Udnyttelse af sårbare udenlandske arbejdstagere i restaurationsbranchen

Et empirisk indblik i processen for menneskeudnyttelse

Resumé

Abstract
In 2022, the protection of vulnerable migrant workers in Denmark was strengthened with the introduction of Section 262 b of the Criminal Code on human exploitation. This provision sought to address the long-standing challenges of prosecuting exploiters, as earlier legislation required proof of coercion, which was often impossible to meet. Yet data from the prosecution service indicates that human exploitation cases remain difficult to prosecute. This likely reflects the opaque, complex, and largely unknown nature of exploitation processes. Using crime script analysis as the methodological framework and drawing on interviews with nine professionals with extensive knowledge of the exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers in the Danish restaurant industry, this article provides an original empirical account of the process of labour exploitation, tracing the full trajectory from initial recruitment to the point at which exploitation ends or recurs. It shows how labour exploitation operates behind a facade of voluntariness and seemingly lawful employment conditions, demonstrating that it is driven by strategically crafted control mechanisms that become increasingly powerful as the process progresses. These mechanisms ultimately function as forms of entrapment that bind vulnerable migrant workers to exploitative employment relationships. In light of these findings, the article raises important questions about whether the newly introduced provision on human exploitation is designed in a way that can genuinely protect vulnerable migrant workers.