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Labour mobility within the European Union (EU) is still increasing, and often such workers carry out ‘essential’ work. Yet, while EU law accords certain labour and social rights, mobile workers de facto often have only limited rights. We study why especially these ‘essential’ workers are often exploited and focus on enforcement actors – control authorities checking upon and interest representation bodies pushing for workers’ rights. We thereby contribute to broader literature on the precarious character of EU free movement in practice. For one, we offer an analytical framework to grasp enforcement by using the dichotomy of police patrol and fire alarm, each breaking down for willingness and capabilities. For another, we stress the relevance of two factors hampering enforcement: While, as we argue, the demand for cheap labour by economies and societies of destination has an impact on the willingness to see rights guaranteed, the isolation of workers limits the capabilities of both police patrol and fire alarm. We illustrate our argument with empirical evidence from live-in care work and international road transport, mainly based upon semi-structured interviews with control authorities and interest representation bodies in Austria and Germany, and with additional interviews in Poland and Slovenia.

Essential, lonely and exploited: why mobile EU workers’ labour rights are not enforced