Is your local government employee taking one sick leave after another? Do your HR teams suspect abuse but don’t know how to respond? You’re not alone. Fraudulent sick leave is a silent scourge that weighs heavily on the budgets of local governments in Paris and throughout France.
The line between an employee who is genuinely ill and needs protection and one who is taking advantage of the system is sometimes blurred. But it exists. And it can be proven, legally, with the right tools.
The Aquila Stratégie Group assists city halls, departmental councils, and public agencies in detecting and documenting abusive sick leave. To take effective action, here’s what you need to know.
Local Governments: How to Handle Abusive Sick Leave?
The Hidden Cost of Abusive Sick Leave
The figures are staggering. In local government, absenteeism costs French local authorities several billion euros a year. And a significant portion of these absences is due to sheer laziness.
In practical terms, what is a “fake” sick leave?
This refers to a sick leave that is obtained or extended without a valid medical justification, sometimes with the complicity of an unscrupulous doctor. The employee is not actually unable to work, but is taking advantage of the system to be absent from work while still receiving pay.
What are the implications for your community?
You end up paying twice: the absent employee’s salary AND the cost of a replacement. Not to mention the disruption to operations, the decline in motivation among the colleagues who are present and have to pick up the slack, and the deterioration in the public service provided to citizens.
In Paris, as elsewhere in the Île-de-France region, absenteeism in certain local governments has reached alarming levels. This phenomenon is placing a heavy burden on budgets and the organization of services.
When should you suspect that a sick leave claim is fraudulent?
Not all employees on sick leave are fraudsters. Far from it, but there are certain red flags that should alert your HR teams.
Repeated and strategic sick leave
Does an employee consistently take sick leave on Mondays or Fridays? Do absences miraculously coincide with periods of heavy workload or department reorganizations? Do sick leaves occur one after another without ever exceeding the duration that would require a follow-up medical examination? These recurring patterns are never insignificant.
Inappropriate Activities on Social Media
Is your agent—who’s on sick leave due to acute back pain—posting photos of mountain hikes on Instagram? Is he sharing Stories of parties while on leave for depression? Social media is often more revealing than medical certificates.
Testimonials from colleagues or neighbors
Have colleagues told you that they saw the “sick” employee looking perfectly healthy at the supermarket or participating in a sports activity? This information, even if it’s just hearsay, should be taken seriously.
Systematic refusal of follow-up examinations
Is an employee refusing to undergo a follow-up medical examination or moving at a convenient time during their sick leave to avoid inspections? This avoidance behavior is often revealing.
What can a local government legally do?
Do you suspect abuse, but feel powerless in the face of the civil service’s strict legal framework? Rest assured, there are concrete steps you can take.
The Follow-up Medical Examination
This is your first line of defense. You can appoint a certified physician to verify the validity of the inability to work. But be careful: the employee may refuse (which could result in the suspension of their benefits), and some unscrupulous doctors will approve sick leave even when it is questionable.
The Internal Administrative Investigation
Your HR department can conduct an internal investigation, gather testimonies, and analyze absence patterns. But you often lack the investigative resources to look beyond the surface-level findings.
Hiring a Licensed Private Investigator
This is where the Aquila Stratégie Group comes in. We are CNAPS (National Council for Private Security Activities) -certified and authorized to conduct surveillance on behalf of public employers, in strict compliance with the legal framework.
What we can do:
- Discreetly monitor the employee on sick leave while he or she is out in public
- Document your actual activities with photographs and videos.
- Verify consistency between the reported disability and the observed activities
- Prepare an investigative report that can be used by disciplinary and legal bodies
What we CANNOT do (and what no one can legally do):
- Monitor the agent at his or her private residence or in private locations
- Accessing One’s Medical Records or Violating Medical Confidentiality
- Using illegal investigative methods (wiretapping, geolocation without consent, etc.)
The Internal Security Code strictly governs our methods. It is precisely this legal rigor that ensures the admissibility of our evidence.
How does monitoring an employee on sick leave work?
Have you decided to hire us? Here’s how we proceed.
Phase 1: Review of the case file
We review the reason for the sick leave, the employee’s medical history, and the information you have available. This allows us to identify the most relevant days and times for monitoring.
Phase 2: Covert Surveillance
Our private investigators, who are highly trained in surveillance in all settings, monitor the agent’s public movements. We document his actual activities: errands, sports activities, travel, and meetings.
Phase 3: Documentation of Evidence
Each finding is photographed or videotaped, along with the time and location. An officer on leave due to a musculoskeletal disorder who goes running? An officer suffering from depression who works for a competitor? We document these facts objectively.
Phase 4: Detailed Report
At your request, we will provide you with a detailed report, structured so that it can be used by your HR department and legal counsel. This report can be presented to the disciplinary committee or to administrative courts.
Response times? We can begin surveillance quickly in Paris and the Île-de-France region. For local governments located elsewhere in France, our national network allows us to respond just as quickly through our regional offices. Discover all of our detective agencies in France on our dedicated page.
What should be done with the evidence that has been collected?
You now have objective evidence demonstrating the incompatibility between the employee’s reported incapacity and his or her actual activities. There are several options available to you.
Suspension of Pay
If the evidence is clear, you may stop paying the employee’s salary during his or her fraudulent sick leave, after officially notifying him or her in writing.
Disciplinary Proceedings
Falsely claiming sick leave constitutes a serious disciplinary offense. You may initiate disciplinary proceedings that could result in dismissal, depending on the severity of the offense and the employee’s prior record.
Reporting to the appropriate authorities
In the most serious cases (false medical certificates, a doctor’s complicity), you can report the matter to the public prosecutor. Our investigation reports can then be forwarded to the judicial authorities if necessary. Please consult your legal department to determine whether such a report is appropriate.
Lawsuit before the administrative court
To recover any amounts paid in error, you may file a claim for reimbursement with the appropriate administrative courts.
Why Choose the Aquila Group?
CNAPS Certification and Full Compliance
All of our detectives are licensed by the National Council for Private Security Activities. We strictly adhere to the legal framework, ensuring that our evidence is admissible in all courts.
Public Sector Experience
We regularly advise local governments, public institutions, and government agencies. We are familiar with the specific characteristics of the local civil service system and the associated legal constraints.
Absolute discretion
Our investigations are conducted with the utmost confidentiality. The subject under surveillance must never detect our presence, which ensures the authenticity of the observed behavior.
Nationwide coverage
Based in Paris but with a presence in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region through our private detective agency in the Var department, in Brittany and the Pays de la Loire region through our private detective agency in Nantes, and in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region through our investigative firm in Lyon, we operate throughout France on behalf of local governments that request our services.
Legally Admissible Reports
Our investigation reports are structured to be immediately usable by your legal and HR departments, whether in disciplinary proceedings or litigation.
Protect your community; stand up for honest officers
Combating fraudulent sick leave is not about targeting sick employees. It is about protecting those who work honestly and make up for their colleagues’ unjustified absences.
It also means safeguarding public finances and ensuring the continuity of public services for the citizens of Paris and France.
Aquila Stratégie supports you throughout this process with professionalism, discretion, and legal rigor.
Need to document a suspicious sick leave?
📞 01 86 90 85 36
📧 contact@groupe-aquila.com
🌐 groupe-aquila.com
Initial confidential consultation with no obligation.
Services available in Paris, the Île-de-France region, and throughout France.