In order to know the meaning of the term informal employment, it is necessary, first of all, to discover the etymological origin of the two words that give it shape:
-Employment, first of all, derives from French. Exactly from the verb «employer», which, in turn, comes from the Latin «implicate».
-Informal, secondly, emanates from Latin. Specifically, we can indicate that it is the result of the sum of the following lexical components of said language: the prefix «in-«, which is used to indicate negation; the noun "form", which is synonymous with "image", and the suffix "-al", which is used to indicate "relative to".
The notion of employment is used to name an occupation that provides economic income to a person. In a job, the worker carries out a certain activity, obtaining payment for his task.
Informal , on the other hand, is that which does not respect forms . This adjective is usually used to describe what is not governed by current rules or regulations.
With these ideas clear, we can move forward in the definition of informal employment . This is the name given to work whose conditions are not governed by law . This particularity leaves the worker in a situation of lack of protection.
Informal employment is also known as black employment or irregular employment . The worker, in this framework, is not registered with the State . This allows the employer to save money since it does not pay the charges corresponding to social work and retirement, for example. The employee, for his part, does not pay the taxes corresponding to his income.
Due to the characteristics of labor relations, the worker is the one who is harmed by informal employment. Not only does he not have social insurance nor does he make contributions for his retirement, but he also does not have insurance , paid vacations, bonuses, compensation and other rights provided by legislation.
In addition to all of the above, it must be emphasized that the person who is carrying out an informal job does not have the right to compensation in the event of being fired, who will have problems being able to claim his salary if the employer fires him without paying one or several salaries, that if you suffer a work accident you will not be entitled to the corresponding compensation...
It must also be taken into account that if a person is discovered to be carrying out informal work by the competent bodies, they must assume several important consequences. Thus, not only will she have to return the amounts she has collected as unemployment benefits, but she may also be convicted of the crime of Social Security fraud. In the latter case, it can be punished with prison sentences ranging from six months to three years.
Suppose a young man is offered $100 a day to distribute advertising leaflets on the street. The boy begins to work without signing any contract or presenting documentation. At the end of each day, the employer gives you the verbally agreed upon money. If the worker gets sick and cannot work, he or she does not get paid. The same if you take a few days off. The employer, for its part, can fire you whenever it wants without having to pay you anything. The young person, in short, is in a situation of vulnerability and precariousness as a consequence of informal employment.