According to the Act to Combat Clandestine Employment of 23.07.2004, any person who performs work or has work performed and in doing so

1. as an employer, entrepreneur or self-employed person subject to compulsory insurance, withholds social security contributions by violating their reporting, contribution or record-keeping obligations,
2. evading or reducing taxes as a taxpayer,
3. as a recipient of social benefits (e.g. unemployment benefit, unemployment benefit 2, social assistance) fails to comply with his/her statutory obligations to notify the social benefit provider, in particular by failing to report the commencement of employment,
4. as a trader, has not fulfilled his/her obligation to register a trade (§ 14 of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act) or has not obtained the required traveling trade license (§ 55 of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act),
5. operates a craft requiring a license as a self-employed person without being entered in the Register of Craftsmen (Section 1 of the Crafts Code).

Illegal employment offenses listed in Nos. 1-3 are investigated by the customs administration. If you have any questions, please contact your local main customs office. Further information can be obtained from the Financial Control of Clandestine Employment Department at the Cologne Regional Finance Directorate or on the Internet at the websites listed below.

Craft and trade law violations (no. 4 and 5) are prosecuted by the local authorities responsible for combating illegal employment. In Salzgitter, this is done by the city of Salzgitter.

The employees of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport in the government offices are responsible for coordinating the fight against undeclared work in the area of craft and trade law, which you can also contact via the e-mail address schwarzarbeitsbekaempfungmw.niedersachsende. For data protection reasons, it is not possible to respond to your information.

Assistance provided by relatives or life partners, as a courtesy, by way of neighborly help or self-help remains permissible if it is not aimed at sustainable profit.