§ Dr. Liam FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what policies she has to address problems encountered by British workers obtaining short-term employment on German construction sites.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythMy hon. Friend is right to draw attention to this issue. There are agencies, usually based in the Netherlands, which advertise vacancies in the British press for construction workers to take up jobs in Germany. Very often, these jobs turn out to be illegal, breaking German labour leasing and self-employment laws and involving evasion of tax and social security payments. British workers who take up this employment have no protection under German health and safety regulations. They face on-the-spot fines of several hundred pounds and are typically paid less than they have been promised. These conditions often leave people seriously out of pocket, forcing them to seek repatriation through the consulates general.
Officials are entering discussions with the Dutch and German authorities to seek ways of curbing these abuses. Meanwhile, steps are being taken to alert British workers to the dangers involved. There will be warnings in information the jobcentres provide about working in Germany and accompanying the form E101, issued by the Department of Social Security to people seeking to work in Europe but paying tax and insurance at home.