Customs Officers in Düsseldorf intensify efforts to suppress unreported work and prohibited employment
In a recent nationwide customs inspection, 86 officers from the Financial Control Schwarzarbeit (FKS) of the Main Customs Office Düsseldorf conducted thorough checks across 93 businesses in the regions of Düsseldorf and Wuppertal. The operation aimed to enforce minimum wage laws and combat undeclared work, ongoing concerns nationwide, particularly in regions with significant industrial and service sectors such as North Rhine-Westphalia.
During the inspection, a total of 256 individuals were questioned about their employment relationships. The investigation uncovered three suspected cases of illegal employment of foreigners, seven cases of potential benefit fraud, and 50 cases of minimum wage violation.
One concerning trend that emerged was the misclassification of employees as interns, trainees, or self-employed to bypass minimum wage laws. It was also found that hours were frequently recorded incorrectly, incompletely, or not at all to conceal minimum wage violations.
Industry-specific minimum wages exist in sectors like nursing, building cleaning, and roofing. Agreements below the general minimum wage of 12 euros gross per hour, as of October 1, 2022, are invalid and will be penalized. There were also 30 suspected cases of violations against recording and notification obligations.
The Financial Control Schwarzarbeit's focus this year is on the minimum working conditions of companies and organized forms of black work. Subsequent investigations will follow, involving data comparison, further document checks, and information exchange with other authorities and the pension insurance.
It is important to note that the available search results do not provide precise statistics or investigative trends related to minimum wage violations or illegal employment investigations specifically in Düsseldorf and Wuppertal, Germany, for 2025 or recent years. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, official reports from the Ministry of Labor of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS), or local labor inspection authorities would be the best sources. These often publish periodic statistics on labor law enforcement.
The inspection serves as a reminder of the ongoing efforts by German authorities to ensure compliance with minimum wage laws and combat undeclared work, particularly in regions like North Rhine-Westphalia.
In the investigation, several businesses were suspected of misclassifying their employees to bypass minimum wage laws, demonstrating a necessity for stricter adherence to employment regulations in the finance and business sectors. The Financial Control Schwarzarbeit has emphasized that it will continue to focus on enforcing minimum working conditions and combating undeclared work within these industries nationwide.
