Work-related crime

Norwegian working life is, on the whole, characterised by orderly and good working conditions. Still, there are certain enterprises and sectors that are marked by illegal activities and work-related crime in the form of undeclared labour and evasion of taxes and duties. The consequences are serious, both for the employees, enterprises and sectors that are affected, and for the continued financing of the welfare system.

This is work-related crime

Work-related crimes are actions that break Norwegian laws concerning salary and employment, benefits and taxes and duties. The crimes are often organised and exploit employees, distort competition and undermine the social structure.

The Government's Action plan to combat social dumping and work-related crime

This is how we work to combat work-related crime

No agency can combat work-related crime alone. That’s why the Labour Inspection Authority, NAV, the police and the Tax Administration work together to prevent and combat work-related crime. Other agencies also make important contributions to the joint effort to combat work-related crime. Through cross-agency collaborations, the authorities’ efforts become more effective and targeted. If there’s been a breach of one agency’s acts and regulations, there’s often been a breach of other agencies’ acts and regulations.

Locations

The Labour Inspection Authority, NAV, the police and the Tax Administration have joint offices in the working life crime centres in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Kristiansand, Bodø, Tønsberg and Alta.

In these centres, teams work to uncover work-related crime, to acquire knowledge and to audit enterprises. Any cases uncovered by the centres will then be investigated further by the individual agencies. In addition to the co-operation taking place at the centres, there have also been established cross-agency collaborations to combat work-related crime in 

  • Møre og Romsdal
  • Innlandet
  • Follo, Romerike og Østfold

If you suspect work-related crime and wish to get in contact with an agency

In order to prevent and combat work-related crime, the agencies depend on a good dialogue with consumers, individuals and employers, employees and businesses. Each agency accepts tip-offs that fall under their area of responsibility. If the tip-off concerns more than one authority, the agency that receives the tip-off has the responsibility to involve the other relevant agencies. 

You’ll find contact information for each agency below:

The Labour Inspection Authority

If you suspect a breach of the Working Environment Act, for example a breach concerning employment contracts, salaries, working hours, housing or safety, you can contact the Labour Inspection Authority.

NAV

If you suspect social security fraud, abuse of measures or any other abuse of welfare initiatives, you can read more and contact NAV at nav.no/trygdesvindel (in Norwegian only).

The police

If you suspect that there are illegal enterprises operating in your community, you can contact the police

If there’s an emergency, call the police’s emergency number 112.

The Tax Administration

If you suspect a lack of reporting in the A-ordning scheme, evasion of taxes, duties, undeclared work or other tax-related discrepancies, you can contact the Tax Administration.