Changed ways of working pose challenges for official monitoring measures
The changed ways of working create challenges for the authorities when it comes to interpreting whether work is being carried out by an employee or an entrepreneur according to the current legislation. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two, and there are plenty of challenges in interpretation although decisions made by different public authorities have also been resolved at different court instances. In some situations, authorities have different interpretations of a person’s legal position. That said, authorities also collaborate when investigating individual cases related to the status of employers. At the same time, new phenomena are emerging, including the use of partnerships for activities similar to invoicing services that involve ambiguities related to both the interpretation of the nature of the employment relationship or contractual relationship and the nature of the income paid to individuals.
Information on investigating the grey economy and economic crime is also increasingly fragmented. The examination of responsibilities has become more difficult because a single set of operations may involve several contracting parties which may not share an understanding of the state of affairs. The relationship between the individual performing the work and the client is not evident, for example, in the Incomes Register notifications submitted by the invoicing service. The resulting lack of transparency poses challenges to public authorities in carrying out monitoring.
Communication about the employers’ and entrepreneurs’ obligations set by employment, social welfare and taxation legislation is the most effective way to prevent the grey economy.