Sickness absence has increased by 60% at Christmas in the last six years

The break that many workers benefit from each year in the period from December 22 to January 6 results in an increase in the number of cancellations, as indicated by AMAT data from the Social Security databases to which ABC had access. It wasn’t until Christmas 2024 that they accumulated 253,060 IT processes both for routine unforeseen events (illnesses occurring outside of work) and for professional activities (leave linked to work itself). This figure implies a growth of 11.5% in a single year regarding the same public holidays in 2023.

The number of victims at Christmas has increased faster than these computer processes in recent years. Because compared to the growth of 60% compared to 2019 during these winter holidays, the increase average recorded during these five years was 42%, almost 20 percentage points lower, which is explained by a higher incidence of this type of work case during rest periods like the one that has just started this year.

Furthermore, it happens that the increase in the number of victims due to reasons unrelated to the professional activity itself They grow much faster than those related to work. Temporary disability due to common unforeseen events (flu and traumatic processes are most common these days between Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and Epiphany) progresses at a much higher rate than that of work processes. This is the case at 63% since 2019 until reaching, last Christmas alone, 240,000 cases.

This upward trend in the number of victims at Christmas also means that these processes have already reached the summit compared to all those enrolled throughout a year. In 2024, they represented almost 3.5% of all those recorded over 12 months, while six years earlier, they barely exceeded 1% of the total.

This reality is added to the fact that the short-term sick leave They are also proliferating more frequently than a few years ago. Illnesses less than 15 days old have increased more than 70% throughout the last six years. In addition, almost seven out of ten sick leave implemented concern this type of pathology of less than two weeks, as indicated by the data provided at the collective bargaining table with which Social Security wants to put an end to this reality, in collaboration with unions and employers.

The x-ray of temporary incapacity traces a path which accumulates more absences every day, short or long term – or a few days or several semesters, the extremes – and with an increasing cost both for businesses and for the public treasury. Industry estimates suggest that this year the 33 billion euros intended to cover these unforeseen events, which will reach nine million victims in 2025. Nearly half of this figure is covered by the public budget and the remaining 50% by companies.

The rest of the companions

Beyond this economic bill, the consequences of absenteeism are particularly notable in daily operations. 60.6% of companies indicate the work overload for other employees as the main negative effect of this situation, followed by delays in customer service (44%) and increased organizational costs (43%), according to the Business Competitiveness Observatory of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. This report indicates that the reduction in productivity affects 40.6% of companies, while the deterioration of the working environmentalthough relevant, remains behind (27.9%).

With this dataJosé Luis Bonet, president of the Chamber of Spain, considers that “absenteeism affects the competitiveness of companies because it is a factor that directly affects productivity, the working environment and its sustainability. While it is true that the causes are multifactorial, it is essential to promote a preventive culture as an axis of a positive work experience, capable of anticipating problems and improving the well-being of talents.

For its part, the Círculo de Empresarios emphasizes that the increase in absenteeism has a direct impact on the competitiveness of companies, household income and the viability of public accounts. “Unplanned absences reduce production, require hiring replacements or rearrange models and deteriorate productivity and the quality of services,” indicates this organization.

This institution emphasizes that the increase in absenteeism does not only respond to a deterioration in the health of workers. Even if certain pathologies increased after the pandemic, “the main explanatory factor for the increase in TR is due to diseases that are difficult to diagnose, the repetition of episodes of temporary incapacity and their long duration”, he indicates. Absenteeism associated with “repeaters”, as they are called, is the fundamental factor which explains almost the entire increase in the rate of IT absenteeism experienced in recent years.

The business sector is still waiting negotiations are progressing of the dialogue table activated by Social Security of which, for the moment, we know how they will implement the progressive incorporations for certain cases of serious illnesses. In addition, mutual societies have started to manage trauma cases with agreements that are not yet implemented in the majority of autonomous communities, on which this decision ultimately depends.