COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the application of Directive 2009/52/EC of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals
Date: 2021-09-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: access to information, administrative sanction, fine, foreign national, illegal migration, migrant worker, moonlighting, residence permit, trafficking in human beings

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.9.2021  COM(2021) 592 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the application of Directive 2009/52/EC of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals            
 
 
Introduction 

Addressing the challenges posed by irregular migration to the EU is an important component 
of  the  comprehensive,  long-term  and  sustainable  approach  to  migration  as  proposed 
under  the  New  Pact  on  Migration  and  Asylum1.  That  approach  ensures  consistency  in  the 
development  of  EU  policy  in  the  areas  of  migration,  asylum,  integration  and  border 
management  to  help  prevent  unsafe  and  irregular  arrivals  to  the  EU.  The  New  Pact  aims  at 
deterring  irregular  migration,  preventing  organised  exploitation  of  migrants  and  promoting 
sustainable and safe legal pathways for those in  need of protection. The renewed EU action 
plan  against  migrant  smuggling  for  the  period  2021-20252,  presented  alongside  this  report, 
provides  the  tools  for  fighting  criminal  smuggling  networks  and  successfully  deterring 
irregular  migration  in  close  partnership  between  the  Member  States,  EU  institutions  and 
bodies as well as partner countries. 

To  successfully  respond  to  irregular  migration,  it  is  also  necessary  to  address  the  drivers 
motivating  migrants  to  embark  on  perilous  journeys  towards  the  EU.  The  possibility  for 
irregular migrants in search of a better  life to find  a  job  in  the  informal  economy3, hence 
gaining resources that can support the subsistence of family members in the country of origin, 
is  one  such  driver,  even  if  this  situation  makes  them  vulnerable  to  abuse  and  exploitation. 
Illegal  employment  of  irregular  migrants  is  a  complex  phenomenon  that  affects  several 
domains, including migration, employment and social policies, fiscal policy as well as respect 
of individuals’ rights. While the scale and occurrence of illegal employment differs between 
private  households,  small,  medium  businesses  and  large  companies,  and  across  economic 
sectors, illegal employment, nonetheless, provides grounds for those employers willing to cut 
labour  costs  and  circumvent  rules,  to  take  advantage  of  workers  ready  to  undertake  low-
skilled,  low-paid  jobs  in  labour-intensive  sectors  such  as  construction,  agriculture,  cleaning 
and hotels/catering.  

Moreover,  illegal  employment  of  people  not  authorised  to  stay  in  the  EU  –  similarly  to  the 
undeclared work of people entitled to stay but not to work and informal economy in general – 
is damaging from an economic perspective, as it leads to losses in public finances, tax and 
social contributions, depresses wages and working conditions, and creates unfair competition 
between businesses4.  

Illegal  employment  also  exposes  migrants  to  risks  of  violation  of  individual  and  social 
rights,  notably  labour  exploitation,  precarious  living  and  working  conditions  and  limited  or 
no access to social protection. Furthermore, in some cases labour exploitation can also have 
links  to  serious  and  organised  crime,  either  through  trafficking  in  human  beings  for  labour 
exploitation  or  exploitation  of  irregular  migrants  by  smuggling  networks  through  debt 
bondage  –  where  a  person  is  forced  to  work  to  pay  off  a  debt  –  and  exploitative  work 
conditions.  Criminal  networks  also  target  migrants  already  staying  irregularly  in  the  EU, 

1 COM(2020) 609 final. 
2 COM (2021) 591. 
3 The International Labour Organization (ILO) Resolution on decent work and informal economy (2002) defines 
“informal economy” as ‘all economic activities by workers and economic units that are – in law or in practice – 
not covered or insufficiently covered by formal arrangements’. 
4  European  Migration  Network  Synthesis  Report  –  Illegal  employment  of  Third  Country  Nationals  in  the 
European Union (2017), p. 10. 

1 

 
 
 
                                                           
forcing them to work in highly exploitative conditions, leveraging their vulnerability and their 
willingness to accept any kind of job opportunity to remain in the EU and have an income5. 

It is difficult to estimate the size of illegal employment in the EU because it is a ‘hidden’ 
phenomenon linked to the informal economy in the Member States. There are indications that 
illegal  employment  of  irregular  migrants  is  higher  where  the  share  of  informal  economic 
activity  is  high 6 .  Although  informal  employment 7  is  estimated  to  stand  at  16.8%  of  all 
employment in the EU on average8, the extent of illegal employment of irregular migrants is 
ever  harder  to  quantify,  in  particular  as  regards  the  gender  specific  and  child  sensitive 
aspects9, since irregular migration remains difficult to estimate. 

Alongside stepped up measures to prevent irregular migration in the first place, the effective 
prohibition of the employment of irregular migrants remains a central element to countering 
irregular  migration,  hence  also  reducing  its  economic  and  social  impacts  including  through 
the protection of individual’s rights.  

1.  Objectives of the Communication 

The Employers  Sanctions  Directive10 provides a European legal framework to prevent and 
respond specifically to illegal employment of irregular migrants, who are in a more precarious 
and  vulnerable  situation  than  other  third-country  nationals.  Although  tackling  employment 
and  rights’  violations  of  legally  staying  migrant  workers  is  equally  important,  they  are  not 
subject  of  this  Directive  given  that  they  are  covered  by  the  EU  framework  for  legal 
migration11 and specific national legislation. 

The  Directive  sets  the  rules  requiring  employers  to  verify  the  right  of  the  third-country 
nationals to stay in the EU and on sanctions for employers of irregular migrants, laying down 
minimum  standards  and  detection  mechanisms  of  illegal  employment.  It  also  sets  out 
measures to protect the rights of irregular migrants, establishing mechanisms to claim back 
outstanding  wages,  to  facilitate  complaints  that  can  reveal  situations  of  illegal  employment 

5 EU Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2021 (Europol). 
6  European  Migration  Network  Synthesis  Report  –  Illegal  employment  of  Third  Country  Nationals  in  the 
European Union (2017), p. 14. 
7 In  relation  to  informal  employment,  the  International  Labour  Organization’s  report  ‘Defining  and  measuring 
informal employment’ (2005) refers to non-standard, atypical, alternative, irregular, precarious employment. 
8  International  Labour  Organization  (ILO)  Factsheet,  Overview  of  the  informal  economy  in  the  EU, 
https://www.ilo.org/budapest/WCMS_751319/lang--en/index.htm. 
9  European  Migration  Network  Synthesis  Report  –  Illegal  employment  of  Third  Country  Nationals  in  the 
European  Union  (2017)  showed  that  in  terms  of  gender,  based  on  the  statistics  provided  by  eleven  Member 
States participating in the study, predominantly men (from 69% in Cyprus to 100% in Lithuania and Slovakia) 
were identified as working illegally in the Member States which provided data. 
10 Directive 2009/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum 
standards  on  sanctions  and  measures  against  employers  of  illegally  staying  third-country  nationals  (OJ  L  168, 
30.6.2009, p. 24). 
11  The  EU  framework  for  legal  migration  (Single  Permit  Directive  (2011/98/EU),  Blue  Card  Directive 
(2009/50/EC), Seasonal Workers Directive (2014/36/EU), Directive on intra-corporate transferees (2014/66/EU), 
Students and Researchers Directive (EU)2016/801, Directive on Long-term residents (2003/109/EC)) provide for 
rules  that  ensure  equal  treatment  of  third-country  nationals  with  nationals  of  the  Member  States  where  they 
reside, with regard to, among others, working conditions, health and safety at the workplace, vocational training 
and advice services. 

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and to issue temporary residence permits to victims of particularly abusive employers to take 
part in criminal proceedings. 

The Directive grants Member States the flexibility to design different approaches to achieve 
its  objectives,  which  allow  them  to  take  into  account  national  specificities  relating  to  the 
labour  market,  the  role  of  illegal  employment  and  migration  and  the  severity  of  violation. 
However, all Member States need to ensure that the rules are successful in deterring irregular 
migration  and  tackling  illegal  employment.  Ineffective  national  approaches  against  illegal 
employment  that  do  not  reduce  the  attractiveness  of  the  informal  economy  for  irregular 
migrants, and as such do not contribute to reducing irregular arrivals, have a knock-on effect 
on all Member States and on the EU migration policy as a whole. 

This  Communication  looks  at  the  practical  application  of  the  Directive,  following  the 
announcement under the New Pact that the Commission will assess how to strengthen the 
effectiveness  of  the  Directive  and  evaluate  the  need  for  further  action.  In  this  context,  the 
Commission will also reach out to the “European Platform to enhance cooperation in tackling 
undeclared  work”,  the  working  group  of  the  newly  established  European  Labour  Authority 
(hereafter, European Platform tackling undeclared work).  

This  Communication  also  meets  the  obligation  to  report  on  a  regular  basis  to  the  European 
Parliament and to the Council set out in Article 16 of the Employers Sanctions Directive. It 
identifies the necessary actions to strengthen the Directive’s implementation, focusing on 
the three main strands of action: sanctions against employers, measures to protect the rights of 
irregular  migrants  and 
the 
implementation of Articles 6(2) and 6(5) concerning the effective procedures for introducing 
claims for back payments and the issuance of limited duration residence permits in the case of 
criminal proceedings.  

inspections.  The  Communication  examines, 

inter  alia, 

The Communication follows the first implementation report of May 201412 and builds on the 
qualitative and quantitative information provided by the Member States13 (including the data 
on the inspections in 2019 and 2020 and on their results) and  a wide range of stakeholders, 
notably  trade  unions,  employer  and  business  associations,  non-governmental  organisations 
and representatives of migrants. It also takes account of the work of the Fundamental Rights 
Agency  on  protecting 
the 
Communication seeks to chart a way forward, it acknowledges that there are significant gaps 
in  information  at  the  Commission’s  disposal  that  make  it  difficult  to  reach  definitive 
conclusions  on  the  impact  and  effectiveness  of  the  Employers  Sanctions  Directive.  This 
Communication presents concrete measures to fill these gaps. 

labour  exploitation 14 .  Whilst 

irregular  migrants  from 

12  COM(2014)  286  final;  it  showed  that,  while  all  Member  States  prohibit  illegal  employment  and  have 
established financial, administrative or criminal sanctions, there were gaps, fragmentation and discrepancies; the 
severity of sanctions varied considerably, leading to the need to further asses proportionality and dissuasiveness. 
It  showed  that  there  was  room  for  improvement  in  all  areas  offering  protection,  including  claims  against 
employers,  complaint  mechanisms  and  access  to  information.  It  also  revealed  that  substantial  efforts  were 
needed to improve inspections and their prioritisation through systematic identification of sectors at risk. 
13 Member States provided their input on the implementation of the Directive through a questionnaire prepared 
by the Commission. 
14 Fundamental Rights Agency, Protecting migrants in an irregular situation from labour exploitation: role of the 
Employers  Sanctions  Directive  (2021),  available  at:  https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2021/employers-
sanctions-against-exploitation. 

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2.  Illegal employment and sanctions against employers 

Effective,  proportionate  and  dissuasive  financial  and  criminal  sanctions  for 
illegal 
employment  remain  key  to  reducing  incentives  for  employers  to  hire  irregular  migrants. 
Sanctions  should  counterbalance  the  economic  gains  of  hiring  irregular  migrants.  Sanctions 
against  employers  should  also  reflect  the  seriousness  of  the  offence  and  proportionally 
respond to the severity of the violation increasing in cases of particularly exploitative working 
conditions  (e.g.  persistent  violation,  significant  number  of  irregular  migrants  hired,  and 
employment  of  victims  of  human  trafficking).  The  effective  and  proportional  application  of 
sanctions  is  dissuasive  when  the  risks  of  being  detected  and  sanctioned  outweighs  the 
economic advantages of hiring irregular migrants. 

Based on these principles, the Employers Sanctions Directive defines minimum standards for 
financial  and  criminal  sanctions  against  employers  and  sets  additional  administrative 
measures, such as loss of public benefits or exclusion from public contracts, to counter illegal 
employment.  Member  States  have  flexibility  in  determining  the  actual  level  of  sanctions, 
depending on the specific national situation, severity of the violation or whether the employer 
is a natural or a legal person, and Member States may also introduce higher standards than the 
minimum ones laid down in the Directive. At the same time, it is of primary importance that 
in an area without internal borders, and in order to prevent irregular migration, action against 
illegal  employment  is  undertaken  on  a  common  basis  and  that  all  national  systems  work 
effectively.  Gaps  in  one  or  a  few  Member  States  would  undermine  the  deterrent  effect  on 
illegal  employment  and  irregular  migration  of  people  willing  to  work  in  the  informal 
economy, with consequences on the EU migration policy as a whole. 

Illegal  employment  occurs  in  different  economic  environments,  among  which  private 
households, small or medium sized companies and large companies. It is important to ensure 
that all types of employers are informed and aware of the possibilities of legal employment 
and recruitment, the steps to be taken to prevent and avoid illegal employment as well as the 
risks and consequences of hiring irregular migrants.  

Member States have generally transposed the provisions of the Directive on sanctions into 
national legislation, although the approaches chosen vary significantly as they are influenced 
by  a  variety  of  factors  (e.g.  different  national  sanctioning  systems,  social  impact  and 
perception  of  illegal  employment,  economic  situations  and  levels  of  wages,  incidence  of 
illegal employment in the economy). This is reflected in the significant diversity in the range 
and scale of financial (Table 1) and criminal  (Table 2) sanctions, as well as  in  the different 
choices made by Member States in the use of other measures (e.g. exclusion from public aid 
or  EU  funding  or  exclusion  from  public  contracts).  In  addition,  there  is  a  scattered  and 
incomplete overview of the prosecutions opened against employers and the sanctions applied 
in  practice  making  it  difficult  to  fully  assess  the  impact  of  the  Directive  in  ensuring  an 
efficient sanctioning approach to illegal employment in all the Member States and in ensuring 
that sanctions are effective, proportionate and deterrent.  

2.1.  Financial sanctions 

The  Directive  provides  that  employers  who  hire  irregular  migrants  are  to  be  subject  to 
financial sanctions that should proportionally increase with the number of irregular migrants 
employed  and  could  be  reduced  in  cases  where  employment  is  for  private  purposes  (e.g. 

4 

 
 
household  assistance).  As  already  reported  in  2014,  all  Member  States  have  transposed  the 
rules on financial sanctions against employers.  However, due to  information gaps regarding 
the application of financial sanctions against employers in practice, it is not possible to assess 
in a conclusive manner the impact in this area. The limited information available shows that 
there are significant differences in the size of the fines applied to legal persons per irregular 
migrant  employed,  with  minimum  sanctions  ranging  from  EUR  300  in  Belgium  to 
approximately EUR 10 000 in Croatia and the maximum sanctions ranging from EUR 3 000 
in Belgium, Cyprus and Estonia to EUR 43 000 in Italy.  

As an indication of the  proportionality  of  the  sanctions, they can go from about 1.5 times 
the monthly minimum wage15 to 9216or even 70017 times the monthly minimum wage in the 
Member State concerned. Furthermore, the national laws in the majority of Member States18 
prescribe  the  amount  or  the  minimum  fine  and  how  it  increases  proportionally  with  every 
irregular migrant employed, whereas the remaining Member States leave it up to the judiciary 
to decide the precise amount depending on the number of irregular migrants involved19.  

The  difference  in  the  level  of  fines  applied  in  the  Member  States  depends  on  a  variety  of 
elements, such as the economic situation and the level of minimum wage in a Member State. 
Furthermore, the type of employer (e.g. household or an enterprise) also affects the level and 
nature of the sanctions. However, the Member States should make sure that the difference in 
the  level  of  sanctions  is  justified  and  the  sanctions  are  effective,  proportionate  and 
dissuasive for each Member State.  

Member  States  with  a  more  stringent  sanctioning  system  consider  that  higher  financial 
sanctions  are  a  good  deterrent  to  illegal  employment,  whereas  Member  States  applying 
lower sanctions or where the risk of sanctions is considered low in comparison to the potential 
profits  from  illegal  employment  found  the  sanctions  are  not  a  sufficient  deterrent20.  It  is 
therefore  indicative  that  eleven  Member  States  have  changed  their  legislation  since  2014  to 
increase the amount of the fine imposed. The Fundamental Rights Agency also indicates that, 
in  practice,  in  most  Member  States  sanctions  and  penalties  imposed  on  employers  are  not 
severe enough to dissuade employers from practicing illegal employment21. Moreover, work 
of the European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work shows that, beyond a well-functioning 
system  of  sanctions  and  their  enforcement,  also  good  and  clear  structures  are  equally 
important to motivate and facilitate compliance.22 

15 Latvia. 
16 Bulgaria  the  sanctions  can  range  from  3  to  92  times  the  monthly  minimum  wage (from  BGN  2,000  up  to 
60,000).  
17 In Czechia the sanctions can range from 5 to 700 times the monthly minimum wage (from CZK 50,000 up to 
CZK 10,000,000). 
18 Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia,  Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, 
the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden. 
19 Czechia, Germany, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal and Finland. 
20 European  Migration  Network  Synthesis  Report  –  Illegal  employment  of  Third  Country  Nationals  in  the 
European Union (2017), p. 30 
21 Fundamental Rights Agency, Severe labour exploitation: workers moving within or into the European Union 
(2015), p. 18-19. 
22
 The  virtual 

the  Platform  Tackling  Undeclared  Work  can  be  accessed  via: 

library  of 

https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1495&langId=en. 

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2.2.  Criminal sanctions 

According to the Employers Sanctions Directive, criminal sanctions (which may be criminal 
fines, prison sentences or other penalties) are applied to serious cases of illegal employment 
with aggravating circumstances such as repeated violations, employing a significant number 
of  irregular  migrants  or  employing  them  in  particular  exploitative  working  conditions,  or 
employing  victims  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  minors.  In  the  majority  of  Member 
States,  illegal  employment  constitutes  a  criminal  offence  in  itself23 whereas  the  remaining 
Member  States  have  in  general  criminalised  illegal  employment  in  all  the  circumstances 
foreseen by the Directive24. 

Since  2014,  there  has  been  some  progress  with  legislative  changes  in  Italy,  Germany, 
France  and  Sweden  facilitating  the  application  of  criminal  sanctions  in  practice 25 .  For 
example, Italy abolished a requirement that the exploitation needs to occur through violence, 
threats  and  intimidation  and  classified  hiring  or  subjecting  employees  to  work  under 
exploitative  conditions  as  a  criminal  offence.  Germany  criminalised  exploitation  and  profit-
making itself, and not only the act of forcing a person into exploitative employment. France 
extended  the  competences  of  the  labour  inspectorate  to  include  recording  of  offences  of 
trafficking  in  human  beings,  forced  labour  and  servitude.  Sweden  adopted  legislation 
strengthening  the  criminalisation  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  addressing  exploitation 
through  misleading  or  using  another  person’s  dependent  situation,  vulnerability  or  difficult 
situation and exploiting through forced labour. 

However, there are differences in the severity of criminal sanctions  between Member States 
as shown in the Table 2, both in terms of length of possible prison sentence, ranging from 8 
days to 12 years, and the amount of the fine applied. In addition, there is a significant gap in 
information  concerning  the  application  of  criminal  sanctions  against  employers  in  practice 
and the number of proceedings launched. These elements point to the fact that the Directive 
had a limited impact in deterring illegal employment through sanctions and has not yet been 
able to establish an efficient framework for effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions 
across  the  EU.  The  feedback  provided  by  stakeholders  representing  trade  unions  and  non-
governmental  organisations,  collected  during  dedicated  targeted  consultations  on  the  topic, 
support such conclusion as it confirms that sanctions for exploitative employers appear to 
be lower than the benefits gained through undeclared work and social dumping. Therefore, 
Member States should assess whether the level of criminal sanctions applied at national level 
is  deterrent  enough  and  contributing  to  an  efficient  framework  of  sanctions  against  illegal 
employment. 

23 Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Malta, the  Netherlands,  Austria, 
Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden. 
24 Article  9,  Employers  Sanctions  Directive:  When  the  violation  is  intentional  and  committed  persistently, 
involves a significant number of third country nationals or minors, where the working conditions are exploitative 
or where the third country national is a victim of trafficking in human beings.  
25 Fundamental Rights Agency, Protecting migrants in an irregular situation from labour exploitation: role of the 
Employers Sanctions Directive (2021), p. 35. 

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2.3.  Other administrative measures 

In addition to financial and criminal sanctions, in line with Article 7 of the Directive, Member 
States  can  impose  other  administrative  measures  against  employers,  such  as  loss  of  public 
benefits,  exclusion  from  public  contracts,  recovery  of  public  subsidies,  temporary  or 
permanent closure of establishments or withdrawal of a licence to operate. The Directive also 
provides  for  the  possibility  to  ‘name  and  shame’  and  publish  a  list  of  employers  that  have 
committed a criminal offence. 

Here too, the implementation of these measures varies significantly across the Member States 
including on the duration of the application of these additional measures. Moreover, only nine 
Member  States26 include  all  four  administrative  measures  in  their  national  legislation  and, 
although all Member States include at least one of the measures in their national legislation, 
in practice only eight Member States27 report having applied them, making it difficult to 
fully evaluate the effectiveness and impact of these measures. 

The temporary or permanent closure of establishments or withdrawal of a licence to operate 
seems  to  be  the  measure  most  applied28,  whereas  only  three  Member  States29 apply  loss  of 
public benefits and exclusion from public contracts and no Member States reporting recovery 
of public subsidies. Only six Member States30 provide for the possibility to publish the list of 
employers  responsible  for  illegal  employment.  Additional  measures,  such  as  the  exclusion 
from  public  procurement  and  national  and  EU  funding,  remain  very  much  under-used 
despite their potential to dissuade employers to hire irregular migrants31.  

It  also  emerges  that  in  practice  undocumented  workers  may  often  be  employed  through 
complex employment relationships involving sub-contracting arrangements, recruiters and 
temporary work agencies, as well as through online platforms providing short-term work 
(e.g. food and meal delivery, transport service), which increases the difficulty in identifying 
employers  who  hire  irregular  migrants.  In  this  regard,  the  liability  of  the  entire  chain  of 
employers  is  intended  to  protect  migrants  especially  in  those  economic  sectors  where 
subcontracting  is  widespread,  such  as  construction 32 ,  as  well  as  in  the  newly  emerged 
economic area of online platform work. 

However,  stakeholders  find  these  provisions  to  have  a  limited  impact  in  the  complaints 
procedures and determining chain liability  in view of the likelihood that a contractor that 
has  carried  out  due  diligence  obligations  is  held  not  liable  as  allowed  in  Article  8(3)  of  the 
Directive.  For  example,  in  Belgium33 the  contractor’s  ‘due  diligence  obligations’  is  met  by 
simply  issuing  a  written  declaration  by  a  subcontractor  that  they  do  not  or  will  not  employ 

26 Germany, Spain, France, Lithuania, Austria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden. 
27 Belgium, Greece, France, Hungary, Croatia, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Slovakia. 
28 Only  five  Member  States  (Belgium,  Greece,  France,  Croatia  and  the  Netherlands)  reported  applying  this 
measure in the period from 2012-2019. 
29 Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia 
30 Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, the Netherlands Portugal and Romania. 
31 Feedback  provided  by  the  European  Trade  Union  Confederation  (ETUC)  and  the  Platform  for  International 
Cooperation of Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) as part of the targeted consultations 
32 Feedback provided by Platform for International Cooperation of Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) as part of 
the targeted consultations. 
33  Example  provided  by  European  Trade  Union  Confederation  (ETUC)  in  the  context  of  the  targeted 
consultations.  

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irregular  migrants,  relieving  the  main  contractor  from  all  responsibilities.  Member  States 
should do  more  to  hold  main  contractors liable for violations in the subcontracting chain 
including the intermediaries to irregular employment given the similarities of their role to the 
role of the employers. 

2.4. Actions to improve the effectiveness of sanctions against employers 

Despite Member States having generally transposed the Directive, it is not possible to reach 
firm  conclusions  on  whether  the  sanctions  applied  in  practice  are  deterrent,  effective  and 
proportionate and whether they have a significant impact on preventing illegal employment of 
irregular migrants.  

Although  Member  States  have  flexibility  in  determining  the  most  appropriate  levels  of 
sanctions  at  national  level,  a  common  understanding  is  needed  on  what  effective, 
proportionate  and  dissuasive  sanctions  are  in  practice  and  on  their  impact.  An  improved 
reporting mechanism should be complemented by an exchange of best practices to learn about 
the different national approaches and, in particular, about the approaches that have proven to 
be effective and have had a deterring effect.  

The Commission will foster  mutual  learning  and  exchange  of  best  practices between the 
Member States and stakeholders, with the support of administrative and criminal law experts 
in the Commission’s dedicated Irregular Migration Expert Group on the Employers Sanctions 
Directive.  The  exchange  of  good  practices  will  allow  the  Commission  to  support  Member 
States as needed in  determining  and  adapting the  level  of  sanctions at national level that 
are  effective,  proportionate  and  dissuasive,  collect  information  in  order  to  promote  a  more 
consistent approach to sanctions and ensure that they can have an impact in reducing illegal 
employment and exploitation. 

In  addition,  it  is  necessary  to  raise  awareness  and  inform  employers  about  the  risks  and 
consequences  that  they  face  by  hiring  irregular  migrants,  contributing  to  the  increase  of  the 
deterrence of the system. The Commission will support Member States in designing effective 
information campaigns, targeting in particular employers working in  the sectors most at risk 
of  illegal  employment  and  those  that  may  not  have  easy  access  to  this  information  (e.g. 
households,  small  enterprises)  seeking  the  expertise  of  the  European  Platform  tackling 
undeclared  work.  The  Commission  will  also  provide  financial  support  through  the  Asylum, 
Migration and Integration Fund. 

The Commission will: 

  promote  dialogue  between  the  Member  States  and  stakeholders,  with  the  support  of 
administrative and criminal law experts to support Member States in determining and 
adapting  the  level  of  financial  and  criminal  sanctions  at  national  level,  and  collect 
relevant information from national authorities; 

  provide support to  Member States in  designing  and implementing awareness  raising 
and prevention campaigns targeting employers in the risk sectors seeking the expertise 
of the European Platform tackling undeclared work; 
relaunch  the  work  of  the  Commission’s  dedicated  Irregular  Migration  Expert  Group 
on the Employers Sanctions Directive as a network of expertise, exchange and support 
to the Member States. 

8 

 
 
 
Member States should: 

  assess  the  level  of  financial  and  criminal  sanctions  set  at  national  level  to  evaluate 
whether they are effective, proportionate and dissuasive against illegal employment; 
  strengthen the activities for raising awareness and providing information to employers 
on  the  possibilities  of  legal  employment  and  recruitment,  steps  needed  to  prevent 
illegal employment and risks and consequences of hiring irregular migrants. 

3.  Measures for protecting the rights of irregular migrants 

Articles 6 (2) and 13 of the Employers Sanctions Directive grant irregular migrants a set of 
rights  to  ensure  that  they  are  adequately  informed  about  their  entitlements  from  illegal 
employment,  can  lodge  complaints  against  labour  violations  and  claim  back  unpaid  wages. 
These  are  key  provisions  to  protect  migrants  from  the  risk  of  exploitation  and  abuse: 
irregular migrants reporting labour violations and engaging with the authorities is conducive 
to holding employers accountable for unpaid wages, taxes and social contributions, ensuring a 
level-playing field on the labour market and uncovering situations of exploitation and abuse 
of workers. 

Further efforts are still needed as regards the implementation of  the  protective  elements  of 
the Directive, particularly in relation to access to information, access to justice and recovery 
of back payments, and the granting of temporary residence permits. 

3.1.  Access to information 

Ensuring that migrants are able to obtain information about their rights  and that the support 
mechanisms  for  lodging  complaints  and  legal  assistance  are  available  is  a  prerequisite  for 
effective  access  to  justice  for  irregular  migrants,  in  particular  for  those  who  are  victims  of 
abusive  employers.  The  Employers  Sanctions  Directive  provides  the  tools  for  irregular 
migrants  to  exercise  their  rights  effectively,  ensuring  that  they  are  systematically  informed 
about their rights to lodge claims for back payment of remuneration before the enforcement of 
any return decision, that they are able to receive any back payment of remuneration even after 
they  have  returned  to  their  country  of  origin  and  can  lodge  complaints  against  employers 
either  directly  or  through  third  parties  (see  section  3.2).  The  Directive  therefore  guarantees 
that the migrants working in the EU without a right to stay can exercise their rights effectively 
within the EU, but also from abroad where relevant; such rights must be respected even when 
the  return  procedures  of  the  Return  Directive 34  are  applicable,  notably  once  an  overall 
assessment  of  the  individual  situation  of  a  migrant  worker  is  concluded  and  their  migration 
status determined. 

A majority of Member States only provide general information on employees’ rights and 
not targeted information that is  relevant for  the specific situation of irregular  migrant 
workers.  In  some  cases,  the  information  is  limited  to  occupational  health  and  safety 
considerations,  and  does  not  include  information  on  unpaid  remuneration.  Moreover,  while 

34 Directive  2008/115/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  December  2008  on  common 
standards  and  procedures  in  Member  States  for  returning  illegally  staying  third-country  nationals  (OJ  L  348, 
24.12.2008, p. 98). 

9 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
other  Member  States35 provide  targeted  information,  this  is  often  done  only  as  part  of  the 
return procedure36. This situation has a negative impact on the irregular migrants, who are 
not  sufficiently informed about  the possibility to  introduce a claim  or receive unpaid  wages 
before their return to their country of origin. 

The Directive does not set rules on the modalities for providing information to the irregular 
migrants, and national practices differ with regards to when the information is provided, as 
well  as  by  whom  and  how37.  In  the  majority  of  the  Member  States  labour  inspectors  are 
required  to  inform  workers  of  their  rights,  which  is  a  good  practice  that  all  Member  States 
should  follow.  However,  there  are  also  other  modalities.  For  example,  in  Austria  the 
information is provided at a drop-in centre for undocumented workers, while in Italy it is done 
through  a  specific  form  explaining  the  rights  of  irregular  migrant  workers,  including  the 
obligation  for  the  employer  to  pay  outstanding  wages,  pension  and  social  insurance 
contributions and on how to take action against the employer; however, such information is 
not  provided  systematically  and  is  only  available  in  a  certain  number  of  foreign  languages. 
The Commission will encourage exchange of best practices and experiences among Member 
States to inform efforts to improve the way in which such information is provided to irregular 
migrant workers and increase awareness of existing rights and possibilities. 

The low level of knowledge of their rights by irregular migrants is one of the risk factors 
for labour exploitation, as irregular migrants may be unable to identify such risks themselves 
pointing  to  a  need  to  improve  access  to  information  by  labour  intermediaries,  placement 
agencies  as  well  as  enforcement  authorities  (including  labour  inspectorates)  to  provide 
information  to  irregular  migrant  workers  on  their  rights  and  where  to  go  for  support  and 
redress. Stakeholders also pointed to the same problem and the consequent need38. 

The  fact  that  the  information  provided  to  migrants  is  often  limited,  not  systematically 
provided  and  not  targeted  to  the  specific  situation  of  irregular  migrant  workers,  negatively 
affects the aim of the Directive to provide objective and reliable information to migrants 
to  exercise  their  rights.  However,  the  insufficient  reporting  by  Member  States  about  the 
number of back payment  claims introduced and  successfully  concluded and about  the cases 
opened against abusive  employers based on the  reporting of an irregular migrant  worker do 
not allow, at this stage, to substantiate this emerging evidence.  

3.2.  Access to justice and remuneration and granting of temporary residence permits 

Even when informed about their rights, irregular migrant workers may be deterred from 
filing  complaints  against  employers  for  recovering  unpaid  wages  or  denouncing  possible 
situations  of exploitation due to  the possibility of being ordered to  return, lose their income 
and, in some cases, retaliation of employers. To avoid that such situations undermine proper 
access  to  justice,  the  Employers  Sanctions  Directive  requires  the  establishment  of  specific 

35 Austria,  Belgium,  Czechia,  Estonia,  Spain,  France,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  Latvia,  Malta,  Slovakia  and 
Slovenia.  
36 E.g. Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Slovakia. 
37 European  Migration  Network  Synthesis  Report  –  Illegal  employment  of  Third  Country  Nationals  in  the 
European Union (2017), p. 36. 
38 Feedback provided by the Platform for International Cooperation of Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and 
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) as part of the targeted consultations. 

10 

 
 
                                                           
mechanisms  through  which  irregular  migrants  can  file  a  complaint  to  competent 
authorities either directly or through third parties (e.g. trade unions, employees’ associations 
and  non-governmental  organisations)  including  when  they  are  no  longer  present  in  the 
Member State39. Irregular migrant workers may also receive support from these third parties 
in  administrative  or  civil  proceedings 40 .  These  mechanisms  can  also  support  the 
implementation of the Victims Rights’ Directive41 and ensure that irregular migrants who are 
victims of crime, notably the criminal offences defined by the Employers Sanctions Directive, 
are not denied access to justice42.  

Member States have chosen different modalities to set up effective complaints mechanism. 
A study conducted by the Platform for International Cooperation of Undocumented Migrants 
(PICUM)43 shows that in  13 Member States44 (out of the 15 covered by the study) there are 
civil and administrative procedures through which workers can file claims for unpaid wages 
and in 1145 there is also an inspection body competent to take individual workers’ complaints 
on issues related to underpayment of wages. Practice also shows that while migrants that are 
found  to  be  illegally  employed  (regardless  of  whether  they  are  residing  regularly  or 
irregularly) can file claims for compensation of unpaid wages in twenty Member States under 
the  same  conditions  as  with  a  valid  employment  contract 46 ,  in  practice  the  complaints 
mechanisms  could  operate  more  efficiently47.  The  Fundamental  Rights  Agency48 shows 
that,  in  some  Member  States,  migrants  in  an  irregular  situation  are  not  using  existing 
complaint systems. This may be for a number of reasons: a lack of incentives for workers to 
come  forward;  limited  information  on  their  rights  and  the  available  complaint  mechanism; 
economic  barriers  such  as  membership  fees  to  trade  unions  that  assist  member  only;  and, 
mostly, fear of being detected, detained and returned.  

The  cooperation  of  public  authorities  with  social  partners  and  non-governmental 
organisations  is  key  to  facilitating  complaints,  as  they  often  have  direct  contact  with  the 
workers  and  can  raise  awareness,  inform  the irregular migrants  of their  rights,  build mutual 
trust  and  help  the  workers  identify  situations  of  undeclared  work  and  labour  exploitation  in 
order  to  file  a  complaint.  The  role  of  social  partners  and  non-governmental  organisations  is 
also very important to facilitate complaints and expose situation of exploitation and reducing 

39 Only Malta requires the third country national to be present personally to lodge a complaint. 
40 The approval of the third-country  national, to act in his/her behalf, is required in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, 
Malta, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden. 
41  Directive  2012/29/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  25 October  2012  establishing 
minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework 
Decision 2001/220/JHA, OJ L 315, 14.11.2012. 
42 Under  the  Victims’  Rights  Directive,  victims’  rights  shall  apply  to  victims  in  a  non-discriminatory  manner, 
independently of their residence status. 
43 Platform for International Cooperation of Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), A worker is a worker: How to 
Ensure that Undocumented Migrant Workers Can Access Justice, (2020), p.21.-22. 
44  Austria,  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Cyprus,  Czech  Republic,  France,  Germany,  Greece,  Italy,  Luxembourg,  the 
Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. 
45 Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Cyprus,  Czech  Republic,  France,  Greece,  Italy,  Luxembourg,  the  Netherlands,  Portugal, 
Spain. 
46 European  Migration  Network  Synthesis  Report  –  Illegal  employment  of  Third  Country  Nationals  in  the 
European Union (2017). 
47 Fundamental Rights Agency, Protecting migrants in an irregular situation from labour exploitation: role of the 
Employers Sanctions Directive (2021) p. 12. 
48 Idem p. 5. 

11 

 
 
                                                           
the  fear  of  irregular  migrants  of  being  subject  to  return  procedures  if  detected  by  migration 
authorities.  In  a  large  majority  of  Member  States  the  law  grants  an  important  role  to  these 
stakeholders, notably trade unions49, within the national mechanism for facilitating lodging of 
complaints. 

In  addition  to  the  difficulties  in  filing  complaints,  irregular  migrants  also  face  barriers  in 
receiving  unpaid  remunerations.  While  the  Directive  prescribes  that  the  wage  should  be 
presumed to be at least as high as the minimum wage50 and for the duration of at least three 
months,  stakeholders  point  to  a  number  of  gaps  in  implementing  the  minimum 
remuneration provisions in practice.  This is due to, for instance, lack of awareness of the 
relevant  provisions  among  the  labour  inspection  authorities  or  professionals  who  assist  and 
advise irregular migrant workers. In practice, irregular migrants may face situations where the 
presumption  of  minimum  three  months  of  employment  does  not  presume  full-time 
employment 51  while  having  to  provide  proof  of  the  hours  worked  and  various  types  of 
evidence,  such  as  messages,  photos  or  testimonies 52 .  Moreover,  irregular  migrants  face 
obstacles in actually receiving the payments of the wages, due to the length or the costs of the 
judicial  process,  barriers  to  opening  bank  accounts  without  legal  residence,  employers’ 
strategies  to  evade  payment 53  or  challenges  to  access  financing  in  case  of  employer 
insolvency54 or return. 

While the Directive allows illegally employed third country nationals to claim back payments 
after  they  have  returned  to  their  country  of  origin,  mechanisms  to  facilitate  claims  for 
people  who  are  no  longer  in  the  Member  State  seem  to  be  absent  with  only  very  few 
Member  States  having  specific  recovery  mechanisms 55.  Nonetheless,  setting  up  effective 
mechanisms  is  key  to  ensure  that  irregular  migrants  who  return  before  the  conclusion  of 
proceedings  for  claiming  back  their  unpaid  wages  are  not  disadvantaged  in  exercising  their 
rights.  In  Belgium,  if  the  labour  inspectors  determine  that  the  wages  have  not  been  paid 
correctly and in cases where workers are not immediately available, or have left the country, 
the employers are obliged to pay the salaries into the Federal Deposit and Consignment Fund; 
however, there is no department or administration that is charged with having to pay back due 
wages or inform the migrant. In France, in cases where the irregular migrant is in detention or 
is  no  longer  in  the  country,  the  wages  are  deposited  to  the  Office  of  Immigration  and 
Integration (OFII) and then paid to the migrant. Moreover, the OFII has the right to recover 
the wages, with the cooperation of the fiscal department if the employer fails to remunerate 
the migrant within 30 days.  

49 According to the information available to the Fundamental Rights  Agency, all EU Member States but Italy, 
Malta, Slovenia and Finland. 
50 In  a  number  of  Member  States,  such  as  Bulgaria,  Cyprus,  Germany,  Greece,  Spain,  France,  Hungary,  Italy, 
Portugal,  Slovenia,  Slovakia  and  Romania,  the  illegally  staying  third  country  national  is  assimilated  to  a  legal 
employee where minimum wages apply. 
51 For instance, Germany and Austria. 
52 Feedback provided by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). 
53 Such as changing company structures or closing the business and moving their assets without officially filing 
for bankruptcy, or simply refusing to pay. 
54 State  will  often  first  recuperate  contributions  to  tax  and  social  security  that  are  due  even  if  this  means  the 
worker will not then receive their remuneration.  
55 Only Belgium, Greece and France reported having such mechanisms - European Migration Network Synthesis 
Report – Illegal employment of Third Country Nationals in the European Union (2017). 

12 

 
 
                                                           
In order to protect victims  of severe  exploitation and children, to facilitate complaints so 
that  these  serious  crimes  are  detected  and  punished,  and  to  facilitate  recovery  of  unpaid 
wages,  Article  6(5)  of  the  Directive  allows  Member  States  to  grant  temporary  residence 
permits to irregular migrants, linked to the length of the relevant investigation or the judicial 
criminal procedure or the willingness to cooperate with the authorities56. These permits can be 
extended until reception of back payments of remuneration57. Such permits are usually issued 
for  periods  between  6  months  and  one  year  and  can  be  prolonged 58.  In  several  Member 
States59 temporary  residence  permits  can  be  extended  until  the  victim  has  been  paid  due 
wages; however, there is a lack of information as to how often this provision is applied. 

More  than  half  of  the  Member  States 60  have  domestic  legislation  providing  for  specific 
temporary residence permits for victims of particularly exploitative working conditions, while 
the  others  issue  them  in  situations  of  trafficking  in  human  beings.  However,  only  five 
Member  States61 report  granting  such  residence  permits  for  labour  exploitation  to  irregular 
migrants  in  2018  and  2019  with  most  permits  granted  by  France,  followed  by  Sweden, 
Czechia, Germany  and  Poland. Sweden also  reported  granting residence  permits to  illegally 
employed minors. 

While the Employers Sanctions Directive had a  positive  impact in this area, as it led to the 
establishment  of  specific  complaint  mechanisms  and  the  possibility  to  grant  temporary 
residence permits, consultations with stakeholders show that in practice the irregular migrants 
who  have  experienced  labour  exploitation  face  challenges  in  accessing  residence  permit 
procedures or in the conditions on granting the permits. Stakeholders report that victims face 
a lack of access to information and legal advice on the availability of permits and on how to 
apply  or  request  consideration,  on  the  granting  of  permits  often  being  linked  to  criminal 
charges  against  particular  employers,  and  on  the  permit  being  conditional  on  victims’ 
participation in criminal proceedings, although this is not required by the Directive. 

3.3.  Actions to improve the protection of the rights of migrants 

Access to information and justice, recovery of back payments and facilitation of complaints 
constitute  the  core  of  the  Directive’s  protective  measures  designed  to  redress  injustices 
suffered by irregular migrants. Circumstantial evidence and stakeholders’ reports indicate that 
irregular  migrants  face  a  lack  of  effective  access  to  information  and  to  complaint 
mechanisms.  The  lack  of  data  on  the  use  of  the  complaint  mechanism  and  issuance  of 
temporary residence permits does not allow reaching firm conclusions on this matter. 

Effective  complaint  mechanisms  allow  authorities  to  plan  and  better  target  their  labour 
inspections,  build  strong  cases  against  abusive  employers  in  cooperation  with  irregular 
migrant workers and third parties, and ultimately hold those employers accountable. Member 
States should make sure that these complaint mechanisms are easily accessible and take into 

56 Article 13(4) of the Directive. 
57 Article 6(5) of the Directive. 
58 The  temporary  residence  permit  is  granted  for  six  months  in  Cyprus,  Hungary,  Italy,  Romania,  Sweden 
(renewable), for one year in Germany and Croatia and for three months in Slovakia (renewable). 
59 Estonia, Finland, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden.  
60 Fundamental Rights Agency, Protecting migrants in an irregular situation from labour exploitation: role of the 
Employers Sanctions Directive (2021). 
61 Czechia, Germany, France, Poland and Sweden. 

13 

 
 
                                                           
account confidentiality that can encourage lodging complaints from irregular migrant workers 
and unveiling cases of exploitation.  Member States should establish  safe reporting  policies 
or  protocols  to  ensure that irregular migrant workers can report employers in violation and 
engage with law enforcement without facing the risk that their migratory situation affects the 
exercise  of  their  rights.  In  the  context  of  the  Commission’s  dedicated  Irregular  Migration 
Expert  Group  on  the  Employers  Sanctions  Directive,  the  Commission  will  promote  the 
exchange  of  good  practices  to  identify  effective  mechanisms  to  claim  back  payments, 
receive remuneration and lodge complaints – taking into account the need for safe reporting 
policies or protocols – including after a migrant has returned to his home country. 

Social partners and non-governmental organisations also play a central role in promoting 
and  implementing  the  protective  measures  of  the  Employers  Sanctions  Directive  and 
increasing  their  outreach  to  the  irregular  migrants.  The  Commission  will  strengthen  the 
dialogue  with  the  social  partners  and  non-governmental  organisations  representing 
undocumented  workers  and  engage  with  the  European  Platform  tackling  undeclared  work 
when developing these activities.  

It  is  necessary  to  improve  access  to  objective  and  systematic  information  by  irregular 
migrant  workers  on  their  rights  and  on  the  mechanisms  for  obtaining  support  and  redress. 
With the support of EU funds, Member States should  develop  information  and  awareness 
raising  campaigns,  in  cooperation  with  business  associations,  trade  unions  and  non-
governmental  organisations,  targeting  irregular  migrant  workers.  In  cooperation  with  the 
Fundamental Rights Agency, the Commission will develop a dedicated training for inspectors 
to provide information to irregular migrant workers about their rights and how to lodge claims 
through remuneration mechanisms, including after return to their home country. 

The Commission will: 

  support  the  exchange  of  good  practices  on  effective  complaint  mechanisms  and 
practical policy or protocols to facilitate engagement of irregular migrant workers 
with law enforcement; 
launch a dialogue with social partners, employers’ associations, trade unions and 
non-governmental  organisations,  seeking  the  expertise  of  the  European  Platform 
tackling undeclared work; 

 

  support  the  development  of  information  and  awareness  raising  campaigns  for 
irregular  migrant  workers  about  their  rights,  in  cooperation  with  business 
associations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations. 

Member States should: 

 

improve accessibility of complaint mechanisms to encourage irregular migrants to 
lodge complaints in cases of illegal employment and exploitation; 

  establish  safe  reporting  policies  or  protocols  for  irregular  migrant  workers  to 
engage with  law  enforcement without risking their migration status  affecting the 
exercise of their rights; 
support trade unions and civil society organisations in providing information and 
advice, legal assistance and other services to irregular migrant workers.  

 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
4.  Inspections  

4.1.  Inspections carried out by Member States 

Inspections are the most important tool in detecting employers hiring irregular migrants and 
situations of exploitation. It is based on the results of inspections that employers can be held 
accountable and sanctioned, and the necessary measures put in place to protect the irregular 
migrant  workers  subject  to  exploitation.  Article  13  (1)  of  the  Directive  requires  Member 
States to ensure effective and adequate inspections based on risk assessments identifying the 
sectors of activity at most risk, without which it is impossible to achieve the objectives of the 
Employers Sanctions Directive.  

Given  that  the  Directive  is  silent  on  the  definition  of  ‘effective  and  adequate’  inspections, 
practice among Member States varies pointing to several factors that limit the effectiveness 
of inspections: identification of the economic sectors most at risk of illegal employment, the 
low levels of inspections carried out in Member States (including in the sectors most at risk of 
illegal  employment),  the  lack  of  sufficient  resources  and  the  difficulties  in  engaging  with 
exploited migrants identified during inspections.  

As  already  indicated,  there  are  important  gaps  in  the  inspections  data  submitted  by  the 
Member  States.  Furthermore,  for  the  inspections  to  be  effective,  they  need  to  be  targeted, 
focussing  on  the  sectors  most  exposed  to  the  risk  of  illegal  employment  in  the  Member 
States.  It  is  in  those  area  that  inspections  are  more  needed.  Member  States  carry  out  risk 
assessments to determine such risk areas62, using national guidelines or annual action plans, 
data  collected  and  results  from  previous  inspections,  complaints,  tip-offs  to  referrals  from 
other national authorities. It appears that the sectors most affected by illegal employment are 
similar  in  most  Member  States  and  are  usually  labour-intensive  and  low-skill  /  low-wage 
sectors  with  a  high  turnover  of  staff.  Most  common  risk  sectors  include  agriculture, 
construction,  manufacturing,  domestic  care  and  social  assistance,  hospitality  and  food 
services63.  However,  in  their  reporting  to  the  Commission,  several  Member  States64 do  not 
identify  risk  sectors,  indicating  a  need  to  better  prioritise  inspections.  Although  the  risk 
sectors tend to be stable over time, economic developments can lead to the emergence of new 
sectors exposed to the risk of illegal employment, such as platform workers. Member States 
should, therefore, regularly update their risk sectors. 

The  number  of  inspections  carried  out  in  the  current  system  is  unlikely  to  dissuade 
employers  from  hiring  irregular  migrants.  The  share  of  employers  active  in  a  sector 
subject  to  inspections  tends  to  be  very  low;  consequently  employers  may  consider  that  the 
economic advantage gained from illegal employment to be higher than the likelihood of being 
detected through inspections. Tables 3 and 4, which present the Member States’ information 
on the inspections  carried out  in  all the sectors65, shows that  the Member  States’ inspection 
efforts  vary  significantly.  In  2019,  for  instance,  less  than  1%  of  employers  in  all  sectors 

62European  Migration  Network  Synthesis  Report  –  Illegal  employment  of  Third  Country  Nationals  in  the 
European Union (2017), p. 20. 
63 Idem p. 14-15. 
64 Czechia, Estonia, Lithuania, Malta and Romania. 
65 Portugal  (agriculture/forestry/fishing,  construction  and  accommodation/food  services)  reports  only  on  risk 
sectors. 

15 

 
 
                                                           
were subject to inspections in Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Latvia, Netherlands and Sweden; in 
thirteen Member States, the inspections covered between 1% and 10% of their employers66; in 
Austria inspections covered 14.5% of all employers and inspections in Slovenia and Slovakia 
covered  above  30%  of  all  employers.  The  information  at  the  Commission’s  disposal  shows 
that in most Member States inspections are not focused on risk sectors, a situation that does 
not  respond  to  the  requirement  of  the  Directive.  In  addition,  Member  States  and  other 
stakeholders 67  report  that  labour  inspection  authorities  are  often  understaffed  and  lack 
resources, affecting the number and frequency of inspections carried out. 

In  addition  to  detecting  situations  of  illegal  employment,  inspections  also  serve  to  identify 
situations  of  vulnerability  and  exploitation  especially  in  cases  that  concern  the  rights  of 
children, core labour standards and gender equality. Furthermore, stakeholders68 highlight that 
exploited workers are discouraged from reporting their situation during the inspections due to 
the risk of apprehension and return, in particular when inspections are carried out jointly by 
labour  inspection  and  police  /  immigration  authorities.  Stakeholders  therefore  promote  the 
idea of separating labour inspections and law enforcement / immigration activities by means 
of  a  ‘firewall’,  which  would  guarantee  that  irregular  migrants  detected  during  inspections 
would  not  be  referred  to  immigration  authorities  for  return  procedure.  In  addition,  the 
Fundamental  Rights  Agency  observes  that  when  inspections  are  conducted  jointly  between 
labour  authorities  and  anti-trafficking  units  or  other  specialised  units  trained  on  labour 
exploitation, they might help identifying migrants who are victims of labour exploitation 
or trafficking in human beings. 

The  mechanisms  to  facilitate  complaints  against  employers  through  designated  third  parties 
like  trade  unions  or  non-governmental  organisations  aim  at  guaranteeing  that  situations  of 
exploitation  emerge  and  are  reported  to  the  competent  authorities.  Their  effective 
implementation  is  of  primary  importance  (see  section  3.2)  to  ensure  that  irregular  migrant 
workers  can  exercise  their  rights  without  the  fear  of  being  subject  to  return  procedures.  In 
addition,  some  Member  States  have  taken  further  measures  to  facilitate  the  reporting  of 
exploitation. The Netherlands, for instance, implements a policy known as ‘free-in, free-out’69 
allowing  irregular  migrants  to  report  a  crime  to  the  police  without  being  arrested  or  facing 
return, regardless of the type of crime reported. Spain set up dedicated police teams that are 
tasked to provide assistance to migrants, including irregular migrants, by informing them of 
their rights,  advising them  on how to  regularise  their status  and supporting them  in  lodging 
complaints  against  employers  and  others  for  mistreatment  and  exploitation  without  risk  of 
being ordered return.  

66 Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and 
Finland. 
67 Feedback  provided  by  European  Trade  Union  Confederation  (ETUC)  in  the  targeted  consultations  and  by 
Member States representatives at the meeting of the National Contact Points for migrant smuggling in February 
2021. 
68 Idem. 
69 It is based on an internal policy document of the national police and a Memorandum of Understanding shared 
with the Dutch Parliament. 

16 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
4.2.  Actions to improve the effectiveness of inspections 

For the inspections to be effective in detecting illegal employment and ensuring the protection 
of irregular migrants, Member States should ensure that they target the economic sectors most 
at risk of illegal employment that cover a significant number of employers in such sectors and 
are  carried  out  at  regular  intervals.  For  this  reason,  all  Member  States  should  carry  out 
comprehensive and regular risk assessments, looking also at new and emerging economic 
areas  such  as  the  platform  economy,  to  identify  risk  sectors  and  communicate  them  to  the 
Commission.  

The Commission, working closely with Member States and social partners, will promote the 
exchange of best practices on inspections, risk assessment and cooperation among national 
labour  inspectorates,  including  with  regard  to  what  could  be  considered  deterrent  and 
realistic targets for annual inspections in the risk sectors identified by the Member States. 

To facilitate the identification of situations of exploitation and of victims of trafficking during 
inspections  and  support  Member  States  in  implementing  the  obligations  from  the  Directive, 
the Commission will promote, in a structured way, the exchange of practices, for instance on 
joint  inspections  of  labour  authorities  and  specialised  labour  exploitation  units,  in 
cooperation with the Fundamental Rights Agency and seeking the expertise of the European 
Platform  tackling  undeclared  work.  Moreover,  Member  States  should  provide  training  to 
labour inspectors on the rights of irregular migrant workers under the Employers Sanctions 
Directive and on the identification of cases of exploitation and human trafficking. At the same 
time, the Commission will explore the possibilities of supporting Member States with training 
in cooperation with the Fundamental Rights Agency, where appropriate. 

The Commission will:  

  work closely with Member States to identify possible annual targets for inspections of 

employers in the risk sectors; 

  promote the exchange of good practices on inspections, identification of risk sectors 
and  the  cooperation  between  inspectorates  seeking  the  expertise  of  the  European 
Platform tackling undeclared work; 

  promote  the  exchange  of  good  practices  for  identifying  victims  of  exploitation  and 

trafficking, including on joint inspections with dedicated units. 

  explore the possibility of supporting Member States with training of labour inspectors 

in cooperation with the Fundamental Rights Agency. 

Member States should: 

  ensure that inspections target the economic sectors most at risk of illegal employment, 
cover  a  significant  share  of  employers  in  such  sectors  and  are  carried  out  at  regular 
intervals; 

  carry  out  comprehensive  and  regular  risk  assessments,  looking  also  at  new  and 
emerging economic areas, such as the platform economy, to identify risk sectors and 
communicate them to the Commission;  

  provide training to labour inspectors on the rights of irregular migrant workers under 
the  Employers  Sanctions  Directive  and  on  the  identification  of  cases  of  exploitation 
and human trafficking. 

17 

 
 
 
5.  Significant gaps in information 

The Directive requires that Member States communicate annually to the Commission on the 
number of inspections  and their results70, on the back payments made by employers, on the 
other  measures  applied  and  on  the  facilitation  of  complaints71.  This  information  is  key  to 
assessing  how  the  measures  of  the  Directive  are  implemented  and  their  consequences. 
However, Member States provide very limited and uneven information leading to significant 
data  gaps  on  inspections  and  their  results,  on  the  application  of  financial  and  criminal 
sanctions  and  on  the  number  of  criminal  proceedings  launched,  as  well  as  on  the  use  and 
results of the complaints’ mechanisms. 

There is also a lack of complete and reliable data and information on the application of the 
complaints  mechanisms  and  their  outcomes,  as well  as  insufficient reporting by  Member 
States about the number of back payment claims introduced and successfully concluded and 
on the cases opened against abusive employers. No Member State has centralised data on the 
number of successful complaints filed by irregular migrants regarding the payments of their 
due wages. Therefore, even if claims are successful, whether or not workers receive back pay 
in  the  end  is  often  unknown,  with  employers  often  declaring  bankruptcy  or  disappearing. 
Without a comprehensive overview of the number and the outcomes of the complaints filed, it 
is  difficult  to  reach  any  conclusions  on  how  effective  access  to  justice  and  the  complaints 
mechanisms  in  Member  States  is,  how  often  these  mechanisms  are  used  and  with  what 
success.  

The lack of reliable and complete information  makes  it  difficult  to  assess  in  a  conclusive 
manner whether the Directive had an impact in deterring and reducing illegal employment 
and  whether  criminal  sanctions  in  the  Member  States  are  effective,  proportionate  and 
dissuasive.  Improved  collection  of  information  would  contribute  to  a  more  effective 
enforcement strategy both at national and EU level. 

To  fill  the  significant  data  gaps  and  allow  a  solid  assessment  of  the  impact  and 
effectiveness  of the Employers Sanctions Directive,  there is  a need  to  improve reporting by 
national authorities. In the first place, the Member States must provide timely, complete and 
comparable information in order to meet their obligation stemming from the requirements of 
the  Article  16(2)  of  the  Directive.  To  support  Member  States  in  meeting  their  reporting 
obligation, the Commission will, with the support of the European Migration Network, set up 
an  IT  reporting  system  and  database.  Such  a  system  will  facilitate  the  collection  of 
information from national authorities in relation to the financial, criminal and other sanctions 
imposed against employers, the use of the complaint mechanisms – including on the number 
of  complaints  lodged  and  their  outcomes,  wages  claims  and  payments,  temporary  permits 
granted – as  well as on the inspections carried out and their results. In cooperation with the 
Member States, the Commission will define clear criteria and requirements for reporting, 
to  ensure  consistency  and  high  quality  of  contributions  and  that  the  data  is  complete, 
comparable and submitted in a timely manner. 

70 Article 14 of the Directive. 
71 Article 16(2) of the Directive. 

18 

 
 
 
                                                           
The Commission will: 

  set  up  an  IT  reporting  system  and  database,  with  the  support  of  the  European 
Migration Network, for information and data collection on sanctions, use of protective 
measures and inspections; 

  define  clear  criteria  and  requirements  for  reporting  in  cooperation  with  Member 

States. 

Member States should: 

 

 

report  annually  and  in  a  timely  manner  on  the  inspections  and  their  outcomes  (e.g. 
total  number  of  proceedings  opened  and  closed,  fines  and  criminal  sanctions 
imposed); 
improve collection of data on the application of the complaints mechanisms and their 
outcomes  (e.g.  number  of  back  payment  claims,  results  of  claims,  number  of 
proceedings opened against employers). 

6.  Stepping up the EU action against illegal employment 

To  counter  irregular  migration,  the  EU  needs  to  address  all  the  facets  of  this  phenomenon 
through a  comprehensive approach, as indicated by the New Pact.  In addition  to  addressing 
the root causes of migration, relaunching the  fight  against  migrant  smugglers in  partnership 
with  third  countries  and  stepping  up  the  opening  of  legal  pathways  to  the  EU,  the  EU  also 
needs to enhance its response to illegal employment, as a driver of irregular migration and a 
source  of  exploitation  and  abuse.  For  this,  it  is  necessary  to  ensure  a  more  effective 
implementation  and  enforcement  of  the  Employers  Sanctions  Directive,  the  most  important 
tool at our disposal whose potential is still to be fully exploited. 

The level and degree of implementation of the Directive by the Member States varies. While 
the  differences  in  the  various  approaches  reflect  the  flexibility  granted  by  the  Directive, 
allowing Member States to implement the solutions that fit best their national systems, it also 
shows  a  general  inefficient  use  of  the  rules  on  sanctions,  protective  measures  and 
inspections to detect abusive employers and protect migrants from exploitation.  

In  a  first  instance,  significant  improvements  can  already  be  achieved  by  stepping  up  the 
effective  application  of  the  existing  key  provisions  of  the  Employers  Sanctions  Directive. 
The Commission encourages Member States to act on the key recommendations set out in this 
Communication.  The  Commission  will  promote a  dialogue  with  Member  States’  authorities 
and various stakeholders, including through the relaunch of its dedicated Irregular Migration 
Expert Group on the Employers Sanctions Directive in 2021. The work of the Expert Group 
will aim to improve the identification and sharing of good practices between Member States, 
as  well  as  supporting  them  in  the  interpretation  and  implementation  of  the  Directive’s 
provisions  in  a  structured  way.  With  this  aim,  the  Commission  will  work  in  close 
cooperation  with  stakeholders  such  as  national  labour  and  immigration  authorities,  trade 
unions,  civil  society  organisations,  social  partners,  international  organisations.  Where 
relevant,  the  Commission  will  seek  the  expertise  of  the  European  Platform  tackling 
undeclared work. 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
While  supporting  Member  States  in  their  implementation  efforts,  the  Commission  will  also 
continuously  monitor  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  and  focus  on  its  effective 
enforcement. Upon adoption of this  Communication, the Commission will engage with  the 
relevant  authorities  of  the  Member  States  to  obtain  additional  information  on  the 
implementation  of  the  key  obligations  on  sanctions,  inspections  and  protection  of  migrants’ 
rights  stemming  from  the  Directive  and  aiming  to  identify  possible  solutions.  Where 
appropriate, the Commission will launch infringement procedures. 

By  the  end  of  2022,  the  Commission  will  implement  the  measures  presented  in  this 
Communication and report on the results achieved in the next implementation report due in 
2024 at the latest. In light of the progress achieved through the recommendations presented in 
this Communication and the renewed implementation and enforcement efforts, and taking into 
account possible developments in the area of illegal employment and whether the Employers 
Sanctions Directive is still fit to respond to them, the Commission will then consider whether 
it is necessary to amend the existing legal framework. 

20 

 
 
 
TABLES 

Table 1:  

Financial sanctions 

Amount of the financial sanctions 

MS 

N/L 
pers
on * 

Minimum 

Fixed 

Maximum 

Articl
e 
5(3)** 

Article 
5(2)(b) 
*** 

Changes 

Penalty applied to every illegally employed irregular migrant 

AT 

N/L 

€1 000/  
€4 000 

€10 000/ €50 000 

BE 

N/L 

€300 

€3 000 

N 

N 

On top 

On top 

No change 

No change 

BG 

N 

L 

BGN 500/ 
1 000 
(€255 / 511) 

BGN  
2 000/4 000 
(€1 022 / 2 
045) 

BGN 7 500/15 000 
(€3 834 / 7 669) 

BGN 30 000/60 
000 
(€15 339 / 30 678) 

N 

On top 

CY  N/L 

€1 500 

€3 000 

Y 

On top 

BG has increased the amount of the 
fine. Previously, the fine for natural 
person amounted from between BGN 
500/1 000 to BGN 5 000/10 000. For 
legal person, it was up to BGN 20 
000/40 000. 

The Cyprus’ Government has 
submitted a bill to the Parliament in 
order to increase the administrative 
fines, to make the sanctions more 
dissuasive. 
 The bill is expected to be enacted in 
the following weeks. 

EE 

N 

L 

EL 

N/L 

€1 200 

€3 200 

N 

On top 

No change 

€5 000/  
€10 000 

N 

On top 

EL has increased the level of the 
sanctions. Previously, the fine 
amounted from between €3 000 to 
€15 000. 

ES has increased the amount of the 
fine which previously amounted from 
between €6 001 to €60 000.  

France modulated the amount of the 
fine in order to better take into 
account the factual circumstances 
(Decree 4 June 2013) 

ES 

N/L 

€ 500 

€100 000 

N 

On top 

FR 

N/L 

€6 980 

€15 000/€75 000 

N 

On top 

HR 

N 

L 

HU  N/L 

HRK 10 000 
(€1 334) 

HRK 70 000 
(€9 338) 

4*minimum 
wage 

HRK 30 000 
(€4 002) 

HRK 150 000 
(€20 010) 

On top 

Y 

15*minimum wage 

Y 

On top 

Minimum wage 161 000 HUF/month  
(€465 129) in 2020 

IT 

   N 

€1 800 

€43 200 

 Y 

Reflected 

IT has increased the amount of the 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RO  N/L 

RON 10 000  
(€2 032) 

€ 2 000 

€ 4 000 

LT 

   N 

   L 

LU 

N/L 

NL 

N 

L 

SE 

N/L 

SI 

CZ 

DE 

FI 

LV 

N 

L 

N 

L 

N/L 

N/L 

N 

€869/€2 896  

€1 000/€5 000  

   €2 896/ €5 792 

€5 000/ €6 000 

€2 500 

N 

N 

On top 

Change applicable since 1.1. 2017 

On top 

No change 

sanction. Previously fine amounted to 
between € 1.500 and € 12.000  

€11 250 

Y 

Reflected  

NL has increased the amount of the 
fine. Previously the fine was up to € 4 
000 for natural person and up to € 8 
000 for legal person. 

€45 000 

RON 20 000  
(€4 064) 

SEK 36 396/ 47 
300 
(€3 613 / €4 696) 

€ 5 000 

€ 12 000 

N 

On top 

RO has increased the amount of the 
fine. Previously, the fine amounted 
from ROL 1 500 Lei to ROL 2 000. 

N 

Reflected 

SE has increased the amount of the 
fine 

N 

On top 

No change 

Number of irregular migrants taken into account in the determination of the fine 

CZK 50 000 
(€1 969) 

€1 000 

€210 

CZK 5 000 000 
(€196 900) 

CZK 10 000 000 
(€393 800) 

N 

On top 

CZ has increased the fine. Previously, 
the fine was up to 2 000 000 CZK 

€500 000 

€30 000 

€500 

N 

Y 

Y 

On top 

On top 

On top 

No change 

No change 

No change 

MT  N/L 

€11 646,87 

N 

On top 

No change in the amount of the 
maximum financial sanction but 
additional elements have been added 
e.g. the addition of return costs and 
the cost for sending payments to the 
third country. 

PL 

N/L 

PT 

SK 

N/L 

N/L 

PLN 1 000 
(€223,1) 

€2 000 

€2 000 

PLN 30 000  
(€6 693) 

€90 000 

€200 000 

Y 

Y 

N 

On top 

On top 

On top 

No change 

No change 

No change 

*N/L = Natural person/Legal person 
** Article 5(3) of Directive 2009/52/CE: "Member States may provide for reduced financial sanctions where the employer is a 
natural person who employs an illegally staying third-country national for his or her private purposes and where no particularly 
exploitative working conditions are involved" 
*** Article 5(2)(b) of Directive 2009/52/CE : "Sanctions in respect of infringements of the prohibition referred to in Article 3 shall 
include: (b) payments of the costs of return of illegally employed third-country nationals in those cases where return procedures 
are carried out. Member States may instead decide to reflect at least the average costs of return in the financial sanctions under 
point (a)." 
Exchange rates 11/06/2021: BGN 1 = EUR 0.5113, CZK 1 = EUR 0.03938, DKK 1 = EUR 0.134474, HUF 1 = EUR 0.002889, 
PLN 1 = EUR 0.2231, RON 1 = EUR 0.2032, SEK 1 = EUR 0.09929, HRK 1 = EUR 0.1334 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 2: 

 Criminal sanctions 

Sanctions (duration of imprisonment and fine where applicable) 

MS 

9(1)a 
“the infringement 
continues or is 
persistently 
repeated” 

9(1)b 
“simultaneous 
employment of 
a significant 
number of 
irregular 
migrants” 

9(1)c 
“particularly 
exploitative 
working 
conditions” 

9(1)d 
“employer who 
is 
knowledgeably 
employing a 
victim of 
trafficking” 

AT 

fine up to 360 
daily fees or 
imprisonment of 
up to 6 months 

 fine up to 360 
daily fees or 
imprisonment of 
up to 6 months 

imprisonment of 
up to 2 years 

imprisonment of 
up to 2 years 

9(1)e 
“illegal 
employment 
of a minor” 

fine up to 360 
daily fees or 
imprisonment 
of up to 6 
months 

BE 

imprisonment of 6 months to 3 years 
and/or fine of €600 to 
 €6 000 

imprisonment of 
1 -5 years and 
fine of € 500- 
50 000 

imprisonment of 
1 -5 years and 
fine of € 500- 
50 000 

imprisonment 
of 10-15 years 
and fine of €1 
000-100 000 

BG 

imprisonment of 1 
to 5 years and fine 
of BGN  
5 000 (€2 554) to 
BGN  
50 000  
(€25 564) 

 imprisonment 
of up to 4 years 
and fine of BGN 
2 000  
(€1 022) to 
BGN 20 000 
(€10 225) 

imprisonment of 
1 to 5 years and 
fine of BGN 5 
000  
(€2 554) to 
BGN 50 000 
(€25 564) 

 imprisonment 
of up to 4 years 
and fine of BGN 
2 000  
(€1 022) to 
BGN 20 000 
(€10 225) 

imprisonment 
of 1 to 5 years 
and a fine of 
BGN 3 000 
(€1 534) to 
BGN 30 000  
(€15 338) 

CY 

Imprisonment of up to 5 years and/or a fine not exceeding €20 000 

Comments 

The amount of a fine 
which can be up to 360 
daily fees depends on 
the income of the 
perpetrator. The 
maximum financial 
penalty can be €1.8 
million 
Penalty of level 4 is 
applicable to 
employment of foreign 
nationals who are not 
permitted or authorised 
to stay for more than 3 
months in Belgium 

The Sanctions listed 
under 9(1)b apply to 
the person who employ 
simultaneously five or 
more illegally staying 
foreigners. 

Each circumstances 
mentioned under  
9(1)a-e can be 
cumulative or 
substitutive to each 
other.  

CZ 

imprisonment of six months to five years: Imprisonment 
for up to 6 months, forfeiture of property or of other 
property values, or a prohibition to undertake 
professional activities. 
 - Penalty of imprisonment of up to one year, if a person 
committed the criminal offence of the illegal 
employment of foreigners as a member of an organised 
group, for remuneration, or repeatedly. 
 - Penalty of imprisonment between six months to three 
years, if the perpetrator gained a considerable benefit for 
himself or herself or for someone else. 
 - Imprisonment between one and five years and where 
appropriate, also forfeiture of property, if the perpetrator 
gained by this criminal act a benefit of a large scale for 
himself or herself or for someone else. 

 - 

imprisonment 
of six months 
to five years 

A monetary penalty 
may be imposed 
maximum up to  
1 460 000 000 CZK  
(€ 53 100 563) to legal 
person. 

DE 

imprisonment of 
up to 1 year or a 
fine 

imprisonment of 
up to 1 year or a 
fine 

imprisonment of 
up to 3 years or 
a fine 

imprisonment 
of up to 1 year 
or a fine 

1. In the case of a 
criminal offence 
committed with intent, 
a fine not more than € 
1 000 000; 

imprisonment of 
up to 3 years or 
a fine (serious 
cases: 6 months 
to 5 years) 

23 

 
 
 
ES 

FI 
FR 
HR 

HU 

IT 

EE 

fine of 30 to 500 daily rates (€96 to €1 600) or imprisonment of up to 3 years 

EL 

 imprisonment of at least 5 months 

imprisonment of 
at least 6 
months 

imprisonment 
of at least 6 
months 

2. In the case of a 
criminal offence 
committed negligently, 
a fine not more than € 
500 000. 
Legal persons are 
punished by a 
pecuniary punishment 
only (€ 3 200 to  
€ 16 000 000) 
Compulsory 
dissolution of a legal 
person. 
There is no distinction 
between employers as 
natural and legal 
persons. 

imprisonment of 3 
to 18 months and 
a fine of 12 to 30 
months 

imprisonment of 
6 months to 6 
years and fine of 
6 months to 12 
months 

imprisonment of 
2 to 5 years and 
fine of 6 to 12 
months 

imprisonment of 
2 to 5 years and 
a fine of 6 to 12 
months -  

 imprisonment 
of 3 to 18 
months and a 
fine of 12 to 
30 months 

 fine or imprisonment of up to 1 year 
up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of €100 000 
imprisonment from 6 months up to 5 years 

imprisonment of 
up to 2 years 

imprisonment of 
up to 2 years 

imprisonment 
for up to 3 years   

imprisonment 
for up to 3 years   

imprisonment 
for up to 3 
years   

Imprisonment from 1-5 years and 5-15 for aggravating circumstances  

Increase of one third to an half of the sanction 

 Increase of one third to 
a half of the sanctions 
and a fine of € 25 000 
for each person 
involved 

LT 

fine or imprisonment of up to 2 years 

imprisonment 
up to 8 years 

  imprisonment 2 to 10 
year or if two or more 
persons then 4 to 12 
years 

LU 

 imprisonment of 8 days to 1 year and /or fine of €2 501 to €20 000  

24 

Increas
e of 
one 
third to 
a half 
of the 
sanctio
ns and 
a fine 
of € 25 
000 for 
each 
person 
involve
d 

IT has increased the 
length of 
imprisonment.  
Previously: 
imprisonment for 
minimum 3 months and 
maximum 1 year and 
fine of €5 000 for each 
illegally employed 
worker; with sanctions 
increased if the 
activities are linked to 
criminal actions related 
to profit making. 

Specific sanctions for 
legal persons: 1) a fine 
(from €10 000 to  
5 000 000); 
2) restriction of 
operation of the legal 
entity; 
3) liquidation of the 
legal entity. 
Specific sanctions for 
legal persons: 
1) fine: minimum € 
500, maximum  
€ 750 000; 
2) special confiscation; 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Temporary deprivation of liberty (imprisonment up to 3 months) or community service, or a 
fine (up to 100 minimum monthly salaries monthly salaries (€ 50 000)) 

LV 

MT 

Fine of up to 11 646.87 and/or imprisonment of up to 2 years. The penalty shall be increased 
by one or two degrees by the aggravating circumstances mentioned under 9(1)a-e the penalty. 

NL 

imprisonment up 
to 4 years or fine 
of the fifth 
category 

imprisonment up to 4 years or fine of the fifth category and the 
maximum sanction for human trafficking is imprisonment for a term not 
exceeding twelve years.  

PL 

Fine (the fine is imposed in daily 
rates, defining number of rates and 
amount of one rate. The lowest 
number of rates shall be 100, and the 
highest 1 080 000 zlotys or restriction 
of liberty up to 12 months.  

imprisonment of up to 3 years 

imprisonment of 
up to 1 year or 
fine up to 240 
days (maximum  
€ 120 000) 

imprisonment of 
up to 2 years or 
fine up to 480 
days (maximum 
€ 240 000) 

imprisonment of 
1 to 5 years 

imprisonment of 
2 to 6 years 

imprisonment of 
1 to 2 years or 
fine  

 imprisonment 
from between 6 
months to 3 
years. 

imprisonment 
between 3 
months to 2 
years 

a fine or imprisonment of up to 1 year  

PT 

RO 

SE 

25 

Fine between 
100 and 1 080 
000 zlotys or 
restriction of 
liberty 

imprisonment 
of up to 2 
years or fine 
up to 480 days 
(maximum 
 € 240 000) 
imprisonment 
between 3 
months to 2 
years 

3) exclusion from 
participation in a public 
contract; 
4) winding up 

Specific sanctions for 
legal persons:  
1. fine of maximum € 2 
500  
2. suspension or 
cancellation of any 
licence;  
3. temporary or 
permanent closure; 
4. compulsory winding 
up 
The criminal code 
allows for the criminal 
prosecution of legal 
persons. Legal persons, 
as well as the superior 
or supervisor can be 
sanctioned. 
Specific sanctions for 
legal persons: 1) 
prohibition to promote, 
advertise its activity, 
produced goods and 
provided services; 2) 
exclusion from the 
entitlement to benefit 
from public financial 
aid; 3) exclusion from 
the entitlement to 
benefit from the aid of 
international 
organisations; 4) 
exclusion from the 
entitlement to 
participate in the public 
procurement; 5) 
prohibition to pursue a 
certain economic 
activity; 6) publication 
of a judicial decision. 
Specific for legal 
persons: 1. fine; 
2. interdiction of 
exercise of the activity 
for a period of 3 
months to 5 years 
The penalty mentioned 
under 9(1)b applies to 
employment of more 
than 5 persons. 
Corporate fine consist 
of at least 10 000  
(€ 1 138) and at most 3 

 
 
 
 
 
000 000 SEK  
(€ 341 382). Moreover, 
Chapter 36, Section 4 
of the Swedish Penal 
Code, makes it possible 
to forfeit profits that 
are a result of a crime. 
The legal person may 
therefore lose all 
profits that it has 
gained because of the 
illegal employment. 
The amount of the fine 
imposed on a legal 
person varies with the 
degree of a punishment 
(especially length of 
imprisonment) 
prescribed for the 
perpetrator of the 
criminal offence. 
Sanctions for legal 
persons: Confiscation 
of a sum of money 
ranging from € 800 up 
to € 1 660 000; 
Confiscation of a 
property 

SI 

imprisonment of up to 2 years 

 imprisonment of up to 3 years 

SK 

imprisonment of 
up to 2 years 

imprisonment of 6 months to 3 years  

26 

 
 
 
Table 3: Inspections carried out by Member States in 2019 

Inspections 

Results 

Member State  Absolute number 

Percentage of all 
employers in all 
sectors inspected 

Number of 
inspections in 
which illegal 
workers were 
detected 

Number of illegal 
workers detected 

Belgium 
Bulgaria 
Czechia 
Germany 
Estonia 
Greece 
Spain 
France 
Croatia 
Italy 
Cyprus 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Hungary 
Malta 
The Netherlands 
Austria 
Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Slovenia 
Slovakia 
Finland 
Sweden 
Total 

14 658 
391 
8 160 
98 224 
100 
21 244 
15 706 
1 286 
10 100 
129 289 
9 203 
1 518 
7 141 
5 682 
15 509 
3 920 
1 746 
27 518 
11 623 
1 167 
1 416 
10 444 
23 891 
19 765 
2 675 
442 376 

6,3% 
0,4% 
5,6% 
6,0% 
0,2% 
9,4% 
1,7% 
0,1% 
2,8% 
8,2% 
126,1% 
0,8% 
6,6% 
64,6% 
3,5% 
6,1% 
0,5% 
14,5% 
1,9% 
0,6% 
1,5% 
32,0% 
36,6% 
6,3% 
0,5% 
13,7% 

1 062 
4 
74 
 No data 
0 
30 
3 215 
1 068 
142 
907 
68 
6 
72 
61 
47 
13 
386 
3 345 
497 
0 
0 
96 
5 
17 
331 
11 446 

1 629 
14 
180 
No data  
44 
41 
4 948 
1 800 
321 
1 608 
104 
6 
257 
68 
85 
22 
405 
5 831 
574 
757 
121 
0 
7 
53 
584 
19 459 

27 

 
 
  
 
 
 
Table 4: Inspections carried out by Member States in 2020 

Inspections 

Results 

Member State  Absolute number 

Percentage of all 
employers in all 
sectors inspected 

Number of 
inspections in 
which illegal 
workers were 
detected 

Number of illegal 
workers detected 

Belgium 
Bulgaria 
Czechia 
Germany 
Estonia 
Greece 
Spain 
France 
Croatia 
Italy 
Cyprus 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Hungary 
Malta 
The Netherlands 
Austria 
Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Slovenia 
Slovakia 
Finland 
Sweden 
Total 

10 080 
131 
5 557 
No data 
388 
10 904 
No data 
No data 
8 101 
No data 
No data 
1 239 
4 161 
12 728 
No data 
3 542 
No data 
29 220 
6 823 
631 
724 
7 826 
13 182 
14 593 
1 695 
131 525 

4,37% 
0,13% 
4,08% 
No data 
1,30% 
10,61% 
No data 
No data 
2,15% 
No data 
No data 
0,68% 
1,93% 
No data 
No data 
5,05% 
No data 
15,94% 
1,17% 
1% 
No data 
No data 
19% 
4,55% 
0,31% 
4,82% 

832 
5 
36 
No data 
53 
27 
No data 
No data 
133 
No data 
No data 
8 
0 
54 
No data 
19 
No data 
3 483 
320 
No data 
No data 
104 
6 
2 
239 
5 321 

1 371 
5 
66 
No data 
132 
41 
No data 
No data 
232 
No data 
No data 
8 
3 
70 
No data 
33 
No data 
5 302 
426 
239 
53 
No data 
44 
6 
406 
8 437 

28