Il contributo è destinato al Liber Amicorum Giuseppe Santoro-Passarelli, di prossima pubblicazione.

The undeclared work is an ancient and complex phenomenon, that is widespread throughout all over the Country and in every product sector. It is one of the most challenging issues that Italy is facing in recent years, because it has a significant impact on the labour market and the welfare system.
This essay aims to analyze the undeclared work starting from the difficulties of identifying and clearly defining the phenomenon: there are a lot of shades of irregular employment and this is even more evident in a comparative perspective between the various member States of the European Union. Furthermore, it is useful to look at the causes and the consequences through an overview of the empirical data.
The second part of this article focuses on the essential activity of the National Labour Inspectorate in the light of its centenary history and the recent changes introduced by the Legislative Decree no. 149/2015, implementing the so-called Jobs Act. In particular, some considerations are devoted to the main tools to fight the undeclared work: the maxi sanction for “black work” and the suspension of the business activity.
Is the Italian sanctioning system enough to counter this dangerous phenomenon? In order to achieve tangible results, the harmonization between direct and indirect measures could have an important impact, because it is necessary not only to fight against the irregular employment, but to ensure the right to work regularly.