New digital platforms designed to combat the informal economy, like the Kosovo Tax Administration’s RegEmployer, give employees the power to check their employment status and report violations, but lack of awareness and fear of repercussions prevent widespread use.
Kaltrina Aliu is a 26-year-old web developer who works remotely from Kosovo for a Swiss-based company. She knows that the company she works for is paying her taxes and contributions to her pension fund despite it not being based in Kosovo. However, she still finds it reassuring that the Kosovo Tax Administration’s, ATK, online platform allows employees to verify whether they are legally employed.
“It’s a good platform because it provides transparency and, in a way, it empowers workers to access their own data and to report injustices,” she told Prishtina Insight, explaining that she sees the platform as a powerful tool to ensure the implementation of workers’ rights.
In an ambitious move to fight informal employment and promote fair labour practices, the ATK launched an online platform named RegEmployer which gives every employee in the country the opportunity to verify whether they have been officially registered by their employer.
In case they do not find themselves registered on the platform, they can report the violation anonymously with just a few clicks. The move represents a shift towards transparency and accountability in the labour market and a digital tool that could help fight one of Kosovo’s most persistent challenges—informal employment.
However, Aliu expressed concerns over RegEmployer being underutilised because workers are not fully aware of their rights.
“I fear people don’t really care that much. As long as they’re getting paid, they don’t think about anything else,” she said.
From verification to reporting
Tax Administration of Kosovo logo. Photo: BIRN
ATK officials believe that active involvement by citizens strengthens accountability and increases public trust in tax institutions.
The Kosovo Tax Administration is an independent agency under the Ministry of Finance, responsible for administering and enforcing Kosovo’s tax laws, including VAT, corporate and personal income tax, and withholding taxes.
As of September 2025, Kosovo has collected 794.3 million euros in tax revenue, 86.4 million more than in the same period the previous year, partly thanks to stronger enforcement and the introduction of new online tools.
The agency has two key tools aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability, and fairness in the tax system, while also empowering citizens to participate in the fight against informal employment and tax evasion.
ATK described the first tool to Prishtina Insight as a reporting platform which “enables citizens to report cases of legal violations such as failure to issue fiscal receipts, informal employment, unregistered business activity, or tax evasion.”
The second tool is the online employment status verification system ‘RegEmployer’, which was first launched in December 2021 to help workers ensure their employers pay pension contributions.
“This is a practical and secure way to protect workers’ rights by ensuring they are not left out of future benefit schemes, such as pensions,” the ATK emphasised.
“In cases where a worker reports that they are not registered or that pension contributions are not being paid, the Tax Administration may launch an investigation or conduct a tax audit of the employer,” added the ATK.
During the reporting process, citizens can choose whether to disclose their identity or remain anonymous which “guarantees the reporter the freedom to share information without fear of consequences.”
After submitting a report, the citizen receives a unique link through which they can monitor the status of their report at any time and learn whether it has been reviewed, is under investigation, or has been closed.
According to ATK, these tools “aim to promote fair competition among businesses, protect workers, and ensure the fair collection of public revenue.”
Nonetheless, despite ATK campaigning for the citizens to use the platforms, many are not aware of their existence.
Between January and September 2025, a total of 331 reports were filed via ATK’s reporting platforms. Only 14 were from workers reporting their employers. The rest were related to other types of tax violations.
A.G., managing director and shareholder in an international market chain, employing around 200 people across Kosovo, admitted he was not aware of the platform.
“It’s good that it exists. Maybe it needs more publicity. Though honestly, it should be the default that employers pay taxes for their workers,” he told Prishtina Insight.
Private sector rights still lacking
Kosovo Tax Administration officials inspect a worksite in the Prizren region in July 2025, where unregistered workers from Turkey were found during a routine check. Photo: BIRN
The NGO Advocacy Training and Resource Center, ATRC, which promotes citizen and civil society participation in decision-making, released a joint statement in consultation with the Consortium for Labour Rights, stating that respect for workers’ rights in the private sector remains a challenge.
According to them, although the private sector is the main driver of employment, it continues to struggle with instability, low wages, irregular working conditions, and widespread informality.
“Some of the most affected and high-risk sectors include industries such as construction, healthcare, and private services. Specifically, workers in the private sector experience systematic violations of labor rights, non-compliance with legislation, exposure to workplace accidents, low wages, insecure contracts, and weak social dialogue,” ATRC told Prishtina Insight.
In 2025 alone, there have been more than eight workplace fatalities and over 260 workplace accidents, most of them in the construction sector.
“The Labor Inspectorate has limited capacity for oversight, which results in violations going unaddressed, unmonitored, and unpunished,” added ATRC.
Regarding online reporting, ATRC noted that, “many workers do not trust that their complaints will be handled fairly or confidentially, which discourages them from filing reports.”
ATRC emphasised that in recent years there has been an increase in the number of employment contracts, mainly because of stricter regulations and more frequent inspections: “However, progress in ensuring compliance with employment contracts remains very slow.”
Despite this, ATRC adds that the private sector—including services such as tourism, IT, and trade—accounts for about 40% of total employment, but still suffers from high levels of job insecurity, with around 50.4% of contracts being fixed-term or informal.
“This improvement has been influenced by the implementation of new payroll tax regulations, automatic penalties through the AKT electronic system for unregistered workers, increased inspections by the Labor Inspectorate, increased awareness of labor rights, and stronger cooperation with trade unions and NGOs promoting formal employment,” ATRC added.
Many workers continue to accept jobs without contracts or social contributions because they are recipients of social assistance.
“If they declare themselves as employed, they risk losing social benefits, forcing them into a difficult choice between a small income from work or the social aid that ensures their survival. This situation is the result of current social assistance policies, which do not allow beneficiaries to work while receiving aid, regardless of how low their work income may be,” ATRC emphasised.
Meanwhile, many employers still avoid signing contracts to save on taxes and contributions or to maintain flexibility in dismissing workers.
According to data from labor organisations and public institutions, the sectors with the highest number of workers without contracts include: construction, retail trade and services (markets, hospitality, transport), textiles and small-scale manufacturing, seasonal work, and agriculture (especially in rural areas, often without any formal documentation of employment).
“Another particularly vulnerable and unprotected group because of the lack of contracts are food delivery workers,” ATRC added.
ATRC highlighted that the absence of contracts in the aforementioned sectors often stems from the fact that many of these businesses operate informally, through seasonal or short-term work, which employers use as justification for not formalising employment relationships.
Nationwide inspections
Tax Administration of Kosovo inspector. Photo: BIRN
In July 2025, ATK launched a nationwide investigation into construction companies following citizen reports and internal risk assessments. Inspectors visited high-rise sites in Ferizaj/Urosevac to verify whether workers were properly declared and contributions were being paid.
Two episodes of the investigative Kallxo Përnime TV Programme documented this process.
During the inspection, ATK Chief Inspector Murat Mehmeti revealed a worrying trend: “Some workers are receiving social assistance and don’t want to be declared. Employers benefit too, since they avoid paying into the pension fund and instead include that amount in the salary. Both sides often have a shared interest in staying under the radar.”
According to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, the average net salary in Kosovo in 2024 was 552 euros, while the minimum wage is legally set at 350 euros. According to the Agency of Statistics, only 38.6 per cent of people of working age, 15 to 65 years old, are employed and fewer than half participate in the labour force. However, considering that according to the World Bank, informal employment in Kosovo is among the highest in Europe— with around 35 per cent of employees working in the informal sector—the data might not reflect the real number of people with jobs in the country.
ATRC explained that, “workers often avoid reporting violations out of fear of losing their jobs if they request a contract, and because of the lack of union organisation in the private sector, which leaves them without adequate support.”
