23.01.2024

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON WORKPLACE VIOLATIONS?

Over 220,000 labor violations were detected by the "General Labor Inspectorate" in 2023. 40,160 enterprises with 1,628,790 employees were inspected.

There were 116,688 violations of the provisions for ensuring health and safety at work. 111,983 violations were found in the implementation of labor relations. Of these, the largest number concerns the payment of labor - 24,074. These are the violations that workers most often report, the Labor Inspectorate specified.

In 2023, more than BGN 7.8 million in delayed remuneration was paid to employees. There were 13,362 violations of the working hours, and 14,269 of the employment relations. There were 3,495 cases of work without an employment contract concluded and registered with the National Revenue Agency.

In 2023, there was an increase in the number of cases in which labor inspectors applied the measure of suspension of facilities, machines and equipment, as the detected violations directly endangered the life and health of workers. The measure was applied 466 times, compared to 315 for 2022.

For 2023, 9,979 acts were drawn up to establish administrative violations. The amount of the criminal decrees that have entered into force is over BGN 14.5 million.

The number of work permits granted to minors has also increased, reaching 14,827. In 2022, they were 11,933.

The Labor Inspectorate appeals to workers to report violations of labor rights in a timely manner - while they are still at their workplaces, and to assist the control authorities, which is a guarantee for more effective application of the law.

In order to fully apply their powers, labor inspectors should prove the violation indisputably, which in some cases is related to the mandatory establishment of workers to work at the time of the inspection.

Very often reports are received from workers who worked without a written contract and who were no longer at work at the time of the inspection. They express dissatisfaction that the labor inspectors did not declare an employment relationship, which, however, is beyond the powers of the control bodies, since this violation cannot be established in an indisputable way if people are not welded at their workplaces.