A total of 315 employment contract violations against Bulgarian citizens working abroad have been reported in the first six months of 2014.

The General Labor Inspectorate Executive Agency has received 129 complaints from Bulgarian employees since the beginning of the year, Bulgarian Telegraph Agency informs.

In comparison to the same period of 2013, the number of recorded violations was 136 and in 2012 – 105, meaning that the number of violations has increased almost three times since the beginning of 2014.

The most commonly committed violations concern unpaid salaries and traveling allowances, lack of intermediary contracts with foreign employers, illegal fees for job applications, and poor working conditions.

Bulgarians work mainly in Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Greece, the Labor Inspectorate notes.

Often, complaints are made once the employment has been terminated. In such cases, however, the Labor Inspectorate is not the competent authority, experts comment. They point out that in these cases, the claimants must turn to court.