According to Lia Parve, Head of the Tax Audit Department of the ETCB, economic operators were checked both on the basis of a risk analysis and random sampling. “We wanted to make sure that all seasonal workers are registered in the employment register and receive fair wages. For this purpose, we checked employers all over Estonia, including at outdoor events, catering and construction sites, i.e. above all in sectors where seasonal work is offered the most," said Parve.
- In Harju County, the ETCB checked the employment register entries of 150 employees at 84 employers. There were 13 unregistered employees.
- In Pärnu County, the employment register entries of 149 employees at 46 employers were checked. The ETCB found 5 employees who were not registered in the employment register.
- In Tartu County, the employment register entries of 377 employees at 95 employers were checked. The ETCB found 20 employees who were not registered in the employment register.
- In Saare County, the employment register entries of 141 employees at 28 employers were checked. The ETCB found 13 employees who were not registered in the employment register.
- In Lääne County, the employment register entries of 133 employees at 26 employers were checked. All employees were correctly registered.
- In Võru County, the employment register entries of 74 employees at 23 employers were checked. The ETCB found 12 employees who were not registered in the employment register.
- In Põlva County, the employment register entries of 10 employees at 5 employers were checked. All employees were correctly registered.
- In Viljandi County, the employment register entries of 11 employees at 4 employers were checked. One employee was not registered in the employment register.
- In Valga County, the employment register entries of 32 employees at 11 employers were checked. The ETCB found 4 employees who were not registered in the employment register.
- In Lääne-Viru County, the employment register entries of 18 employees at 9 employers were checked. The ETCB found 3 employees who were not registered in the employment register.
- In Ida-Viru County, the employment register entries of 61 employees at 34 employers were checked. All employees were correctly registered.
According to Parve, most of the employers welcomed the auditors of the ETCB. “The feedback that we were welcome was pleasant. In case of errors found, most employers understood them – they were cooperative and unregistered workers were entered in the employment register,” added Parve.
The vast majority of the economic operators checked offer their employees fair work and a salary and pay the labour taxes on the basis of which the state provides benefits to employees. The ETCB recognises all economic operators who act correctly and care about the rights of their employees.
However, there are still employers who prefer to offer informal work or work that is not taxed correctly. One unregistered employee case may lead to discovering a larger case of payment of so-called envelope wages.
Marja-Liisa Siirmann, the ETCB's risk manager for labour taxes, reminds all employers and employees that all employees deserve fair wages on which labour taxes have been paid. “Correct tax accounting is essential, among other things, to ensure workers’ rights and security for the future. Paying so-called envelope wages in full or in part, whether in cash or into a bank account, deprives employees of the rights and benefits that the employees deserve,” emphasised Siirmann.
Envelope wages, whether received in cash or into a bank account, are wages on which some or all of the taxes have not been paid. This means that if an employee falls ill or suffers an accident at work, the employee will not receive the compensation they have the right to. By doing undeclared work, employees may also lose their holidays or holiday pay; in labour disputes, the employee is immediately in a weaker position. Upon receiving wages in an envelope, employees also do not accumulate a pension. Such employees are also deprived of unemployment insurance and parental benefit.
The ETCB advises seasonal workers to make sure that their employment has been registered in the employment register from the first working day at the latest. “This can be easily checked in the e-services environment of the ETCB by selecting “My employments”. On the page that opens you can see your valid employment entries. By clicking on a specific entry number you can check all the data related to the employment. It is important to make sure that the data displayed corresponds to reality. If this is not the case, we strongly recommend that you speak to your employer, who can correct the data. If the employer does not seem to want to correct the data, you can also contact the ETCB at [email protected],” said Siirmann.
Read more about reasons to refuse envelope wages in Estonian on the website of the ETCB.
