Government bill proposes more equal treatment of posted workers

In order to implement the EU’s revised Posting of Workers Directive, the Government has adopted a bill with a number of proposals that are to result in more equal treatment of domestic workers and posted workers in the Swedish labour market and enhanced protection for posted workers.

In the bill, the Government proposes to expand on the conditions for posted workers in collective agreements. For example, the remuneration that may be demanded will no longer be limited to the minimum wage. Increased protection for temporary agency workers posted to Sweden is proposed, partly through applying the principle of equal treatment in the Hiring Out of Workers Act to posted workers.

The protection for workers posted for longer periods will also be strengthened through a proposal that means that essentially all working and employment conditions will apply to them. Under the Government’s proposal, a posting can be considered to be long-term if different workers’ periods of posting are added together.

The Government also proposes tightening the provisions on the notification obligation and contact person in the Posting of Workers Act. Employers that post workers to Sweden will be required to report the posting and a designated contact person in Sweden to the Swedish Work Environment Authority from the first day of posting,. Currently, this obligation does not apply if the posting in Sweden is intended to continue for at most five days.

Employers that post workers will be required to provide documentation to the service recipients in Sweden demonstrating that the report has been submitted to the Swedish Work Environment Authority. Service recipients in Sweden will be required to notify the Swedish Work Environment Authority if the service providers that post workers do not demonstrate that the notification obligation has been fulfilled. A fine will be imposed if the employer or the service recipient does not fulfil these obligations.