A number of legal proposals which relate to employment promotion measures that are to form part of the next budget law are currently being prepared by labour ministry officials. Among them are a number of measures aiming to legalise unofficial economic activity: "black" work.
Without going into the details of the law, which is still in preparation, a number of issues can be highlighted. The first task is to create a public body that exercises the required control and accompanies firms' transition from illegal to legal employment.
One area in which intervention will probably be required is employment contracts, which will gradually, as part of a staged process, have to be adjusted to meet collectively agreed minimum standards. Additional questions that need to be resolved are the payment of social insurance contributions for employees for the period of illegal employment and the question of tax payments and auditing. An additional important aspect that requires examination relates to an amnesty or legal protection for those firms that decide to normalise their situation, in order to preclude the risk of disputes or legal claims by the employees. A further important aspect relates to the adjustment periods regarding security provisions in these companies.
Thus, a whole range of difficult and costly questions needs to be resolved (e.g. the issue of insurance contributions). On the other hand, the legalisation of illegal employment will have a decisive effect on the actual level of unemployment. Given the importance of this topic, further reports will be given once the corresponding legal proposals have passed into law.
EU – European Commission DG EMPL/A/2 J
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