Securex, a Belgian HR service provider, published an impact analysis on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, covering 2021 to 2024 and carried out with professor Philip Verwimp of HIVA-KU Leuven and ULB. The average number of one-day sick absences per worker in large firms rose from 0.22 in 2021 to 0.42 in 2024, while smaller firms went from 0.17 to 0.25 over the same period. The increase appeared first in 2023 and grew more pronounced in 2024. Securex puts the rise at 54% more one-day sick reports, which amounts to one extra one-day absence for every eight workers. Absences of two to five days did not fall as one-day absences increased, and the total short-term absence rate for periods up to one month did not change in a statistically significant way.
Data from the article text
The authors attribute the gap to the new rule, arguing that both groups of firms followed a similar trend before the measure took effect and that no other relevant change occurred in the period. Securex nonetheless states that the rise does not necessarily mean abuse. Heidi Verlinden, a project manager at Securex, said the company suspects longer-term benefits, since a single rest day can prevent a longer absence later, and pointed to an earlier study from 2021 finding that one in seven workers kept working while ill. Verlinden also said the impact is stronger among manual workers than among white-collar employees, who usually have less room to recover because of limited flexibility over leave, hours and workplace. Securex summed up its position this way.
“It does not necessarily point to abuse. The figures could also indicate that workers take time to recover sooner instead of working while sick.”
Securex says the direct payroll effect appears limited, because the short-term absence rate over one month did not change significantly and there are no signs of higher direct wage costs from more sick days. The indirect burden is heavier, however. Employers face extra administrative work to record each absence, schedules that must be revised at short notice, the search for replacements and higher workloads for colleagues. Securex stresses that the figures for now only show a change in behaviour, with no positive or negative intent established. The federal government has also introduced other measures, including earlier follow-up of incapacity for work and faster, more structural reintegration. Securex argues that tackling long-term sick leave requires broader action, with the greatest gains coming from preventing dropouts through workload, autonomy, leadership and dialogue.
At the end of 2022, a new law allowed workers at firms with at least 50 employees to take up to three days of one-day sickness absence a year without a medical certificate. From 1 January 2026, that limit dropped to a maximum of two days a year. Securex reports that the increase in one-day absences began in 2023, after the first year of the measure. The rule was originally intended to reduce the administrative burden on general practitioners, while the new figures point to added paperwork for employers. The timeline below sets out the key steps from the 2022 change to the publication of the study.
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Large Belgian firms recorded a sharp rise in one-day sick absences after the medical certificate requirement was lifted, according to HR provider Securex. The company says the increase does not necessarily signal abuse.
AI text based on reports by 7sur7, vrtnws.be, De Standaard and other publishers. Published .