Frequently asked questions on the mobility package

The mobility package (Mobility Package) is a package of European laws and regulations for the transport sector. The goal is to make transport in the European Union fair and safe for all. The legislation harmonises the rules in EU countries, creating a fairer playing field in Europe. It also explains more clearly when someone is entitled to which working conditions.

Dutch legislation implements European rules on posting drivers in international road transport. The new legislation requires transport companies to file notifications of posted drivers in the European Notification Portal (IMI) and to offer them the appropriate core rights. This notification is also known as the posting declaration. Previously, it was sometimes unclear whether drivers were posted employees or not. The European mobility package clarifies in which cases drivers are or are not considered posted employees.

Under the old rules, it was possible in road transport to file a ‘one-year notification’ through the notification portal. Since 1 June 2023, this has no longer been possible. If you fall under the new rules, the notification must be made in the European portal.

Posting means that drivers work temporarily in a country other than the one in which their employer is based. Drivers are not necessarily considered posted when working temporarily in another country. There must be a sufficiently close connection with that other country. This decision tool will help you establish whether this applies to your situation. If drivers are posted in another country, this may affect the terms of employment they are entitled to. If they are posted in a country with a higher minimum or collective wage than in the home country, they are entitled to the higher wage. Other terms of employment, such as holiday entitlement, may also be different.

You as a transport company use the posting declaration to give notification that a driver has been posted. This declaration contains some basic information, such as: the details of the transport company employing the driver, the details of the contact person, and the identity, place of residence and driving licence number of the posted driver. A declaration is valid for a maximum of six months.

We explain this on the page What constitutes posting?

This can be done in the European notification portal  (IMI) for road transport posting declarations. Create an account for your company. You can then file a notification for your driver at the portal.

Tip! A handy online training course is available for the European notification portal.

For each driver, please provide the following details:

• the details of your transport company
• contact details
• the identity, place of residence and driving licence number of the posted driver
• the start date of the posted driver's employment contract and the law applicable to it
• the expected duration of the posting
• the licence plates of the motor vehicles; and
• the type of transport services provided (carriage of goods or passengers, cabotage or crosstrade).

Important note: posting declarations must always be correct. Have there been any changes? Report them via the European portal.

Ensure your driver carries the correct documents in the truck on paper or digitally. Inform your driver that he must present these documents during a road check. You are required to provide these documents.

• a digital or paper copy of the posting declaration you have filled in the European Reporting Portal
• proof of transport taking place in the other country, such as an electronic waybill; and
• the tachograph data, especially the country symbols of the countries where the driver worked during international road transport or cabotage.

Yes. The portal provides the option of entering multiple drivers into your company's account at once. This can be done using an Excel template, which can be found in the driver menu under the 'Upload driver(s)' option. This feature enables you to enter hundreds of drivers into your account at once.

If your Excel file is too large and uploading takes too long, you may see a timeout message. In that case you will need to wait: input continues in the background. Check the list of drivers afterwards to make sure they have all been entered.

In the European information portal (IMI), you can complete and submit posting declarations in any of the 24 official languages of the EU. You do not need to submit the posting declaration in the language of the country where your driver is posted. Once your declaration is sent, the authority of the country where your driver is posted can read it in the language of their choice.

The European Commission has created a support page to help you get started with the new portal. For technical problems not covered by the Q&A, please contact the helpdesk at: DIGIT-POSTINGDECLARATION-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu

In some cases, a posting must be reported to the Dutch portal instead of the European Notification Portal (IMI). Those cases are:

1. For temporary employment: if an employment agency in another EU country temporarily seconds drivers to a transport company in the Netherlands. Please note in these cases additional rules for temporary hiring apply.

2. For group company secondment: if a transport company is established in an EU country other than the Netherlands and is part of a group or concern. If you temporarily post your drivers to the Dutch branch of the same group or concern, file a notification for to the Dutch portal.

3. You are a self-employed non-Dutch driver in goods transport. You give notification of temporary work in the Netherlands at the Dutch notification portal if you are not based in the Netherlands but you load or unload goods in the Netherlands.

For postings under the new rules of the mobility package the country with the most favourable working conditions applies. For example, if you are posting drivers to a country with more favourable conditions, you are obliged to offer them those conditions. For drivers posted from the Netherlands, it is rarely the case that conditions are better in the other country (except for some Scandinavian countries). In most cases, you will offer them Dutch terms and conditions.

Is the Dutch employment agency the driver's employer? In that case, the posting rules of the EU country where the drivers will work apply. If the working conditions are more favourable than in the Netherlands, the terms and conditions of the other EU country apply. You must usually file a notification for your workers in the other country. Retrieved from Your Europe where you will find handy overview of the posting rules that apply in other countries. 

This can be done in the European notification portal  (IMI) for road transport posting declarations. Create an account for your company. You will then be able to file a notification for your driver at the portal.

Tip! A handy online training course is available for the European notification portal.

You can check whether you are a posted employee on the page What constitutes posting?

You are entitled to the most favourable terms of employment. If you are a driver posted in a country with a higher minimum or collective wage than the Netherlands, you are entitled to the higher wage. Other terms of employment, such as holiday entitlement, may also be different. Retrieved from Your Europe is a handy overview of working conditions in other EU countries.

Discuss this with your employer and make it clear what you are entitled to. For example, share a link to the other EU country's terms of employment with your employer. Retrieved from Your Europe is a handy overview of working conditions in other EU countries.

Are you still not getting what you are entitled to? If you have any questions about the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), please visit the VNB. If this concerns the minimum wage, file a report on this with the Dutch Labour Authority.

As a self-employed driver, you are not covered by the posting rules. These rules are only for drivers on the payroll of an employer.

However, different rules may apply to self-employed road transport workers in another country. You will find information about thisOn the NIWO website.

You can check whether you are a posted employee on the page What constitutes posting?

If so, you are entitled to the Dutch core employment conditions. They include the right to the statutory or collective wage, a minimum number of holidays, equal treatment and certain working conditions of the EU country where they are working. The transport company you are employed by is obliged to offer you this.

Discuss this with your employer and make it clear what you are entitled to. For example, share this information page with your employer.

Are you still not getting what you are entitled to? Contact your union. Are they unable to help you? In that case, please contact the VNB or the Dutch Labour Authority.

As a self-employed driver, you are not covered by the posting rules. These rules are only for drivers on the payroll of an employer. Are you a self-employed person temporarily working in the Netherlands in goods transport? In that case, you will need to file a notification at the Dutch portal.

Other rules for self-employed people can be found at:

• Self employed persons in the transport sector (niwo.nl)
• Road transport driving and rest period rules

While working in the Netherlands, they are entitled to the Dutch core employment conditions. Inform your driver and clearly show on the payslip how wages are structured if the driver makes several trips in a row. You are also obliged to file a notification for your drivers in the European portal (IMI).

The pay slip should show :

• gross salary
• the statutory minimum wage
• taxes and contributions withheld
• holiday allowance
• a breakdown of any expenses allowances and any deductions.

Each component must be sufficiently specified. If no generally binding collective agreement applies, pay is subject to the statutory minimum wage. If a supplement or allowance tops up the minimum wage, it should be clear what costs it covers (e.g. meals or hotel). If this is unclear, the allowance or supplement should not be counted as part of the minimum wage. In that case, you are paying below the minimum wage and risk a fine.

Yes, posted drivers are subject to the  core employment conditions of the collective agreements declared generally binding. For more information on these collective agreements, go to Collective bargaining agreement for professional freight transport (TLN) - FNV. Some of this information is also available in other languages.

The new rules apply if you meet the following requirements:

1. You are a transport company (goods or passenger transport) based in the European Union, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. You employ the driver, who works from your establishment in another EU country.
2. You are not a self-employed driver.
3. Your driver performs one of the transport operations listed below:

• Cabotage in the Netherlands. That means your driver performs a trip between two points in the Netherlands (usually after a completed trip from abroad).
• Crosstrade transport (partly) in the Netherlands. This means the trip's start and end points are not in the country where you are based. If part of this trip takes place in the Netherlands, the Dutch core working conditions apply.

Example: a driver employed by a transport company based in the Czech Republic is transporting a cargo of goods from Antwerp to Rotterdam.

The European Commission has given some more detailed examples.

Frequently asked questions on posting of workers directive

Goods transport scenarios

Passenger transport scenarios

If a driver works through a (non-Dutch) temporary employment agency at a transport company in the Netherlands OR is posted to a Dutch branch within your company, he is also entitled to the  core employment conditions, the information is given under the heading: Posted temporary workers: additional working conditions and obligations. You must then file a notification via the Dutch online portal.

Important note: Additional rules apply to hiring drivers through a foreign temporary employment agency:

1. From day 1, the driver is entitled to the same basic working conditions as your own employees. Read more about these terms of employment.

Additional rules apply to professional freight transport. A transport company may only use employment agencies designated by the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management.

No, the data from the Dutch portal cannot be deleted. Your details are in the portal because you are legally obliged to file a notification in the portal under the Posted Workers in the European Union (Working Conditions) Act (WagwEU).

Since 1 June 2022, in almost all cases you are required to file a notification in the European portal. on the page 'what constitutes posting'.

Postings that you should continue to file a notification for in the Dutch notification portal:- Intra-group company postingsThat is if you post one of your employees to a branch of the same group or concern in another country. 

- Temporary employment by a foreign temporary employment agency- Cross-border transport operations by a self-employed driver based abroad. 

If you have reported the same postings in both the Dutch and the European Reporting Office, you can remove the notification in the Dutch Notification Portal yourself. There is no need for you to submit a request. Important note: you do however need to present a posting declaration if requested during a road check or after posting.

The standard posting rules apply if the new mobility package does not cover you and there is no bilateral or transit transport. In that case, you must file a notification for your drivers via the Dutch online portal.

Information on filing notifications in the Dutch portal for foreign employers.

Information on filing notifications in the Dutch portal for Dutch clients.