Social dumping and social fraud remain challenges in public procurement, especially in sectors like construction. Workers are underpaid, overworked, or employed under unsafe conditions. For contracting authorities, it is often difficult to detect or address this kind of abuse. Fortunately, there are now concrete tools and collaborations that help governments take proactive action against these issues.

To support governments in this, the Flemish guide against social dumping in public procurement has been thoroughly updated. This guide is designed as a practical working tool and contains concrete measures to prevent social dumping. It consists of two parts:

• An overview of possible actions that contracting authorities can take; and

• A series of model clauses that can be directly included in your contract documents, such as clauses on monitoring, reporting, or cooperation with inspection services.

At the front of the guide, you will find a handy checklist that guides you step-by-step through the procurement process. This helps you quickly identify the relevant measures and know exactly where to include them in your documents.

Since contracting authorities do not always have the authority or expertise to detect social fraud themselves, collaboration with specialized services is essential. For this reason, the Flemish Government and the Social Intelligence and Investigation Service (SIOD) have signed a cooperation protocol. Through this protocol, they can exchange information and act more swiftly in cases of suspected abuse.

By referring to this protocol in your contract documents, you send a clear message to contractors: enforcement of social legislation is serious and well-organized. The guide provides a model clause for this purpose (see Chapter 11.8, p. 58).