Labour Code amendment to increase administrative burden related to posting of workers
Another novelty brought by the upcoming amendment to the Labour Code (apart from remote work) is a significant extension of employers’ information obligation upon cross-border posting of workers. The changes respond to the EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions (the TPWC Directive).
Under the current wording of the Labour Code, when posting employees abroad, employers are obliged to inform them only about the expected duration of the posting and the currency in which they will be paid their wage or salary. Under the amendment, the scope of information that will need to be provided to employees will be significantly wider.
The TPWC Directive, whose content should already have been reflected in Czech law this August, requires that employees posted to work in the territory of another state for a period longer than four consecutive weeks must always be informed in advance and in writing of the following:
- the country in which the work is to be carried out
- the currency in which their wage or salary will be paid
- where applicable, the benefits in cash or in kind relating to the work assignment
- whether and under what conditions repatriation is provided for.
If the posting to another EU member state occurs within the framework of a transnational provision of services, employees should, apart from the above, also be informed of the following:
- the remuneration to which they are entitled under the applicable law of the host member state
- where applicable, any allowances specific to the posting
- conditions for the reimbursement of travel, accommodation, and meal expenses
- a link to an official national website set up by the host member state.
The draft amendment only contains the provision of information to the extent required by the TPWC Directive. Given the obligation to reflect the directive’s requirements in Czech law, the amendment should pass through the legislative process without major changes.
Employers must prepare for an increased administrative burden as the directive does not allow most of the above information to be provided to the posted worker by reference to the employer's internal regulation. In practice, this means that for each foreign posting exceeding four weeks, each employee will have to be informed in writing and on an individual basis. We recommend including the information as well as other conditions of the posting in the posting agreement or letter.