In 2020, the International Social Security Association (ISSA)’s Diploma Training Programme shifted to an e-learning format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between June and December, 14 online training courses took place, on the different ISSA Guidelines. The ISSA interviewed a trainer and three participants from the course on the ISSA Guidelines on Error, Evasion and Fraud in Social Security Systems. It was provided through the EN3S Digital Campus e-learning platform in late 2020.

Where do you work and what is your position?

Since 2007, I’ve been working for the National Social Security Office (Office national de sécurité sociale – ONSS) in Belgium, and more specifically for the Supervision Department as an assistant expert. I mainly deal with cases related to “social dumping”, which allows me not only to deepen my knowledge of international law but also to maintain rewarding professional relations with the legal world.

Illustrative image (ISSA)

What is a normal day at work like?

Quite traditionally, a working week starts on Monday and ends on Friday, and we can choose our hours as long as the work is done. If I meet people from outside the ONSS, they are representatives of the legal world in conjunction with adjustments related to the “social dumping” cases submitted to me. The role of assistant expert involves a certain form of “informal” management vis-à-vis the people I work with on a daily basis.

How has the coronavirus crisis affected your life and work?

Since the crisis began in March 2020, teleworking has become compulsory, with some phases of voluntary return for those wishing to see their colleagues again during periods of déconfinement (lifting of lockdown). As a result, I work from home five days a week with occasional returns to the office when I’m attending or giving training courses, so I can have a more stable Internet connection than the one at home. My daily work doesn’t suffer from having to work from home. However, one negative side is the lack of face-to-face contact with colleagues.

What do you think of the current e-learning course?

I recently completed the online training course on the ISSA Guidelines on Error, Evasion and Fraud in Social Security Systems. This was an enriching experience, both personally and professionally. I appreciated many aspects, but I’d single out the professionalism of the organizers and the participants, the fruitful exchanges with other speakers working in social security in their respective countries, and the opportunity to get to know foreign colleagues and potentially create a network of international contacts. This training course was a wonderful moment of learning and conviviality.

What did you expect and what did you get out of it?

My expectations were mainly linked to a certain thirst for knowledge concerning the practices of other social security systems, ways of understanding error, evasion and fraud, and advances in identifying employers/workers as well as in technology and biometrics. I also wanted to make Belgium’s practices and policies in this area known. Lastly, I wanted to share and compare the participants’ expertise to improve our knowledge.

I was amazed at the practices in some countries, for example biometric advances or social security courses from a very early age. I was also humbled by the progress some countries have made. This training has been and will continue to be useful to me in my work and for the new perspectives it has opened up.

As the saying goes: “There is none so blind as he who will not see” and I think this training is an even bigger eye-opener for people who want to improve and learn from other experts in the field. Thanks to what I’ve learned, I’ll try to become even better at my job while keeping an open mind.

Do you have a message for your colleagues working in ISSA member institutions?

My message is twofold. The first, in the form of a wish, is for trainers in all the institutions: keep training your colleagues and others, train them well, for by doing so you are ensuring the continuity of knowledge. To quote a Latin proverb: “Your knowledge is nothing when no one else knows that you know it.”

My second message is for all my colleagues working in the field of social security: let’s continue to work together, to collaborate closely by putting aside our cultural or legislative differences so we can find common ground and work together to make society safer for its inhabitants, based on greater solidarity and fairness.

Once again, I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to the entire team that provided this training and made it so lively and rewarding.