Companies are increasingly hiring private detectives to check employees on sick leave. The practice is spreading across Europe

Private detectives monitoring employees who are on sick leave are no longer just a plot from a film. In a number of European countries, companies are increasingly hiring licensed investigators to check whether an employee is genuinely temporarily incapacitated or abusing paid sick leave. Spain has become the focus of a new wave of discussions after the publication of an article in El País and a number of court rulings.

Spain: surveillance only when there are grounds

In Spain, employers may turn to a private detective if they have reasonable suspicions that sick leave is being abused. However, the law imposes strict restrictions: surveillance is permitted only in public places, while interference in private life is prohibited.

Detectives have no right to find out an employee’s diagnosis or gain access to medical information. Their task is to document actions that may contradict the claimed incapacity for work. For example, if a person works for another employer while on sick leave, runs their own business or performs heavy physical work.

The collected materials may be used in court, but only if the evidence was obtained lawfully.

Germany: demand for detective services is growing

This practice has also existed in Germany for a long time. After a sharp increase in the number of sick-leave cases, German companies began turning to private detectives much more often. According to local media, some detective agencies report that the number of such assignments has almost doubled in recent years.

Detectives document cases in which an employee, while on paid sick leave, is actually working elsewhere, engaged in business activities, renovating a house or performing physically demanding work. Employers may then use such materials in labour disputes.

The United Kingdom and France

In the United Kingdom, investigations related to long-term sick leave are also part of the corporate security market. Private detectives help employers identify undeclared secondary employment, work for competitors and other breaches of labour discipline. At the same time, investigations must comply with legislation on personal data protection and the right to privacy.

Interest in such investigations is also growing in France. According to Reuters, detective agencies are recording an increase in the number of assignments related to checking employees on sick leave. One of the reasons cited is the rising cost of the social security system due to the growing number of long-term sick-leave cases.

What about Northern Cyprus?

There is currently no public information in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus about employers widely hiring private detectives to check employees on sick leave. This is due to the fact that the private investigation market here is significantly smaller than in the European Union countries, while most labour disputes are resolved through employers, medical commissions and state authorities.

Nevertheless, experts note that as the private sector develops, large tourist complexes are built and the number of international companies increases, businesses’ interest in tools to combat employment fraud may grow. If such a practice becomes widespread, employers will have to comply with legislation on personal data protection and the right to privacy.

Today, European employers are increasingly looking for ways to combat fraudulent sick leave. However, lawyers remind us that even in the presence of serious suspicions, surveillance of an employee must not violate their legal rights, and any evidence may be used only if it has been obtained in strict accordance with the law.