2026 budgets: should you already set money aside for the 2028 social elections?
May 2028 feels far away when you are drafting a 2026 budget. But the legal procedure for the social elections does not start in May 2028 — it starts in late 2027, on day X-60, around December 2027. And the decisions that actually cost money — choosing a voting solution, agreeing it with the existing bodies, mobilising people internally — happen earlier still. If you are building the 2026 budget now, this is the right moment to add a "social elections" line.
The calendar will not let you wait until 2028
In the previous edition, the vote ran from 13 to 26 May 2024. The procedure, however, had started almost six months earlier:
- ±December 2027 (day X-60): the employer communicates the technical business units, headcount and management functions.
- ±February 2028 (day X): the election date is officially announced in each company.
- May 2028 (day Y): voting, counting, seat allocation.
In other words, by early 2028 you are already inside the procedure. Choosing an online voting provider, getting it agreed by the existing bodies, and — where required — running a tender, all have to be finished before that point. A budget approved only in 2027 arrives too late to prepare 2028 calmly.
What a 2026 budget line buys you
Setting money aside two years out is not over-planning. It is the difference between a controlled project and a rushed purchase.
- Price. A solution booked early, outside the peak window, is negotiated better than a contract signed in a hurry in Q1 2028, when every company is chasing the same provider at the same time.
- Internal approval time. An existing budget unlocks the decisions: the tender, the works council or CPPW agreement on electronic voting, the DPO sign-off. These steps take weeks, not days.
- Provider capacity. The Belgian online-voting market is not infinite. The best April–May 2028 slots go first. Booking early secures a date rather than hoping for availability.
- Peace of mind for HR. A social election has no second chance: it runs once, on a fixed date. A budget set early keeps the project from turning into an emergency at the end of the cycle.
What the budget line looks like
You do not need the final quote to put a figure in the 2026 budget. A realistic provision is enough. To size it, start from three questions:
- How many voters and how many electoral colleges? A single-site company of 120 voters and a group of 8,000 voters split across several colleges are not costed the same way.
- Electronic, paper or hybrid voting? Online voting shifts the cost: less printing and polling-station logistics, more platform and support. The nature of the budget item changes.
- What internal resources? The HR hours spent on preparation, communication and election day are a real cost, even if they never appear on an invoice.
Record a range rather than a single number, and note the assumption behind it (for example: "electronic voting, ~1,500 voters, 2 colleges"). You will refine it in 2027, but the line will exist — and it is the line that gives you time to do it well.
In short
The 2028 social elections are won in 2026, on the budget side. The procedure starts in late 2027, the purchasing decisions earlier still, and provider slots are booked early. A simple line in the 2026 budget — even a rough one — buys you price, approval time and calm.
Drafting your 2026 budget and want a realistic range for your case? Let's talk: we help you size the provision from your voter count and your electoral colleges.
