La Strada International contributed to the call for evidence for the Evaluation of the Employers Sanctions Directive. The review of the Directive on irregular employment, focusing on inspections, penalties, subcontracting liability, and worker protection follows a 2026 report that found gaps and inconsistent enforcement across member states. The consultation could lead to new legislation in 2027. See also contributions PICUM, and ETUC.
Read the full contibution here.
The evaluation should assess not only whether Member States have transposed and applied the Directive, but whether it works for workers in practice. This means examining whether workers can safely report exploitation, access assistance and protection, recover unpaid wages and obtain effective remedies, and whether employers and other responsible actors are held accountable. Particular attention should be paid to workers in irregular situations, who may face additional barriers to accessing labour rights and justice.
Recommendations
We recommend that the European Commission and Member States:
- Prioritise effective implementation and enforcement of the existing Employers’ Sanctions Directive before considering legislative revision.
- Ensure safe reporting and a clear firewall between labour and immigration enforcement, so undocumented workers can report exploitation without fear of detention, removal or retaliation.
- Strengthen access to information, legal assistance and support, including multilingual information, interpretation, cultural mediation and independent advice.
- Improve access to protection and remedies, including broader use of temporary residence permits and effective mechanisms for recovering unpaid wages.
- Ensure actual recovery of wages, including through advance payments, asset recovery, immediate payment mechanisms and the possibility to pursue claims after leaving the country.
- Strengthen accountability across subcontracting and recruitment chains, ensuring that employers, contractors, recruiters, temporary-work agencies and other responsible actors can
be held accountable. - Strengthen labour inspections and anti-trafficking cooperation, particularly in high-risk sectors, with clear procedures for identifying and referring potential trafficking cases.
- Improve inter-agency cooperation and enforcement capacity between labour, immigration, police, tax, social-security and victim-support authorities, supported by EU agencies and networks.
- Improve data collection and measure outcomes, focusing not only on inspections and sanctions but also on complaints, prosecutions, referrals, victim protection and access to justice, including actual recovery of wages.
- Use EU funding, guidance and enforcement tools to strengthen implementation, while addressing structural drivers of irregular employment and only considering legislative revision where the evaluation demonstrates that implementation measures are insufficient.