Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa: 2,207 cases from 44 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
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Where?
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When?
per year, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 | €200,000 |
| 2024 | 2 | €620,000 |
| 2025 | 1 | – |
| 2026 | 2 | €228,731 |
8 cases
22 Jan 2026 Logistics business: fines for minimum wage, reporting and foreign employment violations €13,731
Between June and December 2023, a logistics and transport business withheld a total of around 2,000 EUR in minimum wages from several employees, breached reporting and immediate notification obligations, and in July/August 2023 employed a foreign national without a residence permit. The fines: 5,231 EUR (minimum wage), 750 EUR each (reporting obligations) and 7,000 EUR (unauthorised employment of foreign nationals), totalling 13,731 EUR (date = publication).
Even small wage arrears are penalised individually alongside reporting and residence violations – HR processes for new hires need a fixed checklist.
Immediate notification and checking of work permits when hiring
- Authority / court
- Hauptzollamt Karlsruhe (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 21 Abs. 1 Nr. 11 MiLoG; § 111 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 SGB IV; § 404 Abs. 2 Nr. 3 SGB III
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Transport, logistics and shipping
- Published
- 22 Jan 2026
- Zoll ahndet Mindestlohn- und Meldepflichtverstöße bei Logistikunternehmen (Hauptzollamt Karlsruhe) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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9 Jan 2026 Bulgarian construction subcontractor: 215,000 EUR for paying below the minimum wage €215,000
A Bulgarian construction company that worked as a subcontractor for a German firm on a major construction site in the district of Tuttlingen between January and May 2023 paid below the minimum wage, recorded only the duration of working time rather than its start and end, and did not register the posting. Around 215,000 EUR was imposed on the company, corresponding to the economic benefit obtained by paying below the minimum wage; the decision issued in September 2025 has been final since the end of 2025 (date = publication; exact date of the decision not specified).
General contractors should actively check the minimum wage, working time records and posting notifications of their foreign subcontractors; the economic benefit is disgorged in full.
- Authority / court
- Hauptzollamt Singen (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Mindestlohngesetz; Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (Aufzeichnungs- und Meldepflichten)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Published
- 9 Jan 2026
- Zeit, Geld, Meldepflicht – Zoll ahndet Verstöße mit sechsstelligem Bußgeld (Hauptzollamt Singen) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link
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13 Nov 2025 BSG: company car does not replace the minimum wage – additional contribution claims upheld Order
Two employers remunerated part-time workers solely by providing a company car. Germany's Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht, BSG) upheld the German pension insurance's claims for additional contributions: the benefit in kind does not satisfy the minimum wage entitlement, and contributions must be paid on the minimum wage owed (B 12 BA 8/24 R, B 12 BA 6/23 R).
Remuneration models involving benefits in kind should be checked for minimum wage compliance before they are introduced – otherwise additional contribution claims going back years may follow.
Minimum wage in money only – benefits in kind in payroll
- Authority / court
- Bundessozialgericht, 12. Senat (Betriebsprüfung: Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 1 MiLoG; § 28p SGB IV (Betriebsprüfung)
- Action
- Order
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Published
- 14 Nov 2025
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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30 Jan 2024 Vegetable grower cheats harvest workers out of minimum wage: around 500,000 EUR in fines and confiscation €500,000
A vegetable-growing business did not pay harvest workers the collectively agreed minimum wage; the shortfall was just under 300,000 EUR. The investigation was based on interviews conducted with interpreters and the analysis of working time and harvest volume data. Fines of around 200,000 EUR were imposed, and around 300,000 EUR in proceeds of the offence were confiscated in addition (date = publication).
Piece-rate and volume-based pay in seasonal work must reach the minimum wage per hour; deductions for accommodation and work equipment are closely scrutinised.
- Authority / court
- Hauptzollamt Karlsruhe (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Mindestlohn- bzw. Tarifrecht (tariflich bestimmter Mindestlohn); Einziehung des Tatertrags
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Published
- 30 Jan 2024
- Zoll, Presse (Übersicht) (Entscheidung 2024) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 4 · Company name anonymised since 30 Jan 2026 · Direct link
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22 Jan 2024 a German services companyUpper Palatinate labour inspectorate: €120,000 profit skimmed over working-time breaches €120,000
Following a complaint, the Gewerbeaufsichtsamt (labour inspectorate) at the Regierung der Oberpfalz found considerable breaches of the Arbeitszeitgesetz (German Working Hours Act) at a services company, which had not improved at a repeat inspection. The company must pay €120,000 in skimmed-off profit, calculated from the notional gain from the repeated excess working hours; it also committed to investing at least €100,000 in improved processes.
Anyone who fails to stop working-time breaches after a first inspection risks having the resulting gain skimmed off.
Maximum working hours and labour inspectorate checks
- Authority / court
- Gewerbeaufsichtsamt bei der Regierung der Oberpfalz
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Working time
- Legal basis
- Arbeitszeitgesetz; Gewinnabschöpfung
- Action
- Disgorgement of profits
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Other
- Mitigating circumstances
- The calculation took into account that the company had already taken noticeable measures after the last inspection.
- Published
- 22 Jan 2024
Checked against the official source on 2 Oct 2026 · Company name anonymised since 22 Jan 2026 · Direct link
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30 Nov 2023 an international commercial law firmHamburg: commercial law firm must record working time of employed lawyers Order
Following complaints about regular working days lasting until 11 pm or midnight, the Hamburg occupational safety authority ordered an international commercial law firm on 30 November 2023 to record the actual working hours of its employed lawyers, to instruct them accordingly and to explain the partners' responsibility. On 18 July 2025 the Verwaltungsgericht Hamburg (Hamburg Administrative Court) upheld the recording and instruction duties for employed lawyers and set aside only the third order. The judgment is not final; the court granted leave to appeal.
Billable client hours are not working-time records; law firms too must record the start, end and duration of work of employed lawyers.
Working-time recording for employed professionals
- Authority / court
- Hamburger Arbeitsschutzbehörde; bestätigt durch Verwaltungsgericht Hamburg, Kammer 21
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Working time
- Legal basis
- § 22 Abs. 3 ArbSchG i. V. m. § 3 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 ArbSchG; § 17 Abs. 2 ArbZG; §§ 12, 22 Abs. 1 ArbSchG
- Action
- Order
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Other
- Published
- 18 Jul 2025
- VG Hamburg, Urteil vom 18.07.2025, 21 K 1202/25 Court decision
Checked against the official source on 2 Oct 2026 · Company name anonymised since 30 Nov 2025 · Direct link
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22 Sep 2023 a German outdoor retailerHamburg: order to record working time against outdoor retailer upheld by court Order
Following an anonymous complaint about Sunday work and overlong working days, the Hamburg Amt für Arbeitsschutz (Office for Occupational Safety) ordered one of Europe's largest outdoor retailers on 22 September 2023 to record the actual working hours of all employees, including those on trust-based working time, with start, end and duration, and to submit records. On 21 August 2024 the Verwaltungsgericht Hamburg (Hamburg Administrative Court) largely dismissed the action, finding § 22(3) sentence 1 no. 1 ArbSchG (German Occupational Safety and Health Act) a sufficient legal basis; only part of one item had become moot.
Trust-based working time does not exempt from time recording; occupational safety authorities can enforce it by order without waiting for new legislation.
Duty to record working time even under trust-based working time
- Authority / court
- Amt für Arbeitsschutz Hamburg (Behörde für Justiz und Verbraucherschutz); bestätigt durch Verwaltungsgericht Hamburg, Kammer 15
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Working time
- Legal basis
- § 22 Abs. 3 Satz 1 Nr. 1 ArbSchG i. V. m. § 3 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 ArbSchG (Aufzeichnungsanordnung); § 17 Abs. 4 ArbZG (Vorlage von Arbeitszeitaufzeichnungen)
- Action
- Order
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Retail and e-commerce
- Published
- 21 Aug 2024
- VG Hamburg, Urteil vom 21.08.2024, 15 K 964/24 Court decision
Checked against the official source on 2 Oct 2026 · Company name anonymised since 22 Sep 2025 · Direct link
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15 Jun 2023 a German football clubCustoms Munich: around €200,000 confiscated from football club over minimum wage €200,000
A football club employed staff in its youth academy from 2016 to 2021 on a €450 mini-job basis although they actually worked far more hours; minimum-wage and record-keeping duties were breached. The Hauptzollamt München (Munich main customs office) issued a confiscation order of around €200,000; in addition, around €45,500 in social security contributions and late-payment surcharges are being reclaimed.
For mini-jobs the hours actually worked count; anyone allowing more hours than agreed must record them and pay the minimum wage for them.
Mini-jobs: actual hours count, not contractual hours
- Authority / court
- Hauptzollamt München
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Mindestlohngesetz (Mindestlohn, Aufzeichnungspflicht); Einziehungsbescheid
- Action
- Disgorgement of profits
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Other
- Published
- 15 Jun 2023
- Zoll, Presse (Übersicht) (Entscheidung 2023) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 2 Oct 2026 · Company name anonymised since 15 Jun 2025 · Direct link