Abuse of sick leave

​In this edition of Fraud Counts, we explore one of the highest reported frauds that we deal with, abuse of sick leave.

Abuse of sick leave happens when someone takes paid sick leave and they are not really sick, or at least are not so unwell that they should refrain from work.

Abuse of sick leave may amount to a criminal offence where the person on sick leave has stated that their illness leaves them unable to work and it can be proved that they are undertaking an activity that is inconsistent with that illness.

Most commonly, that inconsistent activity is working in another job whilst off sick, often referred to as “Working Whilst Sick” and happens when a staff member is signed off from their NHS role, but then works somewhere else during their sick leave.

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