Government probes meat factories and RTÉ on self-employed workers

The Department of Social Protection has been probing allegations of bogus contractors in meat plants and in the national broadcaster

RTÉ, the state broadcaster, has faced complaints for years about staff with regular shifts being asked to work as self-employed contractors rather than being given staff contracts. Photo: Colin Keegan

Social welfare inspectors are carrying out investigations into alleged bogus self-employment in meat factories and in RTÉ.

Briefing documents obtained from the Department of Social Protection shows that it has carried out at least 280 investigations to see if employers are wrongly classifying workers as self-employed to reduce their costs. The sectors examined include the fitness sector, dentistry, yoga instruction, English language schools and the retail sector.

Two of the biggest investigations by the department’s ...