The Court of Justice of the European Union rejected a claim by the governments of Hungary and Poland aimed at scrapping an EU directive which was designed to reinforce the rights of employees posted in other EU countries.
Under the directive, amended in 2018, employees are entitled to wages and other conditions applicable in the country where they are posted.
Hungary and Poland contested the directive, saying that it curbed the freedom of services, and argued that the changes had been passed on a basis of social policy rather than on the regulations governing the freedom of services. In its ruling, the court said that the relevant laws of member states had been harmonised and the European Parliament was entitled to change its stipulations in line with changing conditions.
The EP had deemed it necessary to strengthen the rights of posted workers in order to ensure fair competition between posted and local businesses, the court said. The authors of the changes may also have concluded that workers posted over 12 months may be in a similar position to their local peers in the given country, the court added. The directive stipulates that posted workers should be ensured employment conditions of the country they work in, and this does not violate the principle of freedom of services, the court said.
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