European Commission launches campaign to tackle undeclared work

The European Commission is finally launching the first European campaign for declared work (March 2, 2020). The initiative intends to raise awareness among workers, companies, and policymakers that undeclared work does not pay off.

   According with the press release by the Commission, it deprives workers of social protection, it distorts competition between businesses, and it leads to huge gaps in public finances. At EU level, undeclared work is defined as “paid activities that are lawful as regards their nature but not declared to public authorities, taking into account differences in the regulatory system of Member States”.

   The above definition notably excludes illegal and criminal activities which are defined in national law. Undeclared work includes partially or fully undeclared work that occurs in an employment setting, consisting of “cash-in-hand” or “envelope wage” payments. Additionally, a lot of undeclared work takes place in the context of “own account” work where individuals or self-employed persons supply goods and services either to a formal enterprise or to other clients such as households.

   It is important to mention that 1 in 10 Europeans report they have purchased goods or services in the past year that might have derived from undeclared work. A third of Europeans know somebody who works undeclared. The most frequently purchased undeclared goods or services are home repairs or renovations (30%), hairdressing and beauty treatments (27%), and repair services (19%).

   National authorities are primarily responsible to tackle undeclared work; at the same time, this is also an important policy objective of the European Employment Strategy, contributing to a fairer European labour market and to the delivery of the European Pillar of Social Rights. Soon, the European Labour Authority will start coordinating the cooperation efforts at EU level.