Sex workers in Belgium have been granted full employment rights, including pensions, after a new law came into force on 1 December.

In what is thought to be the first law of its kind, sex workers in Belgium will be able to access a workplace pension scheme and contribute to their retirement savings.

The changes seek to put sex workers on par with people working in other professions.

Alongside pensions access, they will be entitled to official employment contracts, sick leave, health insurance and maternity leave.

Sex work was decriminalised in Belgium in 2022, but it is thought that it is the first country to establish employment rights and contracts.

The legislation also creates laws around working hours, and pay and safety measures, as well as requiring employers to provide hygiene products and clean linen, among other things.

Advocacy group Espace P was involved in drafting the legislation, and its co-ordinator, Isabelle Jaramillo, said the changes were “an incredible step forward”.

"It means their profession can finally be recognised as legitimate by the Belgian state,” she stated.

"From the employer's perspective, this will also be a revolution. They'll have to apply for a state authorisation to hire sex workers.

"Under the previous legislation, hiring someone for sex work automatically made you a pimp, even if the arrangement was consensual.

"Now, they'll have to apply for state authorisation to hire employees."

---