New rules for posted workers
Are you a driver who drives through Europe? Then it’s highly likely the new rules for posted workers apply to you. This means you’re entitled to a higher wage! In the video below we explain everything you need to know about the new rules.
Ниже Вы можете ознакомиться с видео на русском языке:
Posted workers in road transport
The EU rules on posting workers in road transport are part of the Mobility Package (for more info, click here). They are aimed at ensuring fair competition in the EU transport market and fair working conditions for posted workers. In other words, their objective is to make sure that workers aren’t unfairly disadvantaged by the posting and to prevent social dumping. Social dumping refers to the practice of companies exploiting differences in labour laws and wage levels between countries in order to reduce their labour costs and increase their profits.
New rules for posted workers
From 2 February of 2022, specific rules apply to posting in road transport. Drivers working in other EU Member States are entitled to employment conditions in the Member State where he or she loads and/or unloads if these are better than the terms of employment in their home country. The employment conditions include:
- maximum work periods and minimum rest periods;
- minimum paid annual leave;
- minimum wages, including overtime pay;
- health, safety and hygiene at work;
- protective measures with regard to the terms and conditions of employment of pregnant women or women who have recently given birth, children and young people;
- equal treatment of men and women and other non-discrimination provisions.
The starting point for 1, 2, and 3 is the collective labour agreement that has been declared generally binding. If this is not available, the legal minimum wages apply.
For example, if a driver working for a Lithuanian-based transport company performs any operation of loading in Germany and unloading in the Netherlands (cross-trade operations), he’s entitled to the German minimum wage or - if its legally binding - the German collective labour agreement, as long as he drives in Germany. When driving and working in the Netherlands, the driver is entitled to either the Dutch minimum wage or - if its legally binding - the Dutch collective labour agreement.
Are you a posted worker in road transport?
We talk of posting if the work performed has a close connection to the host Member State. According to the EU Posted Workers Directive, this is the case when performing the following operations:
- cross-trade operations – understood as 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 transport company carrying out these operations;
- cabotage operations – understood as domestic transport operations for hire or reward carried out on a temporary basis on the territory of a Member State by a transport company established in another Member State.
You’re not a posted worker when performing the following operations:
- international bilateral transport operations – understood as transport operations based on a transport contract from the Member State where the transport company is established (Member State of establishment) to another Member State or to a third country, or from another Member State or third country to the Member State of establishment. For example: Company based in Lithuania, driver drives to Germany to load and comes straight back to Lithuania to unload.
- limited additional activities of loading and/or unloading - that is, cross-trade operations as described above carried out in the context of bilateral operations in the Member States or third countries that the drivers cross (the driver performs one activity of loading and/or unloading in the Member States or third countries that the driver crosses, provided that the driver does not load goods and unload them in the same Member State.) For example: Company is based in Lithuania, driver drives to Germany to load, on the way back partially unloads in Poland and unloads the rest in Lithuania.
- transit through the territory of a Member State without carrying out any activity of loading or unloading. For example: Company based in Lithuania, driver loads in Poland, drives through Germany to unload in the Netherlands. Polish wage applies for the time in Poland, Lithuanian wage for the transit time in Germany and Dutch wage applies for the time in the Netherlands.
- initial or final stage of a combined transport operation in case this part of the journey consists of an international bilateral transport operation. For example: Containership departs from Ireland to the Port of Rotterdam. There a container is loaded onto a truck which will unload in Poland.
What to do when you’re a posted worker who doesn’t get paid according to the rules?
If you’re performing posted work and suspect that you don’t get paid according to the rules, we advise you to register your border crossing, preferably by entering the country code into your tachograph when crossing the border. In addition, it’s important that you clearly register your working hours and breaktimes. A concise inventory of your border crossings and working shifts makes it possible for you to claim your entitled wage.
If you need help or have more questions about your rights as a posted worker, we advise you to contact your union and let them check your wage. Not a union member or don’t you know where to get information? You can also contact us at transport@fnv.nl.