(source: Sme)
Businesses do not want state authorities to interfere with the remuneration of employees posted abroad on a temporary basis, a survey conducted by the Slovak Business Alliance (PAS) has revealed. The posting of employees is to be governed by a new EU directive that is currently subject to debates involving EU-member states. It has been proposed that posted workers should receive the same salaries as their peers in the country of posting. The measure would primarily concern people working in industry and services.
“PAS is convinced that the Slovak government should not give in to the pressure of large western European countries that are protecting their markets,” said PAS executive director Peter Kremský as cited by the TASR newswire. “We believe that this directive will curb competition in the European Union. We would rather have seen a harmonisation of employment rules.”
The PAS survey canvassed the sentiments of 116 businesses from a variety of sectors. Seventy percent of them said that they have prior experience with posting employees.
Kremský noted that 45 percent of employers with experience in posting workers said that state authorities should leave it to the discretion of companies to decide on payments for their employees.
In addition, more than two-thirds of the respondents want the current rules to remain unchanged, including the regulations governing the minimum wage and other social rights.
Meanwhile, compromise rules, rules proposed by France, and the option for each country to set its own regulations received somewhat less support.
Under the proposed rules, a posted worker who spends at least three days working in another member state should be entitled to at least the minimum rate of pay applicable in that country. Employers would also be required to take care of all the related paperwork. This idea was viewed positively by only one in 10 respondents. Half of those asked disagreed with it outright, while almost a third believed that the threshold should remain at eight days.
Employers voiced concerns over the considerable increase in red tape, and every second employer also expects additional expenditures on human resources. One in three foresees difficulties in their ability to compete in some markets, and one in four expects no changes.
