This report is part of a larger Fafo-project on different aspects of temporary agency work in Norway. The volume of temporary agency work in Norway has increased dramatically the last few years, with a doubling of the numbers of companies from 2004 to 2008. In this report we explore the characteristics of the informal/bogus parts of this industry. Our findings are from the construction sector and we concentrate on conditions for workers from the new EU member states. We tell four different stories about how these firms operate, in form of undeclared work (concerning taxes and social security) and social dumping of the workforce (concerning low wages, long working hours and bad housing). Through a series of informant interviews with employees in small and large temporary agencies, authorities, entrepreneurs and social partners, we have described parts of a working life that is hidden to most people. The practice of these firms have many kinds of consequences, and affect both employees in the form of uncertainty with regard to wages and poor working conditions, employers in the form of poorly performed work and the state and community through tax evasions. In the report, we also present the informants' assessment of the various measures that have been implemented to prevent undeclared work and social dumping.
