Employees call in sick in record numbers
More than half of Belgian employees reported being sick at least once in 2024. A record number of one in six people were absent at least three times, according to evident from figures from HR service provider Securex.
On average, Belgian employees were absent due to illness 1.36 times in 2024, marking a 20 per cent increase compared to the period before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of people who were absent frequently increased in particular. In 2024, 17.4 per cent of workers took sick leave three or more times, up 8.5 per cent compared to 2023 and nearly 36 per cent more than in 2019.
Policy change
The data suggests that removing the requirement for a person to provide a doctor's notes for one-day absences has contributed to the increase. Since the measure came into effect in November 2022, single-day absences have risen by 44 per cent. In large companies, the increase is even more pronounced, at 62 per cent.
"With the abolition of the sick note, it becomes easier for employees to decide for themselves when they are unable to work for a day," says Stephanie Heurterre, senior HR consultant at Securex.
"This means that more employees are absent for a short period. Companies are therefore more often confronted with unexpected sick leave, which of course has an impact on personnel planning and puts pressure on colleagues who have to take over work."
The findings are based on a sample of 22,965 employers and 192,747 employees across Belgium.
Related news
