Crime in Essen’s Construction Industry

Although Essen has experienced significant depopulation over the past 40 years, resulting in considerable vacancies in apartments, shops, and schools, the construction sector still employs over 35,000 people and remains one of the city’s largest employers. The most well-known Essen-based company is the highly internationally oriented Hochtief AG.

Crime in the construction industry is a common media stereotype, largely because a substantial amount of undeclared work (“Schwarzarbeit”) is known to occur. The corporate detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Essen are experienced in handling offences “on the construction site”: +49 201 3840 9057.

Rising Offences in Essen: Unauthorized Secondary Employment, Violations of Competition Restrictions in Construction

Crime rates in Essen are rising sharply. Between 2013 and 2014 alone, the number of registered offences increased by a striking 8.66 percent. Overall, however, Essen still falls in the mid-range for per-capita crime among major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Common types of offences include labour law violations such as undeclared work, unauthorized secondary employment, and breaches of non-compete agreements.

Of course, every citizen is free to pursue secondary employment in their spare time. However, employment contracts often include at least an obligation for the employee to inform the employer when taking up such work. Issues arise when the side job creates a conflict of interest – for example, if the employee works for a competitor or regularly exceeds the legally permitted maximum working hours per week. Generally, it is also not permitted to undertake secondary employment during vacation, as this time is intended for rest and to prevent a decline in performance due to overwork. Often, unauthorized work is even done “off the books,” using company clients and materials, which can cause significant financial damage to the employer.

The detectives of Kurtz Investigations Essen can observe your employee and provide court-admissible evidence. If the suspicion is confirmed, the employee is usually liable for damages. Recover what is rightfully yours – Kurtz Detective Agency Essen can help: +49 201 3840 9057.

City Debt Could Become a Serious Challenge

The city of Essen is heavily indebted and practically insolvent. Large investments in new construction projects are unlikely in the coming years, especially since the Swiss National Bank abandoned the Swiss franc’s peg to the euro in January 2015. Or are they? If Essen were a private individual or company, it would already have to declare insolvency. However, as a local authority, this is not permitted under §128 GO NRW (enforcement): “Insolvency proceedings on municipal assets are not allowed.”

The fact remains that Essen took on heavily leveraged Swiss franc loans at the time and speculated aggressively. Within one day of the peg being lifted, the city’s debt increased by €125 million – and this was in Germany’s already most indebted municipality. “Essen no longer belongs to the citizens, but to the banks,” admits city treasurer Lars Klieve, who can afford to smile: a municipality cannot go bankrupt; if necessary, the federal or state government will intervene, and taxpayers must bear the cost of the speculative mishap.