Step 2 - Understanding the Key PWD Concepts
To fully understand the PWD regime and apply its compliance requirements in practice, it's essential to break down the core PWD concepts. These concepts form the bedrock of the regime, defining who is considered a posted worker, what conditions apply to them, which responsibilities the sending and receiving companies must adhere to.
Concept | Definition |
Posted Worker | An employee temporarily sent by their employer to work in another country within the EU/EEA/Swiss area, while remaining employed in the sending country. |
Sending State (Country of Origin, Home Country) | The country where the worker's employer is legally established and operates, and from which the worker is posted. It's a crucial distinction because it does not necessarily correspond to the country where the worker habitually works or resides. |
Receiving State (Host Country) | The country where the worker temporarily carries out work onbehalf of their employer in the framework of posting. |
Contract of Services (Direct hiring) | A type of posting based on a commercial contract for services between a company in the sending state and a client in the receiving state. |
(Sub)Contracting | A type of posting where where the contract focuses on delivering a specific result or product, and the customer does not exercise any authority over the (sub)contractor’s employees. |
Intra-Group Posting | A posting involving the temporary transfer of an employee between companies of the same corporate group across different countries. |
Temporary Agency Work (Hiring-out) | A posting where a worker, employed by an agency in one country, is assigned to work for a client company in another country (based on a contract for workers). |
A1 Certificate | A document that certifies the worker remains covered by the social security system of the sending state throughout the duration of the posting. |
Hard Core Conditions | Minimum employment standards that must be guaranteed to posted workers in the host country, including wages, working hours, leave, and health & safety regulations. |
Long-Term Posting | A posting that exceeds 12 months (or 18 months with justification). In such cases, the posted worker becomes entitled to more mandatory employment conditions of the host country. |
Elaboration
The Sending State
This is the country where
Caution
Understanding the role of the key PWD concepts is key to ensuring compliance and protecting workers’ rights.