Long-term sickness absence keeps rising in 2025, says SD Worx

Long-term sickness absence in Belgium continued to rise in 2025, even though short- and medium-term absence fell. This is according to new figures from HR services provider SD Worx, based on data from more than 1.2 million workers at 37,000 employers.

In the private sector, 3.14% of employees were off work for more than a year in 2025, up from 3.07% the year before. At the same time, fewer workers were absent for shorter periods. Employees who were ill missed an average of 17.2 working days, down from 18.3 days in 2024.

About 65% of workers were absent at least one day due to short-term sickness. The share of employees off sick for more than a month fell to just under 13%. Nearly one in three workers had no short- or medium-term sickness absence at all, an improvement on last year.

Despite this positive trend, sickness remains costly. More than one in ten working days is still lost to illness, and total costs continue to rise. SD Worx estimates that in 2025 the direct cost of short-term sickness absence reached around €160,000 for a company with 100 employees.

Katleen Jacobs of SD Worx says costs will increase further in the coming years. From 1 January 2026, employers with at least 50 staff will have to pay a solidarity contribution during the second and third month of an employee’s sickness. This will amount to 30% of the sickness benefit paid by the health insurer.

^{© Isabell Hojman / TT}