Record number of sick days among federal civil servants in 2024

Belgian civil servants were absent due to illness for longer in 2024 than ever before. That is according to figures from Medex, the body that monitors sick leave in the federal civil service, reported by De Tijd and L’Echo on Friday.

On average, federal civil servants were off sick for 18.2 working days last year, the highest figure ever recorded. If employees who were not absent at all are excluded, the average rises to 25 working days. That level was only exceeded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More and more absences are linked to stress-related or mental health issues. In 2015, such cases accounted for 30 percent of all absences; by 2024, that share had increased to 43.7 percent.

In total, federal civil servants were absent for more than 1.5 million working days due to illness last year.

^{#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO ANTHONY DEHEZ}

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