Controls Against Wage Dumping: Financial Police Focus on Road Transport Companies

Last year, 1,236 companies were inspected by the financial police for wage and social dumping. The inspections revealed that eight percent of "all cross-border posted or assigned employees were affected by underpayment." The financial police, which is part of the Office for Fraud Prevention, filed 446 penalty applications for "failure to keep or provide wage records" and requested fines totaling 4.4 million euros.

Financial Police Also Focused on Tourism and Construction Industry

"The annual control plan, launched in 2018, helps to take targeted action, ensures that domestic employees receive the remuneration they are entitled to, and promotes fair competition between companies," said Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer (SPÖ). "While the Office for Fraud Prevention naturally keeps an eye on all sectors, specific focuses are set each year." In addition to road transport, increased inspections are to be carried out in the hotel, gastronomy, tourism, construction and ancillary construction industries, as well as the security and event sectors, as in the previous year.

In January 2026, employers will also have to specify the agreed number of hours when registering employees, according to the ministry. This is also intended to facilitate the fight against wage dumping in the future. The measure was enshrined in the recently passed budget accompanying law. On Monday, AK President Renate Anderl welcomed the change as a success and improvement for employees: "Because those who work must know how much they work - and what comes out of it." "This is an important step towards more fairness and transparency in the labor market," agreed ÖGB Federal Managing Director Helene Schuberth.

(APA/red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.