The highest rate of employees paid so-called envelope wages in the EU is in Latvia, 11%.
Around one in ten Europeans (11%) admits to buying goods or services that involve undeclared work in the previous year, while 4% admit they themselves have been paid cash in hand in exchange for undeclared work. Moreover, one in 30 (3%) was paid part of their remuneration in cash.
“Undeclared work continues to be widespread in Europe, though the extent and perception of the problem vary from country to country,” The European Commission said in a press release.
The Eurobarometer survey, carried out in 28 EU countries, shows that 60% indicate lower prices as the main reason for purchasing undeclared goods or services, and 22% mention doing favors to friends. Also, 50% mention the benefits to both parties as the main reasons for working on an undeclared basis, 21% mention the difficulty to find a regular job, 16% the perception of taxes being too high, and 15% the absence of other income.
Europeans spend an average annual amount of EUR200 on undeclared goods or services, while the average annual amount earned by those carrying out undeclared work is EUR300, the survey found.
Latvia, The Netherlands and Estonia have the highest proportion of respondents providing undeclared work (11%). However, there are important national differences in attitudes and perceptions of what constitutes undeclared work as well as in the nature and volume of the services involved.
“Undeclared work not only exposes workers to dangerous working conditions and lower earnings but also deprives governments of revenue and undermines our social protection systems. Member States need to implement policies to discourage undeclared work or encourage its transformation into regular work, and to work more closely together to combat this scourge. This is why in April the European Commission will propose to launch a European platform on the prevention and deterrence of undeclared work, that would improve cooperation between labor inspectorates and enforcement bodies across Europe”, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor commented.
The Eurobarometer interviewed 26,563 respondents from different social and demographic groups in all member states.