Irregular employment of migrant workers falls following new laws
By Cate McCurry, PA
The recent introduction of a regularisation scheme and increased mobility for employment permit holders has helped prevent the irregular employment of migrant workers, a report has found.
Research published on Tuesday by European Migration Network Ireland and Esri (Economic and Social Research Institute), shows that the irregular employment of non-EU nationals occurs across a range of sectors in Ireland, particularly in food service and within small enterprises.
The food service activity sector accounted for 54 per cent of employment permit law breaches in 2023 with 12 per cent in hair and beauty, and 11 per cent in wholesale, the report found.
Irregular employment presents problems for the state in terms of tax revenue and regulation, whether it is undertaken by Irish or non-Irish nationals.
The report includes situations in which non-EU nationals are employed in undeclared work, work outside the conditions of their residence permits, or work while irregularly residing in the country.
The report stated that for non-EU nationals, working in an irregular situation can create precarity, including difficulties accessing social security.
Undocumented workers may also be reluctant to report poor working conditions because of a fear of losing their job or being deported, it went on to say.
Employment inspections are led by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), to check compliance with employment law.
In 2023, 4,727 employment inspection cases were undertaken and 293 breaches of employment permits legislation were detected.
However, the report has raised concerns over the number of employment inspectors, questioning the effectiveness of enforcement efforts. In January 2024, 63 WRC inspectors were operating nationally.
Revenue data indicates that there were 191,600 employers in the state in 2023, which gives an overall inspection rate of 2.5 per cent.
The number of WRC inspectors is planned to increase to 80 during 2024.
“This is particularly important in light of the steep increase in employment permits issued in recent years, and the planned introduction of a new seasonal employment permit,” the report said.
“While addressing irregular employment is not found to be a policy priority in itself, the regularisation of undocumented migrants emerged as a pivotal related strategy in Ireland in recent years.”
Under the scheme targeting undocumented former students, 2,253 people have been granted residence, and since the introduction of the 2022 Regularisation of Long-Term Undocumented Migrants Scheme, 4,617 people granted residence.
Under the migrants scheme, 55 per cent of those were in employment and 11% were self-employed.
Data also shows that half were employed in one of three sectors including hospitality/tourism, food and drink, and cleaning/maintenance.
The Employment Permits Act 2024 also includes new measures allowing workers on general or critical skills employment permits to change employers without needing to apply for a new permit.
Previously, holders of general employment permits could change employers only after one year and needed a new permit to do so. New 2024 regulations set the minimum period before changing at nine months.
This move has been welcomed by NGOs (non-governmental organisations), who have long stressed the need to support workers to stay in legal employment even when forced to leave because of poor conditions.
In 2023, almost 31,000 employment permits were issued with almost 40,000 in the previous year. This compares with around 16,400 per year in the period 2019-2021.
