Control Sick Leave

Hiring a detective agency for sick leave control?

Because employees:

Sick leave is simply profiteering. And your company suffers significant financial damage as a result. Buytaert & Partners does everything possible to help tackle absenteeism in your company.

Tackling absenteeism or sick leave

Absenteeism is a legal term and means being unlawfully absent from work. It can take many forms, but most cases involve sick leave.

With sick leave, employees feign a certain illness, often something not visually verifiable: chronic pains, depression, burnout, etc. This makes controlling sick leave quite challenging.

How do you, as an employer, best tackle this problem? It all starts with gathering concrete facts. If someone claims to be sick, you must be able to concretely demonstrate that it is not the case.

That is precisely what we private detectives do for you: provide usable evidence to prevent a future discussion with your staff or to resolve a current dispute.

Control in the workplace, can that be done just like that?

Valid question! When controlling employees, we make this important distinction:

You as an employer can exercise control ON the work floor. You are bound by the rights and obligations stipulated within your employment contracts and collective labor agreements. For example, you cannot just place cameras on the work floor or conduct extra checks at the gates.
We as private detectives can exercise control OUTSIDE the work floor. What does your employee do to and from work? What does your representative do on the road? What happens during an alleged sick period? Sick leave control is thus perfectly within our powers.

Usually, there are suspicions or signals indicating unjustified sick leave. An employee secretly earning while he is ‘sick’. Or a work-disabled colleague being seen somewhere exercising?

Buytaert & Partners help you map the facts. The signal you give afterwards on the work floor works very preventively.

Why sick leave control by private detective?

Hiring external investigators for sick leave control has these advantages:

We conduct a discreet investigation. Your employees do not know us and do not link us to their employer.
We map out reality completely objectively and provide you with the collected evidence. We leave the interpretation up to you.
Conducting efficient and effective research is our profession. Once we have sufficient information, we can act targeted.
Where the control doctor repeatedly faces a closed door, we take that decisive step further. Much is possible, ask about it during the free intake interview.

Internal sick leave control is difficult and rarely leads to constructive solutions. With a detective agency as an external partner, you conduct a discreet, objective, and effective investigation. This is how you professionally tackle sick leave.

Investigation into sick leave: what and how?

Intake Interview

Our private detective first listens completely without obligation to your story. Together with you and/or your legal counsel, we find out how Buytaert & Partners can be of service to you. After this conversation, you decide whether to engage with us.

Sick leave investigation

During the investigation, we monitor the subject’s time usage through observation and tracking. This way, we capture unauthorized (professional) activities in photo and video material. Neighborhood research and inquiries can also lead to important information.

Every day you receive an interim report from us with an overview of the performances and expenses. At the end of the assignment, a final report follows. All reports are legally usable.

End of Assignment

When the assignment is precisely completed, depends on the circumstances. Sometimes the private detective gathers sufficient evidence for sick leave control after just 1 day, sometimes more days are needed. Immediate success cannot be guaranteed, but we do make a best efforts commitment. As a client, you remain closely involved in the investigation.

That's why you choose Buytaert & Partners, experienced private detectives

30+ Years of combined experience

Our detective agency is a highly educated team of experienced professionals who immerse themselves in your case.

Legal expertise

With a Master’s in Law and Criminology, we prove our added value in legal cases.

Personal & client-oriented

Before, during, and after: your private detective is always approachable. The intake interview is free and without obligation.

Total transparency

From start to finish, you know exactly what to expect. No surprises with us. We keep you up-to-date.

What does monitoring absenteeism achieve?

An anonymous selection from our cases …

Case 1

In a port company, one particular employee was never present at the safety meetings. He was always logged in but nowhere to be found. After investigation, it turned out a colleague was logging in for him while he was taking his children to school. Absenteeism proven, and the company was able to take substantiated actions.

Case 2

A worker got hit on the head by a heavy pallet and was out of action for months. Classic work accident. The injury itself was undisputed, but the limitation the employee claimed was. Dressing alone would no longer be possible. Our private detective then observed how she easily hopped on a bike and enjoyed a terrace in the city.

Case 3

An employee enthusiastically told his colleagues about the weekend trip to Amsterdam he had booked a few weeks later. He requested a day off for that Friday, but it was not granted. His sick note was ready in advance… And on that particular Friday, our private investigator observed how the employee went on holiday.

Frequently asked questions about infidelity investigations

When is a sick leave survey wise?

From the moment you suspect that the reality does not align with what the employee claims, a professionally conducted sickness absence check can already be valuable. Don’t let this situation drag on too long, as abuse of trust affects everything and everyone in your company.

What investigation methods does a private investigator use?

Our private detectives conduct both online research and field research, with observations and follow-ups. They also carry out neighborhood investigations and informal interviews. During this, they collect targeted visual evidence that legally supports their findings.

How long does an average sick leave survey take?

It depends on how quickly the private detective has gathered sufficient evidence. For sickness absenteeism control, it is advisable to make observations on different dates to exclude one-time incidents. This consistency is necessary to make your case stronger and ultimately win.

What if the employee works for another employer during illness?

We can determine for you that the employee is engaging in certain activities outside the home, but we cannot interpret what exactly is happening. Labor law is straightforward, but also very diverse. If it turns out that your employee is indeed working for another employer, this may be a case of a breach of the non-competition clause.

What about employee privacy during control sick leave?

Our private detectives make objective findings from a distance during sickness absence control, solely to verify the employee’s time allocation. “It is forbidden for the private detective to gather information regarding the health [or racial or ethnic origin] of the persons who are the subject of his activities.” (Art. 7 of the Private Detective Profession Act // Act of July 19, 1991) If necessary, other investigations can also be discussed. During the intake conversation, we will outline the process together and see what is legally possible.

How much does it cost to hire a private investigator?

Detective agency Buytaert & Partners works with fixed hourly rates and per-kilometer fees. No additional costs or flat fees. This way, as a client, you always know what to expect. We highly value transparency and open communication. Read more about our approach as a detective agency.

What other detection services do you provide?

In addition to sickness absence control, we also conduct research on theft at work, non-competition clause, inspection for illicit work, and leasing fraud. We also support individuals and lawyers.

Hire these private detectives for monitoring absenteeism in a discreet, transparent, and results-oriented manner?