The collaboration of government agencies in the fight against work-related crime
The Swedish Migration Agency and eight other government agencies are working together to stop fraud, rule violations and crime in working life. Part of the collaboration consists of joint inspections of employers in certain vulnerable industries.
Since 2018, the Swedish Migration Agency has been participating in a government assignment aimed at combatting work-related crime. Part of the work consists of inter-agency inspections of companies and organisations where there is a suspicion that employers are breaking the rules.
During 2018–2021, more than 6,000 inspection efforts were implemented in industries that are particularly vulnerable, namely the construction, restaurant, beauty, car care, cleaning and transport industries. The inspections reveal companies that violate work environment rules, exploit labour, do not pay taxes and fees, and receive grants to which they are not entitled.
The collaboration helps uncover more rule violations
By collaborating, the agencies can benefit from each other’s knowledge and information in a completely different way than before, which has been shown to result in a greater impact. Together, the authorities can approach unscrupulous employers from multiple angles and can detect breaches of the regulations in various areas of society.
The Swedish Migration Agency does not participate in on-site inspections. Rather, it assists the participating agencies with information on whether a company’s employees have the right to work in Sweden. With the help of the information obtained through these inspection efforts, the Swedish Migration Agency can also stop unscrupulous companies from employing foreign labour. Foreign labour is often the subject of work-related crime, as foreign employees are often in a vulnerable situation, e.g., because they do not know the language, the Swedish system or the rules that apply in the Swedish labour market.
The collaboration also gives the Swedish Migration Agency an increased ability to render correct decisions and greater opportunities to share information with other authorities, which in turn has a preventative effect on crime.
Collaborating authorities
The collaborating authorities are: The Swedish Public Employment Service, the Swedish Work Environment Authority, the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Swedish Gender Equality Agency, the Swedish Migration Agency, the Swedish National Police Board, the Swedish Tax Agency and the Swedish Prosecution Authority. The Swedish Work Environment Authority coordinates the assignment.
More information about the inspection assignment is available on the website of the Swedish Work Environment Authority. The website also has annual status reports and results from several of the inspection efforts that have already been carried out.
