The minimum wage is clearly regulated. Customs inspected fewer employers last year than in 2022. However, the number of violations of the law is not decreasing.
According to the ministry, the number of investigations into violations of the minimum wage law increased last year – although fewer companies were inspected than in the previous year.
In 2023, the customs financial control for undeclared work initiated 7,249 investigations into minimum wage violations, according to a response from the Federal Ministry of Finance to a request from left-wing MP Victor Perli, which the dpa has received. In 2022, the authority will still count 5,898 procedures. “There is significantly more minimum wage fraud,” Perli said.
The number of unreported cases is higher
The MP is the initiator of the reporting portal “www.mindestlohnbetrug.de”. After the minimum wage was increased to 12 euros on October 1, 2022, the reports there “increased significantly,” he said. Among other things, stricter rules for recording working hours are needed so that fraud can be easily proven, demanded Perli. In addition, he called for more controls by the financial control of illegal employment. The number of unreported cases is significantly higher. Since the beginning of the year, the statutory minimum wage has been 12.41 euros gross per hour.
According to the ministry, customs checked 42,631 employers last year to see whether they paid the minimum wage. There were 53,182 exams in 2022. The sectors with the most controls were the construction industry, the catering and accommodation industry and the forwarding and transport industry. According to the figures, around one in six inspections led to a procedure.
Source: Stern
