Aanpak zwartwerken in Tsjechië geholpen door Europees systeem van uitwisselen 'best practices' (en)

As part of the Mutual Learning Programme under the European Employment Strategy (MLP), the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the European Commission organized a peer review on “Tackling undeclared work: developing an effective system for inspection and prevention”.

The host country presented its measures to tackle undeclared work (UW), which have been underpinned by recent changes to Czech labour legislation and supported by a project funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) aimed to reduce illegal employment by setting up a new, unified system of inspection activities. The mutual learning highlighted the following phenomena associated with the diffusion of undeclared work:

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  Overall public perception and understanding have a strong influence on the level of UW.
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  Whilst the nature of UW varies from one country to the other, there is a general negative perception that “undeclared work pays”.
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  Sectors that commonly make use of UW are those with high labour demand, particularly for low-skilled workers, and marginal value-added activities (construction, care services, agriculture, transport, wholesale/retail trade, personal services and seasonal work).
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  At company level, micro, small and family-run businesses seem particularly susceptible due to their tight financial margins.
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  At the individual level, young people, students, women and pensioners are at a greater risk of working illegally

The mutual learning activity also put forward a number of measures to address this challenge to be understood in terms of a process, from prevention and deterrence, through to detection, negotiation and finally action:

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  Political willingness to tackle UW is paramount. Without it, the capacity and credibility of any measure can be severely undermined.
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  A clear and robust legal framework is needed that clearly defines UW, gives authority to

  inspectorates and helps to enforce penalties.

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  The role of labour inspectorates is central to monitor, control and penalise UW.
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  There is a need for a strong cooperation between the different state authorities, and labour market actors.
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  A balanced combination of activation measures, monitoring and sanctions can be effective in dissuading or preventing individuals from engaging in UW.

National authorities will have to encourage a legal and economic incentives' framework to make ‘declared work pay’ in order to engage employers and individuals in the fight against undeclared work.

A summary from the peer review, the host country and peer country papers have been published on the Mutual Learning Programme website.