Last year, nearly 10,000 people with long-term illnesses entered a programme to find work through the Flemish employment mediation agency, the VDAB. In the first six months of this year, 6,300 people entitled to social security benefits registered for a programme. That is more than in the whole of 2023. However, barely a third of the long-term sick who enter a VDAB programme are back at work after two years.
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Almost 10,000 people with long-term illnesses will have entered the labour market by 2024
Colin Clapson
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It was Member of Flemish Parliament Robrecht Bothuyne (Christian democrat CD&V), who requested the figures. Last year, a total of 9,617 long-term sick people were referred to the VDAB for guidance and support with a view to finding work. The distribution varies greatly from region to region: the numbers from Antwerp and Flemish Brabant are lower than expected, based on their population, while West Flanders and Limburg are more strongly represented.
‘More and more people with long-term illnesses are finding their way to VDAB services. That is a good thing,’ says Bothuyne. ‘However, we are still a long way from the ultimate goal set out in the coalition agreement: 20,000 return-to-work programmes per year. Moreover, two-thirds of these people do not end up finding work. So, there is room for improvement.’
Positive development, ‘but not a success’
The figures show that 36 per cent of people on long-term sick leave who entered a VDAB programme were back at work 24 months later. Three years ago, that figure was only 30 per cent.
‘That is a positive development, but not a success. We are talking about people that health insurers and doctors clearly indicate that returning to work is a realistic option. If almost two-thirds of them still cannot find work after two years of intensive support, there is clearly room for improvement,’ says Bothuyne.
‘Of claimants who have started a programme, 17,969 are currently receiving social security payments and are still registered with the VDAB’. Bothuyne emphasises that results must be achieved more quickly. ‘People should not be stuck in programmes for an unnecessarily long time,’ the lawmaker says, adding that the Flemish authorities have a key role to play in this.
Minister Demir: ‘There is room for improvement and we are doing better’
In a response to the Belga press agency Flemish employment minister Zuhal Demir (Flemish nationalist N-VA) acknowledges that Bothuyne ‘has a point’.
"I think that my colleague Brouns did his best when he served as employment minister, but there is room for improvement. And we are doing better. I’m thinking of the programmes that were launched in 2025 under my supervision. On those programmes, 17 per cent of participants were in employment within six months. That is 21 per cent more than in the past two years. So there is still work to be done, but we will continue to fuel the positive trend of the last year with new insights."