At the beginning of August 2023, the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, signed the Act on the posting of workers in road transport. Poland has therefore joined the countries regulating this area of transport.
Poland clearly protested when similar solutions were introduced by Germany or France. After all, in their markets we were the cheaper alternative, taking over transport from domestic carriers. Today, we are introducing regulations that are intended to protect the Polish market against unfair (i.e. cheaper) competition.
WHO IS NOT APPLIED BY THE REGULATIONS ON THE POSTING OF DRIVERS
Of course, delegation does not apply to all transport. If the cargo is transported from or to the country where the transport company is based, drivers are not treated as being on a business trip. The new law therefore applies to cabotage (transport taking place entirely within the territory of a third country) and cross-trade transport.
As a rule, to be delegated by a company, an employee must be employed there. However, individual Member States may clarify what employment means in them. In such a situation, when delegating e.g. to Germany, what will matter is not the contract signed with the transport company, but what the actual nature of the employment relationship is.
To put it simply, a self-employed driver who does not have his own vehicle (or leased for himself), his own community license or who carries out orders only for one company will be considered a posted employee under German law and the company will be forced to fulfill all related formalities.
POSTING DRIVERS – OBLIGATIONS
All the formalities, that is? The transport company should ensure that the driver has the documents necessary during the execution of the order: a copy of the delegation notification (it may be in electronic version), the waybill (or other proof that the transport takes place in the host EU country) and tachograph records.
After the secondment period ends, officials from the country where it took place have the right to also require: payslips and proof of payment, tachograph records and the driver’s working time records, evidence confirming that the transport took place in the host country and employment contracts.
In formal terms, the delegation notification itself is not particularly burdensome and does not require too many additional documents.
SO WHY ARE THERE REGULATIONS ON THE POSTING OF DRIVERS?
The provisions on the posting of drivers are intended to prevent foreign companies from countries with lower labor costs from taking over the markets of individual European Union countries. A posted driver must receive remuneration equal to or higher than the minimum wage in a given country. It must also comply with other local labor regulations.
Information on what specific conditions we must meet when posting a driver to another EU country can be found on this website.
Are you looking for a proven transport company that knows how to organize transport in Europe so that it arrives safely, on time and at a reasonable price? Write to us and see how comfortable cooperation with your carrier can be.
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