Posted Workers: 6 Things To Remember For Compliance

Business travel is picking up again. This is good for companies but it also means headaches and complexities for managing travel compliance. It’s even trickier now with constantly shifting border restrictions relating to COVID-19, on top of longstanding regulations related to Posted Workers.

So, let us remind you about the EU Posted Worker Directive rules, what they mean for your business, and how the right technology can help you navigate the welcome return of business travel opportunities.

First, what is a Posted Worker?

A Posted Worker is an employee who is sent by their employer with the intention to work in a European country for a short period of time. The emphasis on short term is not solely based on a duration, but also the purpose of activity and whether the Posted Worker is providing a service in the host country.

Here are the top issues to remember about Posted Workers and complying with the Directive:

1. Rights. Posted Workers acquire the rights of workers in the host country automatically, including minimum wage, gender equality, temporary job protection, discrimination, protection, vacation time and health and safety.
2. Scope. Posted work legislation applies to all workers moving within the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
3. The aim of the Posted Worker Directive is to implement a fair and equitable treatment of employees by preventing social dumping – when employers attempt to use cheaper labor than that available in the country where their service is being provided.
4. Enforcement. If a company fails to comply with the directive, both the local and foreign company could be subject to fines, or even be blacklisted. Trade unions or parties that protect the rights of workers are also encouraged to file. If an employer continually fails in filing registration for a Posted Worker, the country can issue a short-term ban to refuse entry.
5. Fines. Countries such as Switzerland are also naming and shaming employees that fail to follow the directive and issuing sanctions if businesses are profiting as a result of not complying, with fines up to 1,000,000 CHF and seizure of unlawful profit and assets.
6. Not all business travelers are Posted Workers. But each country applies the Posted Worker Directive according to their own legislation, and registration requirements vary widely. Even after determining whether a registration is required, each country has their own way of submitting details, ranging from online forms to posting paper forms. It can be a heavy administrative burden. A company offering its services across the EU must be aware of 27 different sets of rules to define whether a worker should be designated a Posted Worker and how to comply with each country’s requirements.

How To Stay Compliant

Compliance is trickier and stickier post-pandemic, so having the right technology in place is more important and urgent than ever. Recovery and the future revenues of many businesses will, at least in part, depend on the performance of their mobility programs over the coming months and years.

Equus PinPoint Posted Workers gives you unrivaled automation, data collection, tracking and reporting functions in the Posted Worker sphere. The Pinpoint Posted Worker product can even provide completed posting registrations quickly and efficiently.