The French benefit influencers teaching millions of Gen Z-ers to be ‘the worst colleague possible’ and giving tips on how to get fired and live off the country’s incredibly generous unemployment payments

French influencers are advising young people on how to get sacked in order to claim benefits and take advantage of the country’s generous welfare system.

Videos suggesting young staff arrive late to work and ‘be the worst colleague possible’ have racked up millions of views as authorities continue to battle with a 7.3 per cent unemployment rate. 

Under France’s unemployment benefit, called chômage, the state pays employees who lose their job up to 75 per cent of their previous salary for up to 18 months. To be eligible, employees must have been sacked.

Laurène Lévy, who quit her role to become a full-time ‘militant for wellbeing at work’, tells her followers that ‘work in France doesn’t pay’.

Her TikTok account, which has 357,000 followers, is full of ‘rants about today’s working world’.

Lévy notes to her predominantly Gen-Z audience that if you have been sacked for serious misconduct you can claim unemployment benefits ‘like anyone else’.

While she insists she has never encouraged people not to work, Lévy said critics should ‘go and work as a dish washer in a restaurant’ before taking aim at her attitude.

But she isn’t the only influencer encouraging young French people to exploit the system.

Laurène Lévy, who quit her role to become a full-time ‘militant for wellbeing at work’, tells her followers that ‘work in France doesn’t pay’

Her TikTok account, which has 357,000 followers, is full of ‘rants about today’s working world’

Lévy said critics should ‘go and work as a dish washer in a restaurant’ before taking aim at her attitude

Social media platforms are full of content creators suggesting arriving late at work to claim benefits, timing your claim so you can use benefits to fund a holiday and shopping around with state officials until you are happy with the monthly payment they offer.

Another TikToker, Célia, was succinct when giving her own tips.

She said: ‘1. Be late all the time.

‘2. Be unprofessional and unwilling; 3. Be the worst colleague possible; 4. When you are summoned to a meeting to discuss being fired, don’t go.’

The video, which has been viewed 144,000 times, concludes with: ‘The unemployment benefit is yours.’

Fellow content creator Aly Sonne Désirée claimed in a TikTok clip viewed 120,000 times that she had initially been told she was entitled to €1,200 per month in chômage based on her most recent job in France.

But after asking for her higher Luxembourg salary to be used, she was then offered a monthly sum of €1,800.

She told viewers: ‘So please guys – don’t hesitate to exercise your right to choose, at the jobcentre.

‘It’s a rip-off if not.’

Another TikToker, Célia, told viewers to ‘be late all the time’ to get sacked

Her other advice included being unprofessional and unwilling, and ‘the worst colleague possible’

France has struggled with mass unemployment since the oil crisis of the 1970s, wit the rate never dropping below seven per cent since 1977.

French unemployment peaked at over 10 per cent between 2012 and 2016, but has been falling since then, hitting a historic low of 7.1 per cent in 2022 before hovering around the current rate.

But last year the number of people signed up forchômage grew by about 100,000, to 6.26 million, with largest rise among under-25s.

The 2023 Employment survey from INSEE, the national statistics bureau of France, shows that 17.2 per cent of benefit claimants are between the ages of 15 and 24.

The figure for 25-49 year olds is 6.7 per cent, and just 5.1 per cent for the over-50s. 

Pierre Lellouche, a minister under former President Nicolas Sarkozy, told The Times: ‘These are the consequences of [French President Emmanuel] Macron. Macron plus Covid.

‘We’re a country that has completely stopped working.

‘There is no one left to work in France. 

Pierre Lellouche, a minister under former President Nicolas Sarkozy (pictured), said: ‘There is no one left to work in France’

Lellouche blamed Macron and the COVID-19 pandemic for the unemployment rate

‘Restaurants in tourist areas are closed in August because no one wants to work.

‘Finding a young person today, how is it? You can’t find anyone. People are used to staying at home and receiving benefits.’

Britain has seen a similar spike in online benefit ‘advisors’.

Influencers reveal specific buzzwords to use in applications, provide template claims and give guidance on how not to fall for ‘trick’ questions during interviews. 

Whitney Ainscough tells her combined following of 954,000 people how to exploit the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to max out their payments, claim Motability cars and even get free phones.

Her weekly DWP payment peaked at £1,151 a week across housing benefit, child and adult allowances and additional child benefits. 

She came off of Universal Credit in November 2023 as her income from her social media activity grew too large for her to keep the entitlement.

Supporting People UK, which has over 18,000 followers on TikTok, regularly gives advice on what to do when applying for Personal Independent Payment (PIP).

YouTuber Charlie Anderson uploaded a clip entitled Unlock The Secret Steps For WINNING Your PIP Claims – Step By Step Guide’ which went viral.

In the video Anderson, who has a chronic illness herself, claims to have a ‘100% success rate’ at ‘winning PIP’ claims, appeals and reviews.

Whitney Ainscough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who earns £4,000 a month on TikTok

Ainscough also brags about her Mobility car – since replaced with a flash Range Rover – and gives tips on how to get freebies from JobCentres

She said: ‘My channel is getting more and more views and every day I’m getting emails from people desperate for help.

‘The whole process sucks but what’s clear is there’s no training so today, this is critical, I would not win PIP claims if I didn’t go through this information – it’s the behind-the-scenes PIP scoring points.’

A DWP spokesperson previously said: ‘While we cannot comment on specific cases, any support provided is vetted by trained staff to ensure it is appropriate and proportionate.

‘We recognise that the benefits system needs reform which is why we are expecting to publish major proposals to reform health and disability benefits this Spring, so those who can work, do work, and those who need support get it in a way that’s fair on the taxpayer.’

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