Posted workers - temporary work abroad
Your employer can send you to work temporarily in another EU country. During this period, you will acquire the status of a posted worker and will benefit from the same basic working conditions and rights as workers in your host country.
A posting can last as long as it is necessary to complete a specific task. When your posting has finished, you should return to your workplace in the EU country where you were posted from.
Information employers must provide before the posting
Under EU rules, before your posting starts, employers have obligations to provide you and the host country's competent authorities with certain information.
Information your employer must provide to you
If your posting lasts more than four consecutive weeks, your employer must provide you, before your departure, with the following information in writing, before your departure:
- country or countries where you will work (host country)
- expected duration of the posting abroad
- remuneration currency
- any benefits (in cash or other) related to the work assignment
- information on repatriation: whether it is provided and, if yes, under what conditions
- remuneration according to the applicable law of the host country
- any specific allowances related to the posting
- arrangements for reimbursing travel, board and accommodation expenses
- a link to the host country’s national official website on posted workers.
Warning
It is up to EU countries to decide how your employer gives you this information. However, it is normally done by writing an annex to your existing contract.A posting can last up to 12 months, or 18 if a motivated notification to the host country is submitted. However, if the posting is longer than 12-18 months, it will start being considered as a long-term posting.
Warning
Remember, if the posting lasts for more than 24 months, your work may continue but the social security competent institutions may stop considering you as a posted worker, and unless an extension is granted, you will probably need to affiliate to the social security system abroad.Information the employer must provide to the host country
In most cases your employer must send a notification (posting declaration) to the competent authorities in the host country before (or at the latest when) the posting begins, with the following details:
- identity of the employer
- number of posted workers
- address of the posting workplace
- expected duration of the posting, including start and end dates
- the type of service provided during the posting
- a contact person who will liaise with the authorities in the host country.
Your employer should also inform the competent institution of the host country if any changes take place, such as if the posting does not take place or is interrupted. Read more about the declaration obligations on the website of the host country.
Working conditions
As a posted worker, you are entitled to the host country's employment conditions whenever they are more favourable than those of your home country.
Check which basic working conditions and rights apply
- all the basic elements of remuneration as defined in national law or universally applicable collective agreements
- overtime compensation
- allowances or the reimbursement of expenses to cover travel, board and lodging costs in the host country during the posting (if you are required to travel during the posting assignment)
- maximum work periods
- minimum rest periods
- minimum paid annual leave
- health, safety and hygiene at work
- any conditions specific to hiring through agencies providing temporary staff
- protective measures for pregnant women, women who have recently given birth and young people (under the age of 18)
- equal treatment for men and women and other rules to prevent discrimination
- the conditions of accommodation while working away from your regular place of work, if provided by your employer.
Warning
If the terms and conditions in your home country are more favourable than those of the host country, your employer must maintain the conditions of your home country during the posting.Social security cover while abroad
As a posted worker, you remain covered under your home country’s social security system. To ensure that you continue to be covered, your employer must obtain a Portable Document A1 (PD A1 form) from the social security institution in your home country. Your home country will inform the host country’s competent authorities.
Check how social security works during your posting
- you do not need to register with the social security authorities in the host country.
- you do not accumulate any additional social security rights such as pension rights or the right to unemployment benefits in the country where you have been posted.
- your employer must request a PD A1 from the social security institution in your home country.
Warning
Your employer will notify the length of the start and end date of your posting in your PD A1 to your home country’s social security system. The maximum period allowed on the PD A1 is 24 months.However, if your posting lasts longer than 24 months, you can either:
- Switch to the social security system of the country where you are posted. Although your work may continue, you would no longer be considered a posted worker under social security coordination rules.
- Ask your employer to apply for an extension of the PD A1 form’s validity regarding your posting period to remain covered in your home country. The extension will be granted if a mutual agreement is reached between the competent authorities in both countries and it is in your interest.
Find out more about your social security cover while on a posting to another EU country.
Long-term posting
If the standard posting period is exceeded (12-18 months), the posting will start being considered long-term. From that moment, all basic working conditions and rights will be guaranteed to you, with the exceptions of those relating to the termination of contracts; and supplementary working pensions.
Long-term posting does not have a limit of time, and all its rules will need to apply while the posting is ongoing.
If you are posted long-term to another EU country you may want your family to join you there, they can do so by virtue of their own EU citizens' rights, but not as your dependants.
Income tax
You are generally considered tax-resident, and pay income tax in your host country, if you work there for more than six months. However, you may still get taxed by your home country if:
- you keep your permanent home in your home country;
- your personal and economic ties with that country are stronger.
There are no EU-wide rules that set out which country can tax your income during a posting. This may be set out in national laws or tax agreements between EU countries. Always check which rules apply to you, by contacting the tax authorities of both your home and host countries.
Warning
Check updated information on double taxation to avoid your income being taxed twice.Sample story
Pere is a nurse employed by a hospital in Spain and is sent to work in Sweden for 11 months on a temporary assignment. He will keep his permanent residence in his home country.
Before he leaves, Pere’s employer applies for a PD A1 form to the Spanish competent authority to show that he remains covered by Spanish social security during the posting. The Spanish authorities will then communicate the Swedish authorities about the posting.
While Pere works in Sweden, he stays insured in Spain for social security contributions and benefits. At the same time, he must receive the working conditions that apply in Sweden, such as rules on pay, working time and health and safety, if these are more favourable.
Normally, Pere would need to pay his income tax in Sweden, as he is staying for longer than six months. However, he may still be required to pay income taxes in Spain, as he is keeping his permanent residence there. As these rules are country-specific, it is worth for Pere to check with the Swedish and Spanish tax authorities to know where to pay income tax and avoid double taxation.
National websites on posting
Check the national website of your host country to find out the terms and conditions of work for posted workers, as well as the contact information for the local authorities.
National Liaison Offices
Every country has a competent authority that can answer questions on the posting of workers. The contact details of these National Liaison Offices are under the Ask national administrations button below.
More information
For more information check the EU's short guide on the posting of workers
See also the EU's practical guide on posting.