Bulgaria's Labour Inspectorate will hold two information sessions in Burgas in early December for people who want to work in the care sector in Germany. Executive director Ekaterina Asenova told BTA in a written interview.
The European Labour Authority (ELA) is backing the meetings. Varna and Plovdiv will also host two sessions each. The theme is "Working in the care sector in Germany: be informed, be protected". Experts will talk about the risks of this work and how workers can protect their rights. Care is one of the main focus areas in the ELA's priorities for 2026.
Asenova says the sessions focus on care because mobile workers fill a large part of the staff shortage. They face a higher risk of undeclared work, unclear contracts and labour exploitation, especially in private homes abroad.
In October the inspectorate began a campaign to check employers, agencies and places that provide health, social and home care. It was prompted by cases in 2025 involving unlicensed homes for the elderly and unregulated care. The campaign also backs the ELA's information drive in the sector. In September Sofia hosted an international forum against cross-border fraud and violations of labour and social security rights in long-term care, with participants from 9 European countries.
In the first ten months of 2026 the inspectorate issued more than 16,920 permits for young people to work. Checks found 317 violations of the rules protecting underage workers, and 142 of them involved work without a permit from the inspectorate.
"It is important to remind people again that minors cannot work without a permit," Asenova told BTA. The law gives them special protection. They work 35 hours a week over a five-day week, and night work and overtime are banned for them.
"We want young people to learn about their rights, but also their duties, from the earliest age when they start a first job," Asenova added. When they talk to young people, inspectorate experts stress most of all how important it is to work with an employment contract. This year they have also added explanations of psychosocial risks at work.
In ten months inspectors carried out 40,478 checks and found 153,655 violations. More than 71,000 of them concern employment relations, and 81,488 concern health and safety at work. There were 2,944 cases of work without a contract. After inspectors stepped in, more than €3.5m in late wages was paid, including for earlier periods.
The inspectorate has halted work at 836 sites, construction areas, machines and facilities. It has removed 109 workers from their jobs because they lacked the required qualifications or broke safety rules. In the same period of 2025 the number was 85. Asenova says the figures show inspectors do not compromise on violations that directly endanger people's lives and health. She sees this as one of their strongest powers against serious workplace accidents.
Inspectors drew up 8,449 reports on administrative violations. Penalty orders that have come into force and approved settlements total more than €6m.
Checks on undeclared work in construction, hotels, restaurants and trade continue. This year the inspectorate is also checking firms whose staff work, or are hired, through online platforms for specific services and tasks. These checks will continue in 2027.
Under the Platform Work Directive, the inspectorate will watch for workers' rights when algorithms and artificial intelligence assign tasks and working hours. Artificial intelligence, robots and automation are entering the inspectorate's work, but only as part of the checks it carries out itself. Employers will have to assess the risks to people's physical safety when they bring in new machines and AI technology. The subject is also central to the international safety campaigns the inspectorate supports.
Asenova says the inspectorate's initiatives must keep pace with changes in the labour market and protect the rights of workers in Bulgaria. Unlike in other European countries, inspectors in Bulgaria check employment relations and workplace safety together. The inspectorate monitors compliance with more than 500 legal acts.
Asenova says sharing experience with labour inspectorates in the EU and the region helps improve checks. She says international bodies have noted the inspectorate's good practices and given a positive assessment of its overall oversight. A few days ago the inspectorate marked 119 years since it was founded.