Many entrepreneurs, especially in border regions, would like to see EU-wide harmonisation of national posting rules and procedures. In principle, however, they recognise their necessity, as they prevent social dumping, poor working conditions and unfair competition. These are two findings of the study "Influence of administrative burdens on the cross-border posting of employees by SMEs in border regions", which Dr Annette Icks and Michael Holz presented to the planning group "Foreign Trade" of the German Confederation of Chambers of Skilled Crafts (DHKT) at the beginning of September.
"Smaller companies in particular find it too time-consuming to comply with the comprehensive bureaucratic requirements of the neighbouring country for short-term machine repairs or maintenance," reports project leader Dr Annette Icks. Helpful would be framework and aggregate declarations or the 8-day rule, according to which short-term postings are not subject to normal declaration duties under certain conditions.
