Who is the (“Ideal”) Victim of Labor Exploitation? Two Qualitative Vignette Studies on Labor Inspectors’ Discretion

Figures & data

Table A1. Vignettes developed for this study.

Case 1: native worker in restaurant	Case 2: domestic worker from Romania	Case 3: truck driver from Albania
Thomas (Belgium)/Joram (Netherlands) is 29 years old and he comes from Belgium/the Netherlands. He turned to the labor inspectorate stating the following: From the 13th of February 2017 I was hired by the restaurant “Goede keuken” (Belgium)/“Eet Goed” (Netherlands) with a permanent contract. I ended my employment relationship on the 4th of September 2017 because I have not been paid for the last four months. I was hired with a dishwasher contract, but I worked as a cook assistant, dealing with the preparation of appetizers and set lunch menus. I worked in the kitchen with the owner’s son. The working hours provided for in the contract were 30 hours per week, but I have always worked 60 hours, without the payment of overtime and without breaks during the shifts. In addition to the last four salaries, I have never been paid overtime (I have always received a fixed salary of 1000 euro per month) and did not receive severance pays.	Alina is 46 years old and she comes from Romania. She turned to the labor inspectorate stating the following: I worked for the family Brown as a live-in caregiver from 23 November 2016 to 17 March 2017, without a contract and not even any payment of a salary or of a contributory nature. My neighbor put me in touch with the Brown family because they needed a caregiver for their sick mother, Mrs Brown. The sick lady’s daughter told me what to do with her mother, who besides being blind required assistance to walk, and on Monday and Wednesday of every week her daughter did the shopping for me and Mrs Brown. The daughter was very strict with me: she often scolded me, checked how much I ate and called me several times a day to find out what I was doing. I assisted the lady from 7.00 to 22.00. I had just 3 days off. On March 17 Mrs Brown’s daughter told me that they would not need my services anymore. From that day on she no longer answered my calls and my messages.	Dardan (Belgium)/Paci (Netherlands) is 39 years old and he comes from Albania. He turned to the labor inspectorate stating the following: I started working for the company DND TRANSPORT on January 27, 2015, with a full-time permanent contract as a driver. I always had to be available from Monday to Sunday. I was the owner of a semi-trailer that I also used as a home as I did not have one in Belgium/the Netherlands. My job consisted of delivering and unloading goods at various storages facilities throughout Belgium/the Netherlands. I did not receive a salary for the overtime I did, and my busy schedule prevented me from taking my full scheduled breaks during and between shifts. I was not allowed to shift with other drivers or have a holiday. Before starting my job, I was made to sign a declaration accepting responsibility for any damage to vehicles or traffic infringements. My contract stated that all repairs would be paid for by the company; however, money for repairs was deducted from my salary. I resigned for just cause not having received any wage the last two months.