The past months of September and October saw the highest number of employees calling in sick in Belgium in the past five years, according to new figures from HR service provider Acerta.
Specifically, 14.13% of employees stayed home from work for at least one day due to illness in September, and 16.4% in October: the highest figures since at least 2020.
Traditionally, there are more sick days in September and October. As autumn approaches, more viral infections, such as colds, coronavirus, and the flu, circulate. "This year, the wave of respiratory illnesses seems to have hit earlier and more widely," said Kristel Minten, well-being expert at Acerta.
"We are also noticing that the restart after the summer holidays is a busy period for many: work schedules are being rebuilt, expectations are often high, and this can lead to additional mental and physical strain. This combination makes people more susceptible to illness," she said.
However, the number of sick hours was lower in both months than in the same period in 2023 and 2024 – indicating that absences were shorter.
The figures also show that slightly more people (42.7%) reported short-term sick leave to their employer in the first ten months of the year compared to last year, but this did not result in more sick hours than usual.
