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Posting of workers from the EU to Slovenia

 

Considering that SPOT consulting Gorenjska has a lot of calls and consultations for sending workers from European countries to Slovenia, I decided to prepare some professional information in English.

Citizens of any member state have the right to seek employment in another member state in accordance with the regulations applicable to workers from that state. Member States may not apply any discriminatory practices, such as limiting the offer of jobs to nationals or requiring language skills beyond what is reasonable and necessary for a given job. In addition, mobile workers are entitled to the same assistance from the national employment service as nationals of the host Member State, and they also have the right to stay in the host country long enough to look for work, apply for an advertised position and be employed. This right applies to all workers from other Member States, regardless of whether they have a permanent contract, are employed as seasonal or cross-border workers or provide services.

Free movement of workers has been one of the fundamental principles of the EU since its inception. It is defined in Article 45 of the TFEU and is a fundamental right of workers that complements the free movement of goods, capital and services in the single European market. It means eliminating discrimination based on citizenship in employment, pay and other conditions of work and employment. In addition, this article stipulates that every EU worker has the right to accept a job offer, to move freely within the country, to reside in it for employment and, under certain conditions, to remain in the country even after termination of employment.

However, these rules do not apply to seconded workers, because they do not exercise their right to free movement, but it is the employer who, by temporarily sending workers abroad, exercises the freedom to provide services. Posted workers are protected by the Posting of Workers Directive (EU Directive 2018/957 amending Directive 96/71/EC), which sets the same rules regarding benefits as for domestic workers of the host country and regulates the period after which the host country’s labor law applies ( 2.1.13.).
More information (you can also read it in your language): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/SL/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32018L0957

Posting of workers / sending workers abroad

After intensive negotiations between the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament, the Council adopted the revised directive on 21 June 2018. Member states had until 30 June 2020 to transpose the measures from the directive into national legislation. The 2018 amendment to the Posted Workers Directive, effective from 30 July 2020, covers the following areas:

Long-term secondment: the secondment can last a maximum of 12 months, with the possibility of a six-month extension (the Commission initially proposed 24 months). After this period, the provisions of the labor law of the host Member State apply.

Pay: All posted workers will be subject to all the rules of the host country that apply to local workers from the start, including the principle of equal pay for equal work in the same place. In relation to other elements of pay, however, the revision introduces clearer rules regarding compensation, while travel and accommodation expenses may not be deducted from workers’ wages. According to the Enforcement Directive, Member States must publish on a single national website what elements the payment must contain.

Working conditions: Member States may use comprehensive, representative regional or sectoral collective agreements. Previously, this only applied to generally applicable collective agreements in the construction sector. Regarding accommodation conditions in the host country, the applicable national rules for local workers away for work must be applied.

Posted workers employed by temporary work agencies: The revised Posting of Workers Directive ensures equal treatment of posted workers employed by temporary work agencies. The same conditions that apply to national temporary employment agencies will also apply to cross-border worker placement agencies.

Referrals to Slovenia

An employer based in a member state of the European Union, the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation (hereinafter referred to as a foreign employer) may, for the purpose of cross-border provision of services, send workers employed by him to work in Slovenia, provided that:

– usually carries out activity in the country where it is based and the seconded worker does not usually work in the Republic of Slovenia, as evidenced by a valid A1 certificate
– in the last three years, he has not been legally fined more than once for a misdemeanor related to the provision of rights to posted workers who perform work in the Republic of Slovenia, as stipulated by the law governing employment relations,
– the service is provided within the scope of activities for which the foreign employer is registered in the country in which it has its registered office, except in the case of posting the worker to a related company and
– the service is performed in one of the permitted ways, namely
– the service is performed at the expense and under the control of a foreign employer on the basis of a contract concluded with the customer of the service;
– the service is provided on the basis of a deed of assignment to an institution or business company based in the Republic of Slovenia, with which the foreign employer has a capital connection;
– the referral is carried out in the context of providing the work of workers to a user with headquarters or residence in the Republic of Slovenia.

Obligations of posted workers
Foreigners who are seconded to work in the Republic of Slovenia by a foreign employer must, at the time of secondment, have a regulated residence in accordance with the provisions of the Aliens Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 1/18 – official consolidated text and 9/18 – corr.). More information: https://www.napotenidelavci.si/…/obveznosti-napotenih…/

If an employee sent by a foreign employer to work in the Republic of Slovenia is a citizen of a member state of the EU, the EEA or the Swiss Confederation, he may reside in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia without registering for residence for 90 days from the day of entry into the country. If he wishes to reside in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia for longer than 90 days, he must register his residence with the administrative unit in whose territory he resides before the expiry of the 90-day permitted stay, namely for the reason of employment or work.

On the submitted application for the issuance of a residence registration certificate, the administrative unit issues a certificate to the EU citizen allowing him to reside until the final decision on the application is made. The administrative unit issues a residence registration certificate if the worker has a valid identity card or passport and proof of work performance.

If a worker sent by a foreign employer to work in the Republic of Slovenia is a citizen of a country that is not a member of the EU, he must first obtain a single permit to enter and reside in the Republic of Slovenia in order to provide cross-border services with posted workers. An application for the issuance of a single permit can be submitted by a foreigner or his employer. The foreigner must submit an application for the issuance of the first permit to the competent diplomatic and consular representation of the Republic of Slovenia abroad, and the employer may also submit the application to the administrative unit where the foreigner will reside, or to the administrative unit where his headquarters are located or where the activity will be carried out.

The administrative unit issues a single permit if the foreigner fulfills the conditions of a valid travel document and sufficient means of subsistence and is socially insured in the country from which he is posted. A single permit is issued for the duration of the contract or deed on the assignment of certain works, or at most for a period of one year with the possibility of extension.

The application for the issuance or extension of a single permit for cross-border provision of services with posted workers is submitted on form no. 9/1, which is an annex to the Rulebook on amendments and additions to the Rulebook on the method of issuing a residence permit, the method of capturing fingerprints and the method of marking the termination of a residence permit (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 15/18)
Link to the application: https://www.uradni-list.si/…/RS_-2018-015-00658-OB~P001…

Single point of contact – EUGO Slovenia portal

In Slovenia, the single point of contact is the EUGO Slovenia portal (Slovenia Business point – https://spot.gov.si/en/ ), where foreign service providers from EU member states, the EEA and Switzerland can obtain information regarding:

– requirements, conditions and procedure for establishing and providing services in Slovenia;
– contact information of competent authorities;
– access to public databases of providers;
– general information about legal remedies in the event of a dispute;
– contact details of organizations that provide practical help.

What must be submitted to the Employment Agency of the Republic of Slovenia?

In order to provide services in Slovenia, it is necessary to report the start of the service to the Employment Agency no later than one day before the start of work.

You can do this online https://www.ess.gov.si/…/storitve-podjetij-iz-drzav-eu/… using the form Application for the provision of a service by an employer based in another EU member state, the EEA or the Swiss Confederation. The application is made by a provider from another European country.

Important when performing services with posted workers

– Always keep the documents on ensuring safety and health at the workplace and the records of the working hours of the posted workers for inspection by the supervisory authorities at the place where the service is performed.
– In Slovenia, you can provide services without a work permit with your posted workers, who must provide them with the minimum conditions for work and employment according to Slovenian legislation and collective agreements.
– Pay attention to the residence arrangements for workers in the administrative unit if the provision of services will last more than 3 months.

If you want to register a branch in Slovenia, the following information:

The branch registration process is carried out at a notary in Slovenia. List of notaries who perform registrations: https://spot.gov.si/…/tocke-spot-in-notarji/notarji/

The activities of the branch must be the same as those of the parent company abroad. In order to register a branch, both the parent company and the future director of the branch must first obtain a Slovenian tax number.

In order to register a branch, it is also necessary to obtain the financial statements of the parent company for the last financial year, an extract from the business register in the parent country and the act of incorporation.

For all financial transactions, payments of the correct contributions and taxes, you will need to contact a tax adviser for posted workers.

I hope that I have given you enough information to start and organise your work. How to ensure safe work and regulations for some of the activities, you will have to check this link: https://spot.gov.si/en/activities-and-professions/

Do not forget to report the start of work on https://www.ess.gov.si/…/storitve-podjetij-iz-drzav-eu/…

SOURCE OF INFORMATION: ℹ️ https://www.ess.gov.si/en/jobseekers
SOURCE OF INFORMATION: (posted workers): ℹ️ https://www.napotenidelavci.si/en/

A list of interesting links:
ℹ️ https://spot.gov.si/…/how-to-do-business-in-slovenia/
ℹ️ https://www.ozs.si/…/po-novem-izdaja-potrdila-a1-tudi…
ℹ️ https://spot.gov.si/en/activities-and-professions/

The article was prepared in the framework of the project SPOT svetovanje Gorenjska, which is co-financed with the help of the European Fund for Regional Development, the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport Slovenia and SPIRIT Slovenia, a public agency.

Strokovni članek je bil pripravljen v okviru projekt SPOT svetovanje Gorenjska, ki je sofinanciran s pomočjo Evropskega sklada za regionalni razvoj, Ministrstva za gospodarstvo, turizem in šport ter SPIRIT Slovenija, javna agencija.

 

✍️Written by:
Eldina Čosatović, Master of Business Sciences
SPOT consulting Gorenjska
Development Agency for Upper Gorenjska
(FB: 6.3.2023)

SPIRIT Slovenija, javna agencija
Ministrstvo za gospodarstvo, turizem in šport