How externalisation of labour recruitment crosses borders: Origins, evolution, and features of posted work

In this contribution, the author reflects on the juridical frame of social policy and workers’ rights applicable in the European Union in the area of labour mobility and transnational free provision of services with posted workers since the creation of the EU internal market. The rights-based free movement of EU-workers is grounded on the ‘lex loci laboris’ principles, or the notion that workers fall under the regulatory frame of rules and labour standards of the (‘new’) state of residence and employment. Posted workers that provide services on behalf of their posting employer are not supposed to seek access to that another Member State’s labour market and with this argument as different legal frame has been adopted. He sketches out the notion of posting, including reflections on the genesis of the Posting of Workers Directive, and questions whether the rules are still fit for purpose. Based on earlier research, he describes ‘fake posting’, by illustrating how, given the difficulties to control the genuine character of posting immediately at the workplace, labelling workers as being posted has become an easy smoke screen to cover up irregular practices.