Beware of the second visit…
“It never happens.” This is what many people say about the counter-visit in the event of sick leave, but be careful. A decree published on July 5, 2024 – which went almost unnoticed – specified certain rules to know about this check, otherwise you risk seeing your financial compensation disappear.
In the event of a work stoppage, the main element looked at by the employee on the sick leave form completed by the doctor is the box checked or not relating to authorization to go out. The doctor can prohibit the employee from going out except for medical examinations. If he authorizes going out, the sick leave specifies the hours of mandatory presence at home (often from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.). The employee must be at home during these periods, including weekends and public holidays. A check may be carried out by the primary health insurance fund. If the employee is not present during a check (except absence for a medical examination), health insurance may reduce or eliminate their daily allowances. This check may be carried out at the initiative of Social Security or at the request of the employer.
If the employer pays additional benefits during sick leave, he can request what is called a “medical counter-visit” by the doctor of his choice. This doctor decides on the justified nature of the work stoppage, including its duration. The counter-visit also makes it possible to verify that the employee is present at home or at his place of rest during the hours when he is prohibited from going out. The terms of this medical counter-visit were rather vague. In 2015, the Labor Code announced a decree for “determine the forms and conditions of the counter-visit”. This had never been published until July 5.
THE decree of July 5, 2024 creates four new articles in the Labor Code concerning the employer’s counter-visit. To ensure that they receive the compensation paid by their employer in the event of sick leave, the employee must therefore notify them, from the start of the work stoppage as well as on the occasion of any change, the address of his place of rest if it is different from his home and, if he benefits from a work stoppage marked “free exit”, the times at which the counter-visit can take place.
The counter-visit can be carried out at any time during the work stoppage. “without any notice period being required” and take place either at the employee’s home, or at the location communicated by him, or in the office of the doctor appointed by the employer. If outings are authorized, the counter-visit takes place outside of these. Following this visit, the doctor informs the employer “of the justified or unjustified nature of the work stoppage”If the stoppage is deemed to be “unjustified”, the doctor orders a return to work and the employee must return to work on the date specified in his conclusions.
If the doctor has not been able to see the employee, he informs the employer of “the impossibility of carrying out the inspection for a reason attributable to the employee, in particular due to his refusal to appear when summoned or his absence during the home visit”. The employer shall immediately forward this information to the employee. In the event that the counter-inspection could not be held due to his/her absence or refusal of the inspection, the employer may put end to the payment of supplementary compensation for the remaining period of the stoppage. Please note that employers located in the departments of Moselle, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin cannot order a counter-medical examination under local law.