Businesses will be able to post long-term employees in other EU countries for a shorter period and their remuneration must be formed under the host country’s legislation and not at minimum rates. Additional costs for travel, tickets and accommodation will also be covered by the employer.
This provides for changes in the EU Directive for posted workers, which caused a debate between the countries of Eastern and Western Europe. The document was adopted by the European Parliament on Tuesday by 456 votes to 147. EU governments will have two years to implement the new rules.
At present, international drivers remain outside the scope of the renewed directive.
According to Slovak MEP Richard Sulík, the European Commission “deliberately” is trying to put companies in Eastern Europe in a bad situation. According to the new rules, companies will have to cover the costs of posting and their salaries. At the same time, according to other MEPs, this law will make the posting of employees abroad more complicated and increase the risk of illegal work.
At the same time, according to the MEPs defending the new rules, they will put an end to the “undercutting”. According to the French MEP Élisabeth Morin-Chartier, the new rules will give “equality and justice” as well as “equal pay for equal work”.
According to the Union’s definition, a posted worker is one send by his employer temporarily in another EU Member State to perform a certain service. In 2016, the number of these employees reached 2.3 million people according to EC data, which was an increase of 69% compared to 2010.
Of these workers 19.6 thousand are Bulgarians, nearly half of which are posted to Germany and another 15.6% – in Belgium. According to data of Bulgarian National Revenue Agency, the issued certificates A1, which ensure that the person is socially secured in Bulgaria, are 24.5 thousand in 2016 and grow to 43.6 thousand in 2017.
The revision of the Directive was adopted after 27 months of negotiations and dialogues between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
