The CJEU’s case law on the role of posting certificates: A missed opportunity to combat social dumping

Abstract

The posting of workers between Member States of the EU has increased dramatically over the past decade. It has led to political and legal discussions on the employment and social rights of these workers during their temporary employment in the host Member State. As far as social security is concerned, these workers remain subject to the social security system of the sending Member State, provided that a number of conditions are fulfilled. Still, the application of these conditions and control of their observance did not turn out to be efficient and was even rendered problematic by the case law of the CJEU on the meaning of the so-called posting certificates. This article takes a closer look at the role of these certificates. It the analyses and discusses the case law on this and formulates some critical comments on it.