76% of construction companies say they have come across black economy operations in the last 3 months.

That is just one of the findings of a new survey from the Construction Industry Federation (CIF).

52% of construction companies believe they have lost more than 5 jobs to black economy operations in the last 12 months.

While almost all of those surveyed said they believe black economy operators pay their workers with cash outside of the tax system.

CIF Director-General is Tom Parlon.

“The black economy operators are able to do this because they are not paying tax, they are not providing their workers with the mandated wages and pensions, they are using lower quality materials and they are not abiding by the various regulations and safety standards set for the construction industry” he said.

“Many have been forced out of business over the past couple of years and the black economy operatives are making that problem worse” he added.

The CIF is reminding people to follow certain steps to make sure the company they are using is legitimate.

These include asking for a contract, a VAT number and check if they have a C2 certificate.