One in 20 civil servants in Belgium on a disability pension are currently working at least part-time.
More than 4,200 of the nearly 85,000 permanent civil servants on disability pension are working at least part-time, reports Het Laatste Nieuws, based on figures requested by CD&V MP Nahima Lanjri from the Federal Pensions Minister Jan Jambon (N-VA).
These civil servants had used up their sick leave entitlement, and a medical examiner had previously determined that it had become impossible for them to work. (For civil servants who fall ill now, the scheme has been abolished since June.)
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Of those on sick leave, nearly 37% have started working as self-employed people, over 34% are supplementing their income through a flexi-job, and 32% are working as employees. Some of them combine several statuses.
The Jambon's office told the newspaper that the problem lies with the government's recruitment procedure. "Self-employment and flexi-jobs offer greater flexibility in terms of working hours, pace of work and job content," they said.
"This shows that the government often wrongly pushed people out of the labour market far too quickly and did not focus enough on reintegration," said Lanjri. "An enormous amount of valuable talent has been lost as a result."
