Posted workers — the European Posted Workers Directive


Under the European Posting of Workers Directive 1996, all workers temporarily working in an EU state have the right to the same statutory minimum terms and conditions as permanent workers in that state. Due to the temporary nature of their postings, posted workers do not qualify for full equal treatment rights under EU free movement principles.


Instead, the Posting of Workers Directive provides posted workers with a minimum core of rights, including minimum rates of pay, working time, health and safety and anti-discrimination rights. 


The Directive was supposed to prevent employers taking advantage of posting arrangements to undercut national employment standards and pay rates. However, the fact that in general, protection is limited to minimum rights such as the national minimum wage rather than the collectively agreed rate for the job has significantly undermined the Directive’s effectiveness. This was the background to the 2009 Lindsey Oil Refinery dispute, when Italian and Portuguese workers were brought to the UK by Italian company IREM to work on a Total Oil construction site in Lincolnshire, undercutting local workers.


In March 2016, the European Commission launched a new initiative to revise the Directive to tackle differences in pay, based broadly on the principle of “equal pay for the same work in the same place” and proposing rights, such as the right to claim unfair dismissal, for these workers after 24 months. Discussions over these proposals are at an early stage but have already encountered significant opposition among member states, mainly from Central and Eastern Europe.


Separately, a new Posting of Workers Enforcing Directive must be implemented in the UK by 18 June 2016. The Directive aims to improve enforcement cooperation between member states. In its consultation document, the UK government has said it believes existing enforcement machinery is adequate. By contrast, the ETUC is calling for joint and several contractor liability, to prevent complex webs of contractors being used to evade national regulations or collective labour standards.