Virginia, US
Posted workers are a hot topic right now in the immigration and mobility communities in France, for good reason. A posted worker is an employee who is sent by his or her employer to carry out a service in another EU Member State on a temporary basis. As the new requirements brought about by the Posted Workers Enforcement Directive are rolled out throughout Europe, and talks of reviewing the original posted worker directive are ongoing, companies are forced to quickly adapt to the new regulations and enforcement rules. For example, companies must designate a representative located in France to act as a liaison with the labor authorities, and must retain documents related to salary, working hours and social security coverage. These documents must be provided to the labor officials in case of an inspection. Employers found not respecting the secondment rules can be subject to a fine of €2,000 per employee (€5,000 for repeat offenses), with a maximum amount set at €500,000
In France, the posted worker notification or “declaration de détachement” has been in place since 2007, though not widely known. The implementation of the new requirements along with increased inspections has resulted in increased scrutiny by employers of this population of temporary workers, who remain employed and covered by social security in their home country. There is a need for employers to become vigilant regarding not only their mobile workforce, but also seconded workers from other clients or contractors that they may host in France. In France, all posted workers, including third-country nationals holding work authorization, must be declared through the online system called “SIPSI” (short for Système d’Information sur les Prestations de Service Internationales).
New Fee as of January 1, 2018
France is already considered strict in its implementation of the posted workers directives. Employers are required to retain a significant amount of documentation in case of inspection, as well as the local representative designation, all of this in French. Beginning on January 1, a fee of €40 per posted worker must be paid at the time of filing the online declaration. The fee serves to offset the cost of maintaining the online filing system. Read more in this news alert here.
Project Owner Obligations
The employer outside of France has an obligation to provide a copy of the posted worker declaration to the end user company hosting the posted workers. If this document is not provided, the host company or project owner (project owner could be a contracting company or client itself if the employee is working on a client site), even if they are not technically the employer, must file a special subsidiary declaration through the online SIPSI system within 48 hours after the start of the work. The Project owner will also be responsible for the €40 payment.
How We Can Help
Fragomen can provide in-depth transactional and advisory services regarding the employer obligations, document retention requirements and filing process for posted workers in France. Employers should consult with specialised counsel when planning assignments to France.
For further guidance regarding posted workers in France and the new fee, please contact me at eclor@fragomen.com.