Labour inspectors found 4,700 violations at seasonal businesses on the Black Sea coast this summer, most often people working without a contract, said Pavlin Vaskov, head of the Labour Inspectorate in Burgas.
"The total number of violations is 4,700, and they are split fairly evenly," Vaskov told Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). Breaches of employment rules slightly outnumber those of the workplace safety law. After work without a contract, the most common breaches involve working hours, followed by pay.
The previous development: Labour inspectors find more than 4,600 violations at Black Sea resorts
Inspectors also often found minors hired without a permit. On workplace safety, the biggest gaps were in training on electrical safety, meaning how to work safely with electric current.
Inspectors from the Burgas, Varna and Dobrich offices ran the checks. The inspectorate runs this campaign every year, because seasonal businesses carry a high risk of undeclared work in summer. That means work with no contract, part-time contracts for people who in fact work eight hours or more, hired minors, and hired foreigners from non-EU countries.
The inspectorate reminds workers that a written contract with clear terms on work and pay is the best protection of their rights. An employer must give it to the worker before work starts.
Every worker should ask the employer for a copy of the contract signed by both sides, and for a job description. They also need a copy of the notice of the start of employment, stamped by the regional office of the National Revenue Agency (NRA).
Inspectors advise people to report problems in time, while they still work there. They also urge workers not to hide how they are really employed, because this makes it hard for inspectors to help them and to enforce the law.
People can file reports in person at any regional office, by post, by courier or through a special form on the agency's website.