To receive daily social security benefits while on sick leave, an employee must refrain from any activity that has not been expressly and previously authorised by the prescribing doctor. The case law is strict : the employee must prove that authorisation, which requires an express mention on the sick-leave certificate. Failing that, the benefits paid may be reclaimed.
In this case, an insured person on sick leave had sent a job application to an employer, exchanged messages with its HR department and then attended a job interview. The social security authority treated this as an unauthorised activity and sought repayment of the benefits paid over the relevant period. The first instance court annulled the claim, reasoning that looking for work was not a paid, voluntary, sporting or leisure activity, and that the insured person could legitimately have believed she was free to leave home for an interview.
The Court of Cassation quashed that decision. Attending a job interview is, in itself, the exercise of an activity ; any activity not expressly and previously authorised by the doctor triggers repayment, and both the nature of the activity – a job search – and the insured person’s belief that she was acting lawfully were irrelevant.
