There are three classifications for posting workers abroad: temporary posting, professional posting and short-term posting.
Temporary posting workers abroad
Following Directive 96/71/EC regarding the conditions of work and employment of temporarily posted workers in the framework of a cross-border provision of services, only companies meeting one of the following circumstances can carry out temporary postings:
- Posting under a service contract: the company has signed a service contract with a recipient operating in another Member State
- Intra-group posting: the company wants to post a worker to the territory of another Member State, where there is an establishment or a company belonging to the same group
- Posting by a temporary employment agency: temporary employment agencies or placement agencies that intend to post a worker to an established user enterprise or carries out its activity in the territory of another Member State.
In any case, the company can only post workers for a limited time and the duration of the employment relationship throughout the posting period.
Professional posting workers abroad
In professional assignments, workers sent to another Member State without providing services are not posted workers according to EU Directives. For example, workers attending conferences, meetings, fairs, training etc. The Posting Directive does not cover posting workers without provision of services. Therefore, the requirements and control measures that apply to temporary postings are not applicable.
Short-term posting abroad
The Posted Workers Directive applies to all temporary postings, regardless of duration. Some provisions, however, do not apply to short-term postings, for example, to postings carrying out initial assembly work or first installation of goods (outside the construction sector) that do not exceed eight days.
Obligations of posting workers abroad
Any company considering posting workers abroad must meet a series of requirements:
- To the Social Security with the Member State where the worker will work
- To the workers themselves.
Social Security obligations
The company must notify the sending Member State of each posting, whether temporary, professional, or short-term posting. The company must obtain an A1 form and give it to the employee to remain covered by the social security institution in their home country.
The European regulation on posting workers aims to ensure the respect of the minimum labour guarantees in the Member States. The company must:
- Submit a simple declaration to the responsible national authorities
- Appoint a person to liaise with the responsible authorities in the host Member State
- Appoint a person to act as a representative if collective bargaining is necessary at the host Member State.
Obligations to the employee
In Spain, Directive (EU) 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions requires that companies planning to post workers to another Member State provide information in writing before their departure on, among other things:
- Destination country
- Displacement duration
- Currency of remuneration payment
- Information on predictability repatriation
- Entitled remuneration in the Member State
- The link to the single national website developed by the host Member State.
In short, when assessing the posting of workers abroad, it is necessary to consider national (Social Security) and international (Notification to the Member State) obligations.
Álvaro Gomez Fernandez
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