Partial unemployment fraud, teleworking ... a labor inspector tells us

He doesn't stop.

Every day, Chérif Belbacha, labor inspector in the Grand Est region, visits companies unexpectedly, checking whether government recommendations concerning teleworking or compliance with short-time working are being applied.

"Since the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic, the pace has accelerated", recognizes Chérif, who has an employment pool of 10,000 employees under his responsibility.

And must, in recent times, in addition to inspections linked to the Covid, continue its usual missions.

“We cannot leave aside during this time the safety on construction sites or the dismissals of protected employees.

It is necessary to check on a daily basis whether the Labor Code is applied!

», He summarizes.

Sometimes too many staff in bank branches

So are there a lot of companies that don't follow Covid guidelines?

"Sometimes companies do not play the game," he admits.

On the subject of telework, while the government recalls that "recourse to telework can be total if the nature of the tasks allows it", only 2 to 3% of the companies that Chérif Belbacha was able to inspect are offenders.

"Especially in banking or insurance, I have been able to visit branches recently where half of the workforce was on site," he says.

However, “when tasks can be teleworked, they must be,” he recalls.

“We cannot let 4 or 5 people work in each agency”.

"In the call centers also, there are open spaces where I was also told that the staff was on site because in training," he continues.

This is not admissible.

In this case, an exchange is initiated with the company manager to find out if the employees are able to telework.

"If he refuses, he is put on notice to put his employees in telework", continues Chérif who then requires the employer to comply with this recommendation within a few days.

In the event of non-compliance at the end of this period, the inspector may draw up a report.

Which measures are the least well respected by companies?

"What comes up the most is the lack of hydroalcoholic gel or, during breaks, the changing rooms or dining rooms where it is not possible to respect the distance", he also notes.

"Some SMEs invent employees"

But it is on the respect of the partial activity that this labor inspector observes the most fraud, in particular in the restoration and the construction industry (building and public works).

"This represents nearly 10% of companies that declare partial activity in my sector, without applying it", he notes.

There are different scenarios.

“In some companies, it begins little by little with an email or two sent to employees who are on short-time work.

Then we bring them together, we give them a mission.

In the end, the employees work ”.

While receiving 84% of their salary paid by the State ... "In the restaurant business, when the establishment sells to take away, if employees are on site in the kitchens, they cannot at the same time receive the partial unemployment ”, recalls the inspector who nevertheless noted this violation.

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In other companies, "the scam", he says, is even characterized.

“In terms of hiring, some SMEs or large companies are strangely doubling, inventing employees.

I am even confronted with companies which simply do not exist, take fictitious identities or go so far as to assume the identity of other existing companies which did not come forward to claim partial activity ”.

The employer risks in this case up to two years in prison and a 30,000 euros fine.

He must also reimburse all of the sums collected and cannot benefit, for five years, from public aid for the hiring or training of employees.