Community
Law Corner:
Article 18
The False Economy of Illegal Workers
by José Luis Navarro www.intercala.com
The Solicitor and Property Administrator for Intercala Administration
and
Pete Woodall (Woody's Los Boliches)
This article first appeared in the Euro Weekly News, Costa del Sol Edition December 2012
The False Economy of Illegal Workers
With the current crisis in full swing it is quite normal for communities to attempt to save money
by choosing companies or workers who offer them the best prices, all fair and legal but it is quite a different matter to try to save money by illegal employment practices.
Communities may think it is clever to save money by paying wages to their gardeners, cleaners and repairmen
without paying their social security or providing a proper contract of work.
Little do they realise this false economy could lead to serious problems.
If an uninsured worker has an accident the community will be held responsible for compensation, the Spanish Social Security will not pay one Cenitmo for their time off work, nor will they cover physical injury or pay compensation to the family if the accident is fatal. All those costs will go to the community owners who opted to save money by not paying Social Security, furthermore the amounts involved could be considerable.
As a way around this, instead of taking on someone directly, a community may engage a company who employs workers illegally and by doing so can offer the community wonderfully cheaper prices. To engage such companies could again be false economy, as the community would have a subsidiary responsibility where workers are not contracted legally with all their social security paid to date. (Art. 42 of the Worker Law in Spain).
It gets worse, in addition to all the potential compensation claims, the government will fine a community where a worker is found to be employed without their proper Social Security and this situation darkens further should the person working in a community be someone from a non EU country. In some cases working illegally on behalf of the community might even be considered a criminal offence under Article 312.2 of the Criminal Law of Spain. The president, the administrator and who ever else is involved in this kind of illegal agreement may even face a prison sentence of two to five years.
Even if the worker is Spanish or at least from another EU country, it could be a criminal offence if someone is found to be working without the obligatory health and safety measures approved by the Spanish Government in Article 316 of the Criminal Law of Spain.
As from 19th of November 2012, according to the new Spanish Law 7/2012, communities can also be fined if they pay any amount over 2,500 Euros in cash or by a cheque made out to “al portador” ( the bearer). From this date on all payments over 2,500 Euros should either be made by bank transfer or by a cheque payable to an identifiable person or company. Should the payment not be made in this way the government can and probably will heavily fine a community.
Presidents, administrators and the members of a community may be happy to reduce the quotas by saving money by any of the above ways but they will also be blind to the risks they are taking with the communities money and in serious cases possibly the loss of their own liberty.
It is also a surprise to see that many owners still tend to be proud of their presidents and administrators when they save money on community works and services. Yet they never question if everything is being done legally or if there is a risk of having to pay a fine or compensation to a worker or his family. Regardless of the direct responsibility of the president, administrator or the ones who made the decision to employ someone illegally, the community will be the ones held responsible and therefore all the owners will be made to pay.
We the lawyers for Intercala Administration recommend that owners should be very aware about any situation concerning all the workers in their community to avoid unpleasant and possibly expensive surprises and they are well advised to be properly informed by a legal and registered administrator about what actions to follow in the future, in all matters regarding the law in Spain.
The False Economy of Illegal Workers
by José Luis Navarro www.intercala.com
The Solicitor and Property Administrator for Intercala Administration
and
Pete Woodall (Woody's Los Boliches)
This article first appeared in the Euro Weekly News, Costa del Sol Edition December 2012
The False Economy of Illegal Workers
With the current crisis in full swing it is quite normal for communities to attempt to save money
by choosing companies or workers who offer them the best prices, all fair and legal but it is quite a different matter to try to save money by illegal employment practices.
Communities may think it is clever to save money by paying wages to their gardeners, cleaners and repairmen
without paying their social security or providing a proper contract of work.
Little do they realise this false economy could lead to serious problems.
If an uninsured worker has an accident the community will be held responsible for compensation, the Spanish Social Security will not pay one Cenitmo for their time off work, nor will they cover physical injury or pay compensation to the family if the accident is fatal. All those costs will go to the community owners who opted to save money by not paying Social Security, furthermore the amounts involved could be considerable.
As a way around this, instead of taking on someone directly, a community may engage a company who employs workers illegally and by doing so can offer the community wonderfully cheaper prices. To engage such companies could again be false economy, as the community would have a subsidiary responsibility where workers are not contracted legally with all their social security paid to date. (Art. 42 of the Worker Law in Spain).
It gets worse, in addition to all the potential compensation claims, the government will fine a community where a worker is found to be employed without their proper Social Security and this situation darkens further should the person working in a community be someone from a non EU country. In some cases working illegally on behalf of the community might even be considered a criminal offence under Article 312.2 of the Criminal Law of Spain. The president, the administrator and who ever else is involved in this kind of illegal agreement may even face a prison sentence of two to five years.
Even if the worker is Spanish or at least from another EU country, it could be a criminal offence if someone is found to be working without the obligatory health and safety measures approved by the Spanish Government in Article 316 of the Criminal Law of Spain.
As from 19th of November 2012, according to the new Spanish Law 7/2012, communities can also be fined if they pay any amount over 2,500 Euros in cash or by a cheque made out to “al portador” ( the bearer). From this date on all payments over 2,500 Euros should either be made by bank transfer or by a cheque payable to an identifiable person or company. Should the payment not be made in this way the government can and probably will heavily fine a community.
Presidents, administrators and the members of a community may be happy to reduce the quotas by saving money by any of the above ways but they will also be blind to the risks they are taking with the communities money and in serious cases possibly the loss of their own liberty.
It is also a surprise to see that many owners still tend to be proud of their presidents and administrators when they save money on community works and services. Yet they never question if everything is being done legally or if there is a risk of having to pay a fine or compensation to a worker or his family. Regardless of the direct responsibility of the president, administrator or the ones who made the decision to employ someone illegally, the community will be the ones held responsible and therefore all the owners will be made to pay.
We the lawyers for Intercala Administration recommend that owners should be very aware about any situation concerning all the workers in their community to avoid unpleasant and possibly expensive surprises and they are well advised to be properly informed by a legal and registered administrator about what actions to follow in the future, in all matters regarding the law in Spain.