Inspectors from the regional employment ministry and social security have started the much-heralded summer campaign against company fraud in respect of working hours and overtime.
They are to prioritise companies of up to fifty employees, all of them from sectors where overtime is commonplace. These include hotels, restaurants, small and larger retailers, manufacturing (such as leather and clothing), banking and insurance, health activities and garages.
There is to be an intensification of control over rules related to working hours, in particular the maximum number of hours that should be worked as well as overtime. To this end, there are also to be checks to ensure that the correct level of compensation is being paid and contributions (tax, insurance) made.
The campaign will, as with last year, be backed by additional inspectors drafted in from the mainland. This year's efforts are starting earlier than last year, when the main focus of attention was on employment contracts. That campaign proved to be fairly successful in that questionable contracts were made legitimate and so reflected the correct hours of work and pay.
Ensuring proper working conditions and contractual agreements have been key aims of the current government in its drive to creating what it refers to as a better "quality" of employment.