Sweden has some fairly generous benefits system when it comes to being paid to look after sick kids and it seems parents are taking full advantage of the government’s help.
However many parents have been caught out cheating the system by faking their child’s sickness so they can dodge work.
The welfare policy includes pay outs of up to 80 per cent of a salary to parents so they can stay at home with their ill child.
Last year there were 530 mums and dads reported to police who were suspected of trying to cheat the system, and in just the first few months of this year, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency filed police reports on 400 parents – 241 of whom are mums.
The agency even rejected one case of a Swedish resident trying to get a payout claim for looking after their dog.
So far sneaky parents have been asked to dish 32.4 million kronor (NZ $5.8 million) in wrongful payouts and damages.
The Social Insurance Agency is doing randomised checks and systematic controls using criteria that point in the direction of potential offenders.
