Národní úpravy směrnice č. 96/71/ES ve vybraných členských státech EU

This paper analyses the Posted Workers Directive 96/17EC (hereinafter “the Posted Workers Directive”) as it was implemented in Belgium, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The Posted Workers Directive itself is not a subject of this paper. However, the author focuses on said national law systems and studies different states’ approaches how the said directive was introduced in legal practice. The Posted Workers Directive is a compromise enacted in order to settle a conflict between two important interests. On one hand, there are companies established in an EU Member State that are awarded contracts in other EU Member States. These companies enjoy the freedom to provide services. Therefore, they have right to relocate their employees to the host EU Member State to fulfil the contract. On the other hand, the host state’s trade unions (and other subjects) claim that service providers take advantage of cheaper labour standards in their own states to win a contract in the host state, to the detriment of employment in the host state. Hence, there is a clash of the freedom to provide services and the host state’s social policy. How can be seen on French Implementation of the Posted Workers Directive Jed (potential) problems connected with foreign service providers on French territory to highly protective national regulations. On the contrary, the United Kingdom has shown to be reluctant in introduction of any new statute which would set forth rules for employees relocated in accordance with the Posted Workers Directive. The financial crises may change the opinion of the United Kingdom Government but so far the United Kingdom’s labour market has no problems with activity of foreign employees relocated by foreign service providers. In fact, the United Kingdom approach is not a liberal approach to foreign service providers and their employees relocated to the United Kingdom’s territory. Using the concept of public law, the government insists on application of a large part of national employment law. The example of two other EU Member States, Belgium and Italy, demonstrates that every EU Member state implemented the Posted Workers Directive in its own way. However, there is one feature common to all surveyed states. Every EU Member State used the Posted Workers Directive to protect their local interests and differences. Nevertheless, the Posted Workers Directive is one of several secondary acts that harmonise national choice of law rules of EU Member states. The unification of national law of conflict is a step to the harmonisation of the whole employment law.