Posted workers from EEA Member States
WHAT
A posted worker is an employee who is sent by his employer to carry out a service in another EU Member State on a temporary basis.
WHO
As a posted worker you are still employed by the sending company and the employment regulations of the sending Country applies for you. However, you are also entitled to a set of rights that are part of employment regulations of the country where you have been posted. If you are a citizen of the European Economic Area (EEA) States, Switzerland, or the European Union you don’t require a residence title or a work permit.
HOW
Employers from abroad which are posting workers to Germany must comply with a number of rules for giving notification of their posted workers. Since 1 January 2017 when the new Ordinance on Minimum Wage Reporting Obligations (Mindestlohnmeldeverordnung) has entered into force, employers from outside Germany are required to submit notifications of workers posted to Germany online using the Minimum Wage Notification Portal. The same applies to businesses that use workers leased from an agency domiciled outside Germany.
When posted, you are granted certain rights within the German labour laws.
In the context of social security systems, the legislation of only one EU Member State is applicable at any time. If you are temporarily (not more than 24 months) posted to work in another state of the European Economic Area (EEA) your applicable social insurance legislation does not change. The employer informs the social insurance institution (in Germany this is done by the employee’s statutory health insurance scheme) of the posting of his employee. The social insurance institution then issues an A 1 certificate to show which social insurance legislation is applicable.
The rules of only one EEA state’s social security legislation apply also to employees who regularly work in more than one country. For all questions, the German Health Insurance Liaison Office – International Division (Deutsche Verbindungsstelle Krankenversicherung – Ausland (DVKA)) is able to provide support.
In the construction industry, an employment permit is always required. It doesn’t matter how long the posting will be. The posting and employment permit don’t give the right to residence.
The notification portal can be accessed via the German Customs website www.zoll.de (under the “Services and databases” section) or directly at www.meldeportal-mindestlohn.de. Sending notifications by fax is no longer possible. https://www.meldeportal-mindestlohn.de/Meldeportal/form/display.do?%24context=D0B3E399CC814156BF77 (English)
GOOD TO KNOW
More information and helpful contact on posting of workers you will find here (in English):
http://www.zoll.de/EN/Businesses/Work/Foreign-domiciled-employers-posting/Obligatory-notification-workers-posted/obligatory-notification-workers-posted_node.html