Since 2 February 2022, the new regulations on the posting of lorry drivers have been in force, as indicated when they were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 31 July 2020.
After an 18-month wait, the measures imposed by the “mobility package” reform have been rolled out across the whole of the EU. In addition to a major overhaul of the rules, which will have an impact on transport professionals, these regulations are aimed at reducing illegal working and combating fraud to provide greater protection for lorry drivers.
Directive 2020/1057 of the European Parliament of 15 July 2020 lays down a number of specific rules on the posting of lorry drivers.
How do these new measures apply?
Who is affected by these new measures?
All drivers working in the road haulage or passenger transport sector are affected by these measures.
Exceptional cases
A driver is not considered to be a posted employee if he meets one of the following two conditions:
- The driver carries out bilateral operations;
- The driver transits through an EU Member State without loading or unloading goods.
It is therefore not necessary to make a secondment declaration.
What changes does this new directive bring to the posting of lorry drivers?
This directive introduces new rules on the posting of road hauliers. The following measures came into effect on 2 February 2022:
- The remuneration of posted drivers must be based on the remuneration rules in force in the host Member State where their activities are carried out;
- The abolition of the obligation to appoint a representative in the host country who speaks the language of the authorities in the event of an inspection of the posted worker or the posting company;
- The posting declaration/attestation via national systems has been abolished (e.g. for France, the SIPSI declaration);
The creation of a single European portal to harmonise administrative formalities at European level through a secure portal connected to the Internal Market Information System (IMI). The portal went live on 2 February 2022.
Please note:
- From 2 February 2022, national systems will no longer be valid for the posting of drivers subject to the European harmonised system;
- Posting certificates issued by national systems are no longer valid from 2 February 2022. However, the attestations and acknowledgements of receipt will continue to be available for use as supporting documents in the event of a dispute over an inspection;
- From 2 February 2022, it will be compulsory to submit a new posting application for current postings via the single European portal.
To find out more about these new rules, see our dedicated article.
Why set up a single European portal?
The introduction of a single portal for making a prior request for the posting of workers enables the operator of posted drivers to group together all the compulsory documents needed in the event of an inspection by the authorities of the host country.
Each seconding company can only have one access account. However, several users with the same responsibilities can manage the account.
In addition, this management tool facilitates checks by the authorities of the host Member State, in conjunction with the authorities of the country in which the seconding company is established. Checks will be carried out via the platform, with notifications being sent out.
Finally, the European portal will facilitate multilingual exchanges between seconding companies and the authorities, as well as between the authorities themselves. Companies wishing to post employees are no longer obliged to submit a request in the language of the country to which the employee will be posted. They can now choose their language.
The platform provides a multilingual form for submitting a declaration in any of the 24 official languages of the European Union. A translation will then be provided. The same applies to exchanges via the portal. They are automatically translated into the desired language and this, it acts of the company, authorities of the host country or those of the country establishment of the driver detached.
What obligations must the operator (employer) comply with when posting lorry drivers?
Reporting obligations
in Europe. The period of secondment ranges from 1 day to a maximum of 6 months. In addition, a QR code must be transmitted via the European portal to the State to which the driver is seconded no later than the start of the secondment.
A secondment declaration must be submitted for each driver. There are several ways of doing this:
- Either submit a single 6-month declaration for a driver, listing all his postings over this period;
- or submit an application for one driver per secondment.
Note: if a driver is seconded to several countries, the operator must submit a secondment declaration for each country.
It is therefore preferable for the operator to make one declaration per driver, per country and per posting.
The declaration must also include the following information:
- The identity of the operator;
- Details of the transport manager or another person to contact in the country of establishment;
- The identity, home address and driving licence number of the driver;
- The start date of the contract and the law applicable to the contract;
- The duration of the secondment, with the start and end dates;
- The number plate of the vehicle;
- The type of carriage undertaken: goods, passengers, international, cabotage, etc.
To make any changes, additions or corrections to a declaration, employers should visit the European portal. They can also copy elements from a previous declaration to draw up a new one. This means that they do not have to make a complete entry for a declaration with the same information. All they have to do is change the new information.
In addition, the documents required for a posting will have to be supplied by the operator within 8 weeks of his request. After this deadline, the supervisory authorities in the host country will contact the authorities in the country where the company is established. They will contact the company to obtain the information requested.
Obligations towards drivers
The employer must ensure that the driver has the following documents with him, in paper or digital format:
- A copy of the posting declaration with the QR code;
- Proof of transport authorisations;
- Tachograph records.
Obligations in the event of an inspection
In the event of an inspection by the authorities, the operator must submit the following documents via the single European portal:
- Proof of transport authorisations ;
- Tachograph records;
- Documents relating to the remuneration of the seconded driver for the period of secondment;
- The employment contract or any other equivalent document, as well as the driver’s time sheets;
- Proof of payment.
The European Commission and the European Labour Authority regularly provide the most detailed information possible.
For more information on this regulatory change, contact our experts.
ASD SPW can also help you with the posting of workers in a wide range of sectors, including construction, wine-growing and commerce.
We can take care of all your administrative procedures relating to the posting of workers.
