MFA urges jobseekers to duly prepare for working abroad and to report violations [18 Aug 2010]

There is a growing tendency for more and more Latvian nationals, who have been scammed in a foreign country, to turn for assistance at Latvian embassies and the Foreign Ministry Consular Department and request help in returning home. Those are the cases when people have been promised employment by Latvian employment agencies or have gone abroad in hope of finding work without sufficient information of economic background in a particular country, namely, the unemployment level, and without knowledge of foreign languages. There are certain companies that see advantages in employing foreigners, for the inability to speak the language and a lack of knowledge of legislation does not allow the defrauded employees to fully exercise their rights.

In view of the fact that the national budget of Latvia does not provide funds for rendering material assistance to persons who have found themselves without means of support in a foreign country, the embassy can help a victim to contact his or her relatives or friends and seek possibilities to receive financial assistance from Latvia.

As much as it is possible, the cheated persons are assisted in finding temporary accommodation in social service centres, although those facilities are frequently overcrowded with immigrants and not always can take in any additional residents. Also, on those occasions an embassy always informs the competent authorities of the respective country about the case of illegal employment.

Most frequent mistakes:

• Absence of an employment contract

When entering into any employment relations, be it in Latvia or a foreign country, a person needs an employment contract signed before starting to perform one's work duties, even before leaving Latvia. Situations, when an employer promises to draw up a contract later after arrival or when the work has been completed, cannot be allowed to continue.

• Inaccurate documents

In order to be employed, for instance, in Germany, citizens of Latvia need a work permit which in most cases is not obtained in advance and thus it is not possible to draw up an employment contract. As a result, the person is employed illegally, which permits the employer to default on his obligations. At times, an employment contract may be inaccurate. An employee must carefully read all the provisions; when a person does not know the language, those are often misunderstood, or the contract is even signed without any idea about the content.

• Trusting deceptive offers

Employment services may only be provided by companies issued with employment agency licences in the respective country. The list of companies is available on the Employment State Agency website at www.nva.gov.lv. When searching for a job on the internet, use EURES, the European job mobility portal http://eures.europa.eu which provides information on legal vacancies in European countries.

Advice from the MFA:

• before departure, find out all the details about your future employer, wages, living conditions, and expected expenses;
• inform your family members and friends about your new place of residence;
• take care of an emergency reserve of cash;
• register with the MFA Consular Register at https://kr.am.gov.lv;
• make sure you have a copy of your passport, and a life, health and property insurance;
• find out about the cost of living in foreign countries on the on the Employment State Agency website at www.nva.gov.lv.

MFA encourages reporting violations

In order to deal with cases of deception concerning employment abroad, the MFA urges the defrauded persons to report such violations. Where the employment agency is a Latvian company, the person should apply at the embassy, if still residing abroad, or at the Employment State Agency or the State Police, if the person has returned to Latvia. If it is established that the employment agency has provided low quality service, the company's licence for employment services abroad may be revoked, and an issue may be considered of compensating the person for the loss. Where the employment agency is a foreign company, a complaint should be filed with the competent authorities of the respective country (police, services supervising employment agencies).

Most frequently reported countries

Complaints about employment frauds against job seekers are most frequently received from Ireland, U.K., Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, and Norway. Most recent violations involving Latvian job seekers have been reported to Latvia's consular services in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany (regarding a Danish company).