Sickness benefits in Belgium outweigh unemployment for the first time

This year for the first time, sick or disabled employees in Belgium cost the federal government more than the unemployed, writes De Tijd. If no account is taken of special regimes such as maternity leave, the total cost of disability and sickness benefits increased in 2015 to €6.4 billion, while unemployment benefits fell to €5.7 billion.

Federal health minister Maggie De Block (pictured) calls the increased expenditure for sick leave "problematic". The increase is mainly attributable to the rapidly growing group of people eligible for long-term incapacity for work. Belgium provides this type of benefit for 335,000 people who have been unable to work for more than a year, or about 8% of all employees.

An increasing number of young workers receive disability and sickness benefits for burnout, depression and back pain, writes the newspaper.

"This evolution means an extra cost of €1.8 billion between 2014 and 2019," said De Block. "The human cost is high: it is scientifically proven that absenteeism is not good for patients."