The New Law on Combating Tax and Social Security Fraud: Tighter Oversight of Employers… and Employees!

The Fight Against Abusive Sick Leave

The law imposes stricter regulations on sick leave prescribed via telemedicine in order to limit abuse. During a remote medical consultation:

• A sick leave order or its first renewal may not exceed 3 days;
• This provision may not result in the total duration of a current sick leave period exceeding 3 days;
• No subsequent renewals may be prescribed via telemedicine.

However, these restrictions do not apply when the prescriptions are issued by the employee’s primary care physician (or midwife).

In addition, insured individuals on sick leave are required to provide their insurance provider with the address where they can be visited for a check-up, if it differs from the address listed on the doctor’s note.

In particular—and this is the most significant change for employers—when fraud involving the payment of daily benefits to an employee is confirmed following an audit conducted by social security agencies, they will notify the employer and provide the information and documents strictly necessary to establish the facts of the fraud.

The employer will then be able to:

• Forward this information to the supplemental health insurance provider;
• And, if applicable, suspend the payment of supplemental benefits intended to ensure the employee’s continued salary.

📌 The specific procedures for this information sharing will be outlined in a forthcoming decree.

✅ What this means in practice for employers

This communication between the insurance fund and the employer in cases of fraud is a useful tool for employers dealing with repeated absences, and it should be incorporated into HR absence management as soon as the implementing decrees take effect. Our teams are available to advise you on the practical details of implementation.

Stricter Penalties for Failure to File a DUERP

The Single Occupational Risk Assessment Document (DUERP) is mandatory for all companies as soon as they hire their first employee. It must identify the risks to which employees are exposed and be updated regularly.

Failure to prepare or update the DUERP is already punishable by a fifth-class criminal fine of up to 7,500 euros.

The law now provides that when a labor inspector finds that a DUERP is missing during an inspection, the inspector may impose an administrative fine—rather than pursuing criminal charges.

This new administrative procedure allows the Labor Inspectorate to act more quickly and more easily.

Above all, the administrative penalty is significantly more severe than the criminal fine: the Labor Inspectorate may impose a fine of 4,000 euros per employee affected by the violation.

📌 Example with figures: For a company with 20 employees at risk, the fine can reach €80,000 even for a first offense.

✅ What this means in practice for employers

This is a powerful tool for the Labor Inspectorate and a serious grounds for a preventive audit of any company that has not implemented the DUERP. Our teams assist employers in ensuring compliance and securing their documentation before any inspection.

The Expanded Duty of Care

The duty of care, which already applies to the direct contracting party, is now extended to subcontractors approved by the principal or project owner, in accordance with the Act of December 31, 1975, on subcontracting.

Specifically, a company that engages a subcontractor must periodically verify, throughout the entire term of the subcontract (for a minimum amount to be specified by decree), that the subcontractor is complying with the requirements regarding the prevention of undeclared work.

The goal is to make it easier for social security agencies to collect contributions, surcharges, and penalties by holding the project owner jointly and severally liable for the payment of these amounts in the event of a breach of this duty of care.

📌 Effective Date: This provision is not yet in effect. It will take effect on a date to be set by decree, no later than December 25, 2026.

✅ What this means in practice for employers

Given this delayed effective date, the affected companies still have time to audit their supply chains, establish a traceable monitoring system, and review their contract terms. Our teams can assist you right away in setting up this system, before the implementing regulations establish the final requirements.

In fact, while the list of documents to be verified will be specified by decree, it is very likely that it will include registration documents, social security and tax filings, and the pre-hiring declaration for subcontractors…