Introducing legal rules to govern police checks carried out when employing Monegasque nationals

A Monegasque national made a complaint on the grounds that he was prevented from securing a job after the Ministry of Interior issued a negative opinion on his hiring, owing to his criminal record.  There is no legal requirement for Monegasque nationals to hold a work permit in order to take employment in the private sector. Similarly, an employer seeking to hire a Monegasque worker is not required to seek prior authorisation, but merely to submit a declaration when the employee takes up their duties. In principle, the Government cannot therefore prevent the individual concerned from taking a job. In practice, however, the administrative procedures applied to Monegasque and foreign nationals are the same, and include background character checks. There is clearly justification for such police checks, regardless of the worker’s nationality, if the individual concerned will be working in a sensitive role, such as with children or vulnerable persons. Nevertheless, police checks can under no circumstances be conducted without a proper legal basis, given that they constitute a significant intrusion into the individual’s privacy. The High Commissioner therefore recommended that legislation be passed as soon as possible to regulate this administrative practice, by ensuring that workers may only be required to seek authorisation to take employment, where the nature of the job concerned is such that preliminary police background checks are legitimate.

The entire recommendation is available on the site in french version only.