Tax Evasion | Undeclared Work

Undeclared work is, in Germany as in many other countries, a social problem of considerable magnitude, because large parts of the population apparently lack an appropriate sense of the wrongdoing involved in this form of tax evasion and benefit fraud. According to expert estimates, it can be assumed that around eight to ten million people in Germany work undeclared, each earning on average between €300 and €500 per month, although the upper limit is scarcely definable. It is estimated, for example, that around one third of seasonal workers in the catering sector are employed off the books. In many cases the so-called “combined wage model” is found, consisting on the one hand of undeclared work and on the other of benefits from the employment agencies or social assistance.

Those who have established themselves in this system generally have no incentive to work in the legal economy, as our corporate detectives in Bochum regretfully have to report from experience. Undeclared work is relevant to many areas of investigation for our detectives: in questions of maintenance assessment, in the protection of trade secrets, for the competitiveness of honestly operating companies and in many other matters. For court-admissible proof of this illegal employment, the detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum are at your disposal: +49 234 3075 0073.

Illegal Secondary Employment at Competitors Carries Risk | Surveillance by Bochum Detectives

In recent decades it has become common – above all because of industrial espionage and breaches of confidentiality – to include a clause in employment contracts aimed at preventing unfair competition in the form of bribery, contractual breaches or violations, disclosure of manufacturing and business secrets and the like. Consequently, many employees tend not to declare a secondary employment, as it is often taken up with a competitor of the employer. Not necessarily to harm the first employer, but because they are familiar with the field. In addition to this breach of the employment contract, the secondary employment is frequently not reported to the social security authorities for the aforementioned reasons. The offences that result from this behaviour harm the principal employer through issues such as the unauthorised disclosure of internal company information and also through reduced performance due to increased workload; furthermore they damage the state, the social system and thus society as a whole.

If you suspect that one of your employees is working undeclared and therefore perhaps not giving their full commitment in your company or actively harming your business by passing on internal information, then contact the corporate investigators of Kurtz Investigations Bochum by telephone or by e-mail at kontakt@kurtz-detektei-bochum.de.

Various Beneficiaries of Undeclared Work

A large proportion of undeclared workers are found in the construction and construction-related trades, although exceptions are widespread across almost all sectors. And even in private households, e.g. cleaners, are frequently not registered. The perpetrators sit on both sides: the employer who wants to hire cheap labour and save on ancillary wage costs, and the employee who wants to earn money without paying tax. Undeclared work always benefits only a few individuals, while others are unfairly treated and the general public suffers. In addition to the aforementioned “combined wage model,” there are also employees who are formally subject to social insurance but earn additional income on the side – usually without the knowledge of their main employer.