Number of dismissals at highest level in five years
In 2024, 5.64 per cent of permanent employment contracts were involuntarily terminated, meaning they were ended unilaterally by the employer. This is the highest rate in the past five years, according to a study by HR service provider Securex, published on Thursday.
The rate of involuntary departures was highest in Wallonia at 6.9 per cent. In Brussels, it remained stable at 6.17 per cent, while in Flanders, it was 5.11 per cent, exceeding the 5 per cent mark for the first time.
The rise is attributed to a sharp increase in redundancies caused by bankruptcies. While in 2023, 2.85 per cent of dismissed employees were affected by a bankruptcy, that figure rose to 8.6 per cent last year. Statistics office Statbel recorded 11,067 bankruptcies in 2024 - the most since 2013 - resulting in 32,566 job losses, also the highest figure since 2013.
Stable turnover
Despite the increase in involuntary departures, overall employee turnover remained stable at 17.76 per cent of permanent contracts, Securex reported. This includes 10.78 percentage points due to voluntary resignations and 1.34 percentage points due to retirements and deaths.
Voluntary resignations had peaked at 12.27 per cent of contracts in 2022 but have since declined. “This can be explained by the fact that, in times of uncertainty, people are less inclined to change employers,” Securex said.
The study is based on a representative sample of more than 42,000 employees across nearly 8,000 employers from Securex’s client portfolio, which includes over 290,000 employees.
Illustration picture shows a worker in Brussels © BELGA PHOTO LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ
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