Surge in Fake Sick Notes Costs France billions, prompts Increased Scrutiny
France is battling a growing problemโข of fraudulent sick leave, with 8.8 million compensated work stoppages recorded in 2024 -โฃ a 7% increase from teh previous year – totaling over 10.8 billion euros in costs. Authorities areโฃ cracking โdown on increasingly complexโ schemes involving falsifiedโฃ documents and even entirely fabricated companies designed to exploitโข the system. โ
Aโ “false work stoppage,” โaccording to Estelle Coulet,โ an expert in the field, isn’t simply a forged note. It encompasses a range of deceptions, โincluding altered signatures, manipulated datesโ intendedโ to extend leave duration, and falsified salaryโฃ certificates used to claim benefits. The fraud extends beyond individual claims, with โฃsome instances involving the creation of entire fictitious businesses to facilitate fraudulent payouts. This impacts the national healthcare system,employers,and ultimately,taxpayers. Investigationsโฃ are intensifying,with authorities analyzing practitioner activity and sanctioning proven cases of fraud.
Coulet explains that a false work stoppage is “a document that reaches us and on whichโข an element has been โfalsifiedโฆthe support which is false: a false signature, dates modified by handโฃ byโฃ theโ patient, such as to extend โขthe duration or even falsified salary certificates.”โ She adds thatโฃ sometimes, “the entire structure of a company isโค even set up from scratch for cause someone โto benefit from a fraudulent judgment.”
Authorities are employing a multi-pronged approach to detection. “We have a wide range of actionsโฃ to fight against fraud well beyond just work stoppages,” Coulet states. This includes analyzing the practices of healthcare professionals based on reports fromโ patients, colleagues, and internal databases, identifying anomalies and fictitious claims subject to sanctions when proven.