Council adopts a position to reduce red tape for posting of workers

The Council has adopted its position (general approach) on the regulation to facilitate the e-declaration of posted workers.

The regulation is expected to reduce the administrative burden for businesses by fully digitalising the submission of posting declarations and for national authorities by facilitating the monitoring of the compliance with the posting of workers directive.

A 'posted worker' is a worker sent by the employer to provide a service in another member state on a temporary basis.

The Council's position enhances the online interface by adding new features, clarifies the requirements for the single declaration form, and provides more details on how personal data in the form will be used.

Digitalising the administrative work for posted workers is a game changer in the internal market for services. Sending employees to another member state will be faster, cheaper and easier; workers will continue to enjoy their rights, and the single market for services will be closer to completion.

Michał Baranowski, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology

Better functionalities

A key change in the Council’s position is the introduction of a new functionality in the public interface, allowing service providers to upload the relevant documents for posting workers. This will replace pre-existing national posting declarations for member states that chose to adopt the interface. The system also includes features for technical validation of data, communication between competent authorities and service providers, and access for posted workers to receive electronic extracts of their declarations, while respecting personal data protection rules.

Standard form

Member states that choose to use the public interface must notify the Commission at least six months in advance and will not be able to impose additional requirements for posting declarations beyond those stipulated by the regulation. However, they will still be allowed to request further information for inspection purposes. For those member states not using the interface, the public system will provide links to national declaration websites. The standard form for submitting declarations will align with the data categories outlined in the regulation but member states can request to waive certain information.

Personal data protection

Regarding personal data, the general approach clarifies that the personal data of relevant representatives can be processed and retained within the scope of the service provider's category. It also allows for retention periods longer than the standard 36 months under certain national laws.

The council position requests that the Commission, in the evaluation that it will make five years after the implementation of the regulation, should consider the potential inclusion of third-country declarations. To further simplify obligations for service providers, the evaluation should also explore ways to integrate the posting declaration with the portable document A1 process. The A1 is the document that certifies the social security legislation applicable to a worker pursuing activities in more than one member state.

Next steps

The general approach agreed today formalises the Council's negotiating position. It provides the Council presidency with a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament, which will start as soon as the Parliament adopts its position.

Background

According to the European labour authority, approximately 3.6 million postings involving around 2.6 million workers are estimated in the EU. Around 1.2 million workers are active in two or more member states.

The Commission estimates that companies can save 73% of the time required to complete posting declaration using the electronic standard form, compared to the average time currently required across the EU, and the costs savings for the burden reduction for service providers posting workers is estimated to be 58% compared to the current situation, even with the participation of a limited number of member states. If all 27 member states would decide to join this initiative, the burden reduction at EU level would further increase to 81% compared to the current baseline scenario.