A current proposal for tightening up sanctions against employers | Zuwanderung, Flucht und Asyl: Aktuelle Themen | bpb.de

The proposal has been presented to the Council and Parliament and is now undergoing the customary, protracted process of examination and discussion. The proposed directive aims to limit employment opportunities for irregular migrants and thereby curb irregular immigration.

The fact that the proposal places special emphasis on illegal employment and the fight against it can be explained by the fact that real and assumed earnings opportunities have been identified as an important pull factor for illegal immigration. But even irregular immigrants whose motives are essentially different generally need to earn money to support themselves. For this reason, combating illegal employment is assigned major significance in curbing irregular migration. If, due to fear of inspections and penalties, employers do not offer jobs to immigrants without a work permit, then the number of irregular migrants will fall on account of the lack of earning opportunities. Following this logic, the Commission regards sanctions against employers as a central instrument for migration control within countries.

It is possible to sum up the most important regulations contained in the proposal in three completely different groups of schemes and actions:

Extended and harmonised employers' obligations

Employers in private households and in companies are to be obliged to check the residence status of immigrants. As proof, they should be able to produce copies of residence permits or other authorisation. Companies are also to be obliged to notify control authorities. Anyone who does not comply with these obligations is to be made to pay financial penalties, any outstanding remuneration and taxes, and also to pay the costs of the employee's return. Employers are to be prosecuted under criminal law for serious infringements.

Extended inspections

Member states are to ensure that about 10% of companies established on their territory are subject to inspections within a given year to check whether they are employing foreigners from non-EU states without regular status. According to a survey of all member states, it is estimated that about 2% of all companies are currently inspected each year. This will therefore entail a significant increase in the frequency of inspections intended to deter employers.

Extended employee rights

The proposed directive aims at the standardisation and enforcement of sanctions against employers, but indicates in the introduction that third-country citizens without residence status discovered in the course of inspections are to be urgently deported and returned to their own country. Over and above this, however, the draft contains some regulations aimed at recognising certain employee rights, which, if enforced, could reduce the attractiveness of employing irregular migrants. Member states are to ensure that employees can lodge claims for outstanding remuneration, even if they are no longer residing within the EU. In cases of doubt, an employment relationship of six months duration is to be assumed unless the employer can prove that the employment relationship was in fact shorter (reversal of the burden of proof). Employees who are willing to cooperate are to be provided with channels for lodging a complaint (directly with a particular authority or through trade unions) and, if they have been subjected to particularly exploitative working conditions, granted a residence permit of limited duration linked to the length of the criminal proceedings in order for those concerned to act as witnesses.