Council Recommendation of 27 September 1996 on combating the illegal employment of third-country nationals
Date: 1996-09-27
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: employment policy, foreign national, free movement of workers, migration control, moonlighting, underground economy













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31996H1014

Council Recommendation of 27 September 1996 on combating the illegal employment of third-country nationals  


Official Journal C 304 , 14/10/1996 P. 0001 - 0002 





COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION of 27 September 1996  on combating the illegal employment of third-country nationals (96/C 304/01) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles K.1 and K.2 thereof, Having regard to the Council Recommendation of 22 December 1995 on harmonizing means of combating  illegal immigration and illegal employment and improving the relevant means of control (1), Having regard to the Resolution of the Council of 20 June 1994 on limitations on admission of  non-EC nationals to Member States for employment, Whereas Article K.1 (3) (c) lays down that combating unauthorized immigration, residence and work  by nationals of third countries on the territory of Member States constitutes a matter of common  interest; Whereas measures to combat the illegal employment and exploitation of third-country nationals  should be complemented by measures to promote the integration of foreign workers lawfully  established and legally employed in the territory of the Member States, guaranteeing them  appropriate conditions of access to vocational training; Whereas illegal employment may distort the conditions of free competition in the internal market by  reducing social costs or giving employers other advantages and by lowering levels of social  protection; Whereas this Reccomendation is aimed at strengthening cooperation between Member States on  immigration policies in relation to third countries, RECOMMENDS THAT the governments of the Member States apply the principles set out below with a view  to combating illegal employment of third-country nationals: I. Scope This Recommendation applies to third-country nationals, with the  exception of: - members of the families of citizens of the Union exercising their right to free movement, - nationals of Member States of the European Free Trade Association party to the Agreement on the  European Economic Area and members of their families exercising their right to free movement. This Recommendation does not apply to third-country nationals to the extent that they are in a  situation covered by Community law. This Recommendation is without prejudice to the rights of third-country nationals whose status is  covered by agreements concluded with third countries by the Community, by the Community and its  Member States or by one or more Member States, where such agreements contain more favourable  provisions relating to employment. II. Authorization to reside and to work 1. Third-country nationals wishing to work in the  territory of a Member State must be in possession of the authorizations to reside and to work  required by the law of the Member State concerned. 2. The activity carried out, the post and its location and duration must, in accordance with the  law in force, effectively correspond to the content of the authorization granted by the Member  State concerned. III. Penalties for employing persons without authorization 1. The employment of third-country  nationals who do not possess the necessary authorization is prohibited and should give rise to the  imposition of criminal and/or administrative penalties in accordance with the provisions of the law  of the Member State concerned. 2. The penalties referred to in paragraph 1 should be imposed in accordance with the provisions of  the law of the Member State concerned upon those who employ illegal workers and those who  encourage, facilitate or promote illegal employment. 3. Illegal trafficking in labour organized by persons acting on their own or in networks should  constitute a criminal offence and incur criminal and/or administrative penalties in accordance with  the law of the Member State concerned. 4. The procedures for punishing the employment of workers who do not possess the necessary  authorization could: - allow the application of penalties which are effective, dissuasive, appropriate and proportionate  to the seriousness of the offences committed, - permit the elimination of added profits or other advantages obtained by employers as a result of  the offences committed in particular as regards the wages and charges imposed by the relevant  provisions in each Member State. The said procedures must provide for appropriate mechanisms and procedures for judicial control. IV. Coordination and collaboration between enforcement agencies Member States should adopt the  measures necessary to coordinate the activities of the competent services or authorities with the  aim of combating the illegal employment and the exploitation of third-country nationals, given that  the specialization in separate areas of control should be supplemented by the necessary  coordination and collaboration in the activities of the services concerned. The coordination could be put into practice through the preparation of joint operations to be  defined by sectors of productive activity, geographical areas and periods of time in which  non-compliance with the rules on the employment of third-country nationals appears to be  concentrated. The collaboration might take the form of: - support, at the request of one of the competent services, for preventive action, such as  inspection visits to places of work where there is hard evidence that the activities of those  services could be obstructed or nullified or could involve any type of risk, - support during inspections where the work of the competent services is seriously impeded in their  investigations into the hidden economy, - prompt support where assistance is requested by the competent services in emergency situations. V. Exchange of information Member States should exchange information, both bilaterally and within  the Council, regarding the fight against the illegal employment of third-country nationals and  organized networks trafficking in labour. VI. Monitoring of compliance with the Reccomendation The Council will examine the progress of  compliance with the principles of this Recommendation periodically, and for the first time one year  after its adoption. Done at Brussels, 27 September 1996. For the Council The President M. LOWRY (1) OJ No C 5, 10. 1. 1996, p. 1.