Minimum wage for truck drivers

Uverejnen 05. janur 2015

Vytlai

Germany: German minimum wage applies to all employees who work in Germany including
truck drivers who cross Germany
Starting from 1 January 2015 a minimum wage of 8.50 EUR per hour applies to all employees
whose place of work is in Germany irrespective of their country of origin or the country in
which they are employed. This also applies to all truck drivers who cross Germany. The Law on
Minimum Wages imposes several duties on employers (including foreign employers) that
employ drivers who work at least a certain time in Germany. These duties are outlined below.
Compulsory registration of employees
Foreign employers need to register their employees who will be working in Germany with the
competent German authorities (Bundesfinanzdirektion West in Cologne) before they start their
work. Registration needs to be fulfilled by using the correct blank form for employment
planning. The filled-in form may be sent to the authorities by telefax. The drivers do not need to
carry the form with them.
Keeping records of working hours
Additionally, employers need to keep a record of the daily working hours of their drivers. They
need to record the beginning, end and duration of drivers daily working time. Recording needs
to take place no later than the seventh day from the respective working day. Records need to be
keep for at least two years starting from the day relevant for registration (i.e. working day + 8
days + 2 years). There is no special form for recording data, which may also be kept in electronic
form.
For truck drivers the duty to record is simplified: Under certain circumstances drivers only need
to record the duration of their daily work (but not the beginning and end). However, this only
applies if the employee can independently decide on their working time and breaks.
Keeping necessary documentation ready in Germany
Employers must keep necessary documentation available in Germany for inspection by the
German customs authorities (who are competent to check compliance with minimum wage
requirements). Documentation includes:

A copy of the employment contract (or all relevant information under directive
91/533/EWG).

Records of working hours (see above).

Payroll slips.

Evidence of actual payment of wages.

All documentation must be kept in Germany, in German. Employers may decide themselves
where in Germany the documentation is kept.

Such proof shall consist of a model declaration and should be sent before the shipment to a special German Fax Number for
this purpose.

The German Law on the minimum wage from 11th August 2008 establishes a minimum wage of 8.5 EUR per
hour to be applied from 1st January 2015.

This Law shall also apply to foreign workers working for foreign companies in Germany. Therefore, as the
German associations has reported us, the Law will also apply to foreign drivers working for foreign companies but
passing through German territory.

In the case of international transport, this will only refer to the part of the journey within Germany. In the case
of cabotage in Germany, this will refer to the whole journey.

In the case of foreign carriers, they will have the obligation to communicate the transport to be carried out.
The rule comes under the Directive 96/71/CE of posting of workers within the framework of provision of services. All Member
States must guarantee that the workers being posted for a service are paid the minimum wage of the State where the
service is performed.
Following the discussions with the Ministries of Finance and Labour in Germany concerning the declaration of minimum
wage of workers performing their work in Germany, we made them the following considerations:

Can my customers demand me the Declaration?

According to German law, the customers are responsible for the enforcement of minimum wage by their suppliers that have
workers posted in Germany. For this reason, many German customers require their transport suppliers the
certification of the minimum wages compliance.

How do I make the Declaration?

The German minimum wage will also apply to foreign

drivers doing international traffic
20 January 2015
inShare

From 1st January 2015 foreign carriers doing any kind of transport in Germany must prove that the wages of their drivers
meet the German minimum wage law (8.50 EUR per hour).

Such proof shall consist of a model declaration and should be sent before the shipment to a special German Fax Number for
this purpose.

The German Law on the minimum wage from 11th August 2008 establishes a minimum wage of 8.5 EUR per
hour to be applied from 1st January 2015.

This Law shall also apply to foreign workers working for foreign companies in Germany. Therefore, as the
German associations has reported us, the Law will also apply to foreign drivers working for foreign companies but
passing through German territory.

In the case of international transport, this will only refer to the part of the journey within Germany. In the case
of cabotage in Germany, this will refer to the whole journey.

In the case of foreign carriers, they will have the obligation to communicate the transport to be carried out.
The rule comes under the Directive 96/71/CE of posting of workers within the framework of provision of services. All Member
States must guarantee that the workers being posted for a service are paid the minimum wage of the State where the
service is performed.
Following the discussions with the Ministries of Finance and Labour in Germany concerning the declaration of minimum
wage of workers performing their work in Germany, we made them the following considerations:

Can my customers demand me the Declaration?

According to German law, the customers are responsible for the enforcement of minimum wage by their suppliers that have
workers posted in Germany. For this reason, many German customers require their transport suppliers the
certification of the minimum wages compliance.

How do I make the Declaration?

There are three models of application (German, English or French). You can use any of the three declarations since they are
basically the same but we recommend to use the German one.

These declaration models can be downloaded in:

German version:
By

clicking

on 033037

(or

introducing

033037

in

the

searcher

of

this

website)

English version:
By clicking on 033037E.

French version:
By clicking on 033037F.

Where should I send the Declaration?

At the moment, there is no email address. It has to be sent by fax at

Bundesfinanzdirektion West, Kln.

Fax: 0049 221964870

What proof do I have?

The receipt

of

fax

proving

it

has

been

sent

successfully.

Dates of the trips

If it is not an only trip, there is the possibility to indicate a 6-month period (from start date to end date) to avoid the need to
send an application each time.

Working hours
Only real working hours are taken into account. Breaks and other rest periods are not considered.

Should my drivers carry any proof?

It is recommendable that employees (in this case carriers) carry:

Copy of the application

Proof of the fax being sent

Company declaration duly signed and stamped.

The German minimum wage will also apply to foreign

drivers doing international traffic
20 January 2015
inShare

From 1st January 2015 foreign carriers doing any kind of transport in Germany must prove that the wages of their drivers
meet the German minimum wage law (8.50 EUR per hour).

Such proof shall consist of a model declaration and should be sent before the shipment to a special German Fax Number for
this purpose.

The German Law on the minimum wage from 11th August 2008 establishes a minimum wage of 8.5 EUR per
hour to be applied from 1st January 2015.

This Law shall also apply to foreign workers working for foreign companies in Germany. Therefore, as the
German associations has reported us, the Law will also apply to foreign drivers working for foreign companies but
passing through German territory.

In the case of international transport, this will only refer to the part of the journey within Germany. In the case
of cabotage in Germany, this will refer to the whole journey.

In the case of foreign carriers, they will have the obligation to communicate the transport to be carried out.
The rule comes under the Directive 96/71/CE of posting of workers within the framework of provision of services. All Member
States must guarantee that the workers being posted for a service are paid the minimum wage of the State where the
service is performed.
Following the discussions with the Ministries of Finance and Labour in Germany concerning the declaration of minimum
wage of workers performing their work in Germany, we made them the following considerations:

Can my customers demand me the Declaration?

According to German law, the customers are responsible for the enforcement of minimum wage by their suppliers that have
workers posted in Germany. For this reason, many German customers require their transport suppliers the
certification of the minimum wages compliance.

How do I make the Declaration?

There are three models of application (German, English or French). You can use any of the three declarations since they are
basically the same but we recommend to use the German one.

These declaration models can be downloaded in:

German version:
By

clicking

on 033037

(or

introducing

033037

in

the

searcher

of

this

website)

English version:
By clicking on 033037E.

French version:
By clicking on 033037F.

Where should I send the Declaration?

At the moment, there is no email address. It has to be sent by fax at

Bundesfinanzdirektion West, Kln.

Fax: 0049 221964870

What proof do I have?

The receipt

of

fax

proving

it

has

been

sent

successfully.

Dates of the trips

If it is not an only trip, there is the possibility to indicate a 6-month period (from start date to end date) to avoid the need to
send an application each time.

Working hours
Only real working hours are taken into account. Breaks and other rest periods are not considered.

Should my drivers carry any proof?

It is recommendable that employees (in this case carriers) carry:

Copy of the application

Proof of the fax being sent

Company declaration duly signed and stamped.

I indicated in the declaration some dates but finally they were not these ones. What should I do?
The corrections can be made until 7 days after the expiration of the declaration. So, if you declare a trip and then it is not
carried out or the dates are changed, the corrections will be possible only until 7 days after the date in which the trip was
supposed

to

be

completed.

Gross wages
The gross wage of 8.5 eur is the basis by which the calculation is made, assuming that each company is going to declare
and pay the corresponding tax of his country.
Self-employers
It applies to employees of companies of all EU countries. Therefore, it does not apply to self-employers.