What does the mobility package change?

A new year usually means a lot of legal and tax changes – and this is also the case for international transport and Polish hauliers. This is, of course, about the so-called mobility package, which is already causing a lot of concern among transport entrepreneurs.

What is the Mobility Package?

The mobility package is a set of regulations that aims to standardise road transport within the European Union by changing the rules already in place in three important areas for transport companies

• driving and rest times and tachographs;
• the posting of drivers;
• market access.

The EU mobility package is a legal solution that comes into force on 2 February 2022 throughout the Community. However, Polish entrepreneurs are concerned about the new regulations due to the potential increase in the costs of transport operations. If this is the case, higher costs will certainly mean an increase in the price of transport services – ultimately, customers will also be affected by the changes introduced by the mobility package.

What does the mobility package introduce?

It is interesting to note that the first mobility package already entered into force in August 2020. The changes it contains concern no less than 5 aspects of the rules on driving and rest times for drivers.

1. The mandatory organisation of the driver’s return to the operational centre (base) or the driver’s place of residence every 4 weeks – return for at least 45 hours; in the case of taking two reduced weekly rests en route, return before the next regular weekly rest (every 3 weeks).
2. Stricter rules for shortened weekly rests. An international driver may take two reduced weekly rests in a row (2x24h), under the conditions that – at least two reduced weekly rests have been taken outside the border; two regular and two reduced weekly rests have been taken in every four weeks; after two reduced weekly rests, the next one should be a regular weekly rest, preceded by compensation for the two previous reduced rests – in the base or the place of residence (the return/place must be documented).
3. Clarification and reinforcement of the ban on taking regular weekly rest in the vehicle cab – the ban applies to regular weekly rests and to rests of more than 45 hours (e.g. due to receiving compensation); the additional assumption that the 45-hour rest takes place in a gender-friendly place with appropriate sanitary and sleeping facilities.
4. Possibility of extending daily and weekly driving by a maximum of 1 or 2 hours when returning to base or home for weekly rest – need to document deviation from rules and special circumstances, as for Art. 12/561/2006 (additional paragraph in Art. 12); obligation to compensate this time with any other rest within 3 weeks; extension of driving time by 2 hours only if a driver takes an additional 30 minutes break before this period and returns for a regular weekly rest – 45h; it is not possible to invoke this paragraph in case of violation of the weekly rest rules. When other rules are violated, e.g. weekly rest, daily crew rest, continuous driving, bi-weekly driving.

Mobility package and changes in 2022

2022 will see the next phase of implementation of the mobility package. From 2 February 2022, within the EU, drivers will have to be paid the full minimum wage appropriate to the country in which they perform their service. Transit journeys will be excluded, as well as bilateral transport to and from Poland. However, the mobility package will apply to cabotage journeys – if a Polish company driver transports goods in another EU country or cross trade, i.e. from one EU country to another, other than the haulier’s registered office.

The following will not be subject to delegation:

• transit (a journey without loading or unloading);
• bilateral/bilateral transports (international transport to and from the country of establishment) with a maximum of two additional loading/unloading operations (subject to additional conditions).

The following will be subject to posting:

• cabotage transport operations;
• cross-trade.

The mobility package introduces fundamental changes to the payment of remuneration to drivers from February 2022. Polish entrepreneurs will have to pay drivers per diems and lump-sums for overnight stays, which will not be counted as part of the foreign remuneration, as well as a compensatory allowance being the difference between the Polish and the foreign remuneration due, even though the increased cost of living of the employee will be compensated with a much higher remuneration received for the time of work covered by the provisions on posted workers – equal to the remuneration received by drivers employed in the so-called host countries