The government has sent out several hearings aimed at preventing crime related to working life. The hearings address, among other things, criminal liability for wage theft, increased penalties for breaches of provisions in the Working Environment Act and a provision that wages must be paid via a bank.
The background for the proposals is to create tools to crack down harder on working life-related crime and rogue actors in the labor market.
The government proposes to introduce a penalty provision in the Working Environment Act that prohibits wage theft. In addition to "pure" wage theft situations, the proposal will also affect cases where the employer formally temporarily lays off employees but allows them to continue working without pay while receiving unemployment benefits. The upper sentence is set at 5 years in prison. In addition, it is proposed to tighten the general penalty framework in the Working Environment Act.
In another consultation paper, it is proposed to include a provision in the Working Environment Act that wages shall be paid via a bank. This means that in principle it will be prohibited to pay wages in cash. The purpose is to reduce the extent of undeclared work, prevent working life-related crime and ensure employees' welfare rights.
