On Monday 8 June 2015, the High Level Group on absenteeism, consisting of the social partners and the Ministers of Social Security and Labour and Employment, presented new figures on absenteeism from work.
According to calculations made by the General Inspectorate of Social Security, the rate of absenteeism for sick employees in 2014 was 3.64%. For the first time since 2006, a decrease of absenteeism is observed, since the rate was 3.73% for 2013, which corresponds to a decrease of 2.3%.
The decline in absenteeism appears in the main subgroups of the employed population (men, women, residents, Border, manual workers, knowledge workers) and in almost all sectors of the economy. The lower intensity of the influenza epidemic of winter 2014 compared to the unusually strong one in 2013 is one of the reasons. This is however not the only reason, because if that were the case, only the short-term absenteeism rate would have declined. But the long-term absenteeism (more than 3 weeks absences) also has decreased. It was decided to study the trajectories of the persons concerned and the various potential causes of such a reduction.
The High Level Group also announced the update of the Absenteeism Observatory. This observatory, established in 2011, is for companies of over 10 employees.
