Dilip Kuner
LUXURY estate agent Engel & Völkers has been hit with a massive €16 million bill after Spanish labour inspectors caught the firm using hundreds of ‘bogus self-employed’ agents in Barcelona.
Labour inspectors discovered around 400 agents in the Catalan capital were signed up as ‘self-employed’ – but in reality the company was pulling the strings, setting pay and ordering them around like any boss would.
This let the German-owned firm dodge huge Social Security payments – while boosting profits.
It’s not even the first time. In Valencia, the authorities had previously hit Engel & Völkers with another €6.4 million penalty. Add it all up and the company could be on the hook for more than €22 million in unpaid dues.
Courts in Valencia have already thrown out Engel & Völkers’ appeal – and now the Supreme Court will decide whether the cash must be coughed up for good.
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In the Barcelona case the company is appealing, vowing to take the fight all the way through the courts if needed.
Bosses claim they stopped the ‘self employed’ model in 2024, switching to regular employment contracts. They insist it wasn’t because they were caught – but to ‘professionalise’ their sales force.
The practice mirrors the tactics used by Uber and Glovo riders, who were also classed as freelancers to save on costs while being treated like staff.
Inspectors said Engel & Völkers’ agents had almost no real independence – just the illusion of freelancing.
And the heat’s not just in Spain. In June, German prosecutors raided the company’s HQ in Braunschweig over similar fraud suspicions.
With 20,000 estate agencies and 100,000 workers across Spain, watchdogs warn the Engel & Völkers case is just the tip of the iceberg in a sector riddled with dodgy practices.
Click here to read more Barcelona News from The Olive Press.
