Rogue bosses pretending they're self-employed face €25,000 fine

Rogue bosses who deprive workers of their rights by pretending they are self-employed will soon be hit with fines of up to €25,000.

The Government is planning to wage war on the thousands of unscrupulous employers involved in the racket which is widespread in the building and hospitality sectors.

Up until recently the Fine Gael Government refused to take action despite a mountain of evidence tens of thousands of workers were being classified as self-employed when they were not.

Trade unions described the situation as a massive fraud being perpetrated against the State which was losing out on hundreds of millions of euro in taxes and PRSI contributions.

Minister for Employment Affairs & Social Protection Regina Doherty (Gareth Chaney Collins)

At the same time workers were being deprived of their statutory rights such as paid holidays and PRSI payments.

The crackdown is planned to focus on all sectors of the economy. Traditionally the practice was common place in the building industry but it has become more prevalent in professional sectors and the gig economy.

Previously Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty claimed she did not want to “criminalise” employers even though they were breaking the law.

But the Government has come under intense pressure and is now planning to introduce legislation which will increase the penalties for employers who deliberately bracket permanent staff as self-employed rather than as employees.

Under the new proposals, the maximum fines for companies convicted in both the Circuit Court and the District Court will jump from €13,000 to €25,000. As it stands, the Department of Social Welfare and Protection has 340 social welfare inspectors.

Minister Doherty has set up a dedicated unit to tackle bogus self-employment.

Initially it will have five inspectors but her Department has said that the other Social Welfare staff will carry out “an increased level of social welfare inspections”.

Minister Doherty also plans to introduce legislation which will protect people who are falsely self-employed and who are afraid of speaking out.

It is proposed she will introduce the legislation as early as the autumn.