A posted worker is an employee who is sent by his or her employer, to work in another EU Member State on a temporary basis. This includes employees engaged through an intermediary or a temporary work agency or a placement agency.
With effect from 2 February 2022, certain posted drivers carrying out the following operations in the international road transport sector come within the scope of the protections provided under the framework Posted Workers - Directive 96/71/ EC (as amended). These operations include:
- cross-trade operations – transport operations carried out between two Member States, or between a Member State and a third country, none of which is the country of establishment of the operator carrying out these operations.
- cabotage operations – domestic transport operations for hire or reward carried out on a temporary basis on the territory of a Member State by an operator established in another Member State.
Drivers performing international bilateral transport operations, limited additional activities of loading and/or unloading, transit operations or the initial or final leg of a combined transport operation are not within the scope of the new Directive. The European Commission has prepared guidance material which includes a set of Questions and Answers which is accessible by clicking on this link..
With effect from 2 Feb 2022, posted drivers are entitled to the terms and conditions of employment and the minimum rates of pay that apply in the EU Members State in which the posting occurs, for the duration of the posting in that Member State including: -
- All the basic elements of remuneration as defined in national law or universally applicable collective agreements in that State
- Any legally applicable allowances for the reimbursement of expenses to cover travel, board, and lodging costs in the country during the posting
- The maximum working time regime that applies
- The minimum rest period regime that applies
- Occupational Health and Safety protections
- Terms and conditions on hiring workers, in particular through agencies providing temporary staff
With effect from 2 Feb 2022, posted drivers temporarily working in Ireland are entitled to National Minimum Wages Rates in the State. Further details are available at the following link National Minimum Wage Information.
Prior Declaration of Posting
Prior to the posting , the transport operator (or employer) must submit a formal posting declaration to the authorities of the Member State or States to which the driver will be posted (at the latest at the commencement of the posting).The declaration must be submitted using the online multilingual public interface connected to the Internal Market Information (IMI) system . The online portal and training material in relation to using the online portal for submitting Posting declarations is available at Internal Market System Information link. Additional assistance is also available from the European Commission’s IMI support team by e-mailing MOVE-POSTING-ROAD-IMI-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu