On Tuesday, the Secretary of State for the Fight Against Social Fraud, Philippe De Backer, indicated that in 2017 the point of contact for social fraud recorded 8,884 reports (24 per day). In total, this point of contact enabled the authorities to recover €6 million in 2017. Figures from the Secretary of State show that 62.1% of incidents were reported as being valid incidents of such fraud. They mainly concerned work on the black market (62%), fraud taking place at home (17.5%) and social dumping (4.5%).
Moreover, reports linked to wages and working conditions have increased over the past year. De Backer went on, “Those with very low wages or who encounter problems for example with their holiday pay can also apply to the point of contact". The Social Security Inspectorate are launching an investigation and correcting errors if necessary, such that Belgian and foreign workers all receive their entitlements. Philippe De Backer says that a quarter of wage cases rectified in 2017 involved social dumping.
Lastly, the majority of reports in the last year came from the hotel and catering sphere (42.5%), the construction sector (19.1%) and the retail sector (14%).
The Brussels Times
