and logistics
• PC 149.01 — Electricians
• PC 149.04 — Metal trade
• PC 200 — White-collar employees
• PC 201 — Independent retail
• PC 207 — Chemicals (white-collar)
• PC 209 — Metal industry (white-collar)
• PC 214 — Textiles (white-collar)
• PC 219 — Approved inspection bodies
• PC 220 — Food (white-collar)
• PC 222 — Paper (white-collar)
• PC 226 — International trade, transport and logistics
• PC 323 — Real estate sector
• PC 326 — Gas and electricity
• PC 335 — Business services
• PC 336 — Liberal professions

Is your joint committee not listed, or are you not sure which number applies? Your payroll agency can usually confirm this within a few minutes. More background on training obligations and subsidies is available in our other guides via the guides collection. Once you know your joint committee, you can browse the training offer per sector in the sector overview and immediately book the training that matches your sector's cao arrangements and subsidies.

Your joint committee determines which training rights apply to your employees. Smart Lions automatically calculates the individual training right per employee, taking your company's situation into account — that calculation is already included in the free tier. You start for free, whatever your company size; more extensive plans from € 10 per month (excl. VAT). Via this link you can also test the full application free for 30 days.

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Sources: Training plans — FPS Employment · Individual training right — FPS Employment · Kmo-portefeuille — VLAIO · Constructiv — sector fund for construction (PC 124)