Spanish labor ministry continues working condition crusade with Big Four fines
By 
Neil Hodge2023-10-16T14:00:00
Spain’s labor ministry fined the Big Four accountancy firms at least 1.4 million euros (U.S. $1.5 million) total for overworking and underpaying their respective employees.
Despite no complaint being lodged by any employee, the Big Four offices were each raided in November after the Spanish Ministry of Labor opened an investigation into the firms’ working practices regarding concerns employees were working longer hours than their employers’ records showed.
In January, Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz warned, “The excesses and abuses of overtime hours are being investigated and the mandate is clear. … No big company, no matter how big, is beyond the law.”
Related articles
-
News BriefFRC fines KPMG $26M for ‘damning’ Carillion audit failings
KPMG accepted the conclusions and record penalties levied against it by the U.K. Financial Reporting Council for the “exceptional” level of deficiencies found to have taken place during the Big Four audit firm’s work at collapsed construction company Carillion.
-
PremiumEuropean labor laws showing teeth in crackdown on gig economy
Recent enforcement cases against food delivery company Glovo and online retailer Amazon in Spain have shone a spotlight on the compliance difficulties associated with engaging workers as freelancers rather than full-time employees.
-
ArticlePwC lawsuit prompts reconsideration of after-hour work events
Big Four audit firm PwC is being sued by one of its employees for more than £200,000 (U.S. $234,000) after he injured himself at a post-work drink event in 2019. The incident is not the first where “team-bonding” efforts have proven problematic.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
News BriefDOJ targets $14.6B in health care fraud with focus on transnational crime
Emerging enforcement priorities of the U.S. Department of Justice’s health care fraud division align with the Trump administration’s emphasis on prosecuting transnational criminal organizations and ending opioid trafficking.
-
News BriefFTC raises antitrust concerns over $1.57B Circle K deal, orders divestitures
Since President Donald Trump took office, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has yet to keep up the level of enforcement it had under previous chair Lina Khan. The agency, however, returned to antitrust action in the case of fuel stations, just in time for the July 4th holiday.
-
News BriefJudge reinstates fired CPSC commissioners in latest battle over government cuts
In May, three commissioners for the Consumer Product Safety Commission were abruptly fired by President Donald Trump and sued for their jobs shortly after. A federal judge has ruled that the commissioners should be reinstated, although it’s unclear whether that ruling may itself be reversed.