Labour related criminal and administrative offense law

Criminal labour law is comprised of a complex variety of laws that cover all labour-related criminal and administrative offenses. In severe cases, executives and other representatives of a company are at risk of heavy fines or even imprisonment. Companies can be fined for management failure (Section 30 OWiG). Further consequences for the company’s assets, ranging from liability under social security law to the seizure of profits under criminal and administrative offense law, must be taken into account.

Due to the introduction of new and the tightening of existing laws, the legal structure of labour criminal law has developed rapidly in recent years. At the same time, the intensity of prosecution and thus also the practical significance of criminal labour law have greatly increased: Construction sites or service companies are now regularly inspected by customs for undeclared work and illegal employment. Today, it is no longer only the construction and catering industries that are at risk. Entrepreneurs, managing directors and executives in other industries are also much more frequently confronted with criminal charges.

When defending in criminal labour law, not only possible criminal sanctions or fines have to be taken into account. Rather - in order to do full justice to the interests of the company and the accused - other consequences associated with such sanctions must be factored in. For example, there is a risk of being excluded from public contracts in the future if a negative entry is made in the completion or business register.

The focuses of labour criminal law are in particular:

  • Posting and hiring out of workers (AEntG and AÜG)
  • Labour protection law and working time law (ArbSchG and ArbZG)
  • Employment agencies (AVermV)
  • Offences against employees representation bodies (BetrVG)
  • Withholding of social security contributions (§ 266a StGB)
  • Illegal employment of foreigners (§ 404 SGB III, § 10/10a SchwarzArbG)
  • Undeclared employment (SchwarzArbG)
  • Usury and minimum wage violations (§ 291 StGB, MindeslohnG)
  • Abuse of benefits (§ 263 StGB, § 63 SGB II)
  • Wage tax evasion (§ 370 AO)
  • Violation of supervision duties (§ 130 OWiG)

The lawyers of FS-PP Berlin have extensive experience in defending companies, executives and employees. In addition, they advise companies on the establishment of compliance systems to ensure compliance with labour law standards. Cooperation with specialist labour law firms is ongoing in order to offer clients comprehensive solutions to problems.

 

Contact

Dr. David Albrecht