Global – UK & Israel

The Luxembourg government has increased the minimum salary requirements for European Union (EU) Blue Cards, effective 10 July 2016.

EU Blue Card holders in Luxembourg must now be paid at least €73,296 per year (1.5 times the average annual salary in Luxembourg), up from €71,946.

For EU Blue Card Holders with jobs in shortage occupations within group 1 (managers) or 2 (professionals) of the ISCO (International Standard Classification of Occupations), the minimum salary is now fixed at €58,636.80 per year (1.2 times the average annual salary), up from €57,556.80.

The Luxembourg government regularly adjusts the minimum salary requirements for foreign nationals.

The EU Blue Card is a work and residence permit, implemented in most EU countries, designed to attract highly-skilled non-EU nationals. To qualify, applicants need advanced qualifications or substantial experience, among other requirements. Benefits include the flexibility to change employers or move to another EU country, and work permission for a spouse.

The Swedish Migration Agency has recently enforced a December 2015 court ruling, requiring employers to prove they have provided the correct salary and insurance for their foreign national employees throughout their employment period in Sweden.

The most significant change is that work permit extension applications must now be supported by copies of insurance certificates for health, life, occupational and pension insurance from all employers for the whole period of employment in Sweden, rather than a letter from the employer stating that insurance was provided.

In addition, the applicant must provide pay slips and tax declaration receipts for all the months that the employee has worked in Sweden, rather than for the twelve most recent months that were required before.

The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) of the Netherlands has announced that, effective 1 January 2017, employers of Japanese nationals are once again required to obtain work permits for their Japanese national employees.

Japanese nationals became work permit exempt as of December 2014 based on a judgement by the Council of State, the highest court of the Netherlands, which made a link between the Dutch-Japanese Trade treaty and the Dutch-Swiss Friendship treaty, interpreting the most-favored nation principle enshrined in the Dutch-Japanese treaty as to imply that Japanese nationals should be treated equally with Swiss nationals and have free access to the Dutch labor market.

However, on 20 June 2016 the Dutch Foreign Ministry published an interpretation of the Dutch-Swiss Friendship treaty with the conclusion that entry, residence and access to the labor market remains a national matter to be regulated by national governments. According to the IND, this declaration requires Japanese nationals wanting to work in the Netherlands to secure work authorization once again. The Council of State still needs to adjudicate on whether this interpretation is in line with the Kingdom’s constitution. A judgement which may bring legal certainty is expected by the end of August 2016.

• A foreign employer sending any employee (either EU national or non-EU national) to Poland on secondment, from either within the EU or outside the EU, must now provide a statement to PIP no later than the day the assignment starts, containing specific information on the secondment.

• The employer must notify PIP of any changes in the information included in the statement no later than within seven days of the date of the change.

• The employer is required to keep certain documents relating to the secondment in Poland, either in electronic or paper format.

• These documents must be available in Poland during the secondment and for up to two years after the end of the secondment.

• The employer must provide PIP with any of these documents, along with their translation into Polish, not later than within five working days of receipt of the request (or within 15 days if requested during the two years after the end of the secondment).

• The employer must designate a person resident in Poland who is authorised to access the secondment documents and to contact PIP on the employer’s behalf, as required.

• The new legislation also establishes protections for seconded employees in terms of working hours, holidays, pay, health and safety, maternity leave and non-discrimination, to ensure that these are in line with what is required for locally resident employees in Poland.

• Any employer posting workers to Poland who fails to provide the required information or documents at the request of PIP, or who otherwise breaches the provisions of the new law on posting workers, will be subject to a fine of between 1000zł and 30,000zł (about $250 – $7550).