A bicycle dealer in Denmark was fined DKK 10,000 (about
EUR 1,340) because one of his friends who did not have a work
permit had helped him carry a few bikes into the bike
shop.
It is a criminal offence to employ a foreign national who does
not have the required work permit. However, the term
‘employment' is not defined in the Aliens Act, so the
question is whether there is a ‘lower limit' as to what
constitutes employment, and whether there is room for favours for
friends? The Supreme Court recently addressed this question and
interpreted the concept of ‘employment' very
broadly.
The case concerned a bicycle dealer. One of his friends, who was
a rejected asylum seeker and did not have a Danish work permit, had
visited him at his bicycle shop. During the friend's visit,
the shop received a delivery of bicycles and the bicycle dealer
said he would be happy if the friend could help him and the other
employees carry the bicycles from the truck into the shop.
