One in seven workers in the private sector in Belgium is absent for more than a month, according to figures about sick leave from the SD Worx, a company specialising in HR, on Tuesday.
Short-term (less than one month), medium-term (between one month and one year) and long-term absenteeism (longer than one year) also increased in 2024 compared to the previous year. The percentage of workers absent for more than a month rose the most. Because of all these absences, 10% of working days in the private sector were lost to illness in 2024.
Medium-term absenteeism is lowest in the Brussels-Capital Region and highest in Wallonia, although Flanders is catching up, said Katleen Jacobs, legal expert at SD Worx. "The increase is greatest in Flanders and among blue-collar workers: blue-collar workers are absent slightly more often on average and also for longer."
However, SD Worx also sees an increase among white-collar workers: medium-term absenteeism rose most sharply among employees under 40. "The larger the organisation, the greater the risk. Over six years, we see total absenteeism in the private sector rising from 8.40% to 10.30%: relatively speaking, this is an increase of 23%. The cost is significant."
Short-term absenteeism also rose against 2023, but less than medium- and long-term. In the last six months of 2024, short-term absenteeism was even lower than in 2023. And there are also employees who are never absent.
"Two in three workers were absent from work for at least one day for a short time. 30% were not absent for a single day in 2024," said Jacobs.
The HR specialist bases its analysis on data from almost 1 million employees at 38,000 Belgian companies.
