Bulgaria: Bulgaria waives derogation as to transposition of Directives 2014/67/EU and 96/71/EО into Bulgarian legislation
Since the beginning of 2017 new provisions in the Bulgarian Labour Code have been in force. They apply when Bulgarian employees are seconded or posted to work in another country within the EU, the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation.
In the case of secondment, the employee assigned to work in a foreign country is managed and supervised by their employer based in Bulgaria. In the event of posting, the employee works under the management and supervision of the user enterprise. In both cases, labour relations exist between the employee and their Bulgarian employer. The amendment to the Bulgarian Labour Code sets an obligation for the Bulgarian employer to pay remuneration in an amount covering at least the minimum wage applicable in the accepting country – as from the first day of work abroad. According to the previous statutory framework, payment of the minimum wage was mandatory upon secondment for more than 30 days. The provision is reciprocally applicable to cases of acceptance of employees seconded or posted to Bulgaria. Given the differences in economic standards between member states the new provision can be expected to primarily burden Bulgarian employers.
In addition, tt should be borne in mind that an official statement issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in March 2017 sets forth several exceptions in the transport sector to which the previous law regime continues to apply.
Source: Directive 2014/67/EU on the enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC; Bulgarian Labour Code