European law on the coordination of social security sets out two scenarios in which a worker can provide services in more than one country:
- Posted Worker: Wherea company sends its employees to work temporarily in another European Unioncountry or countries to provide a service to a client in that other country.
- Multi-state worker: Where a worker works in two or more countries at the same time forone or for more than one employer.
According to the principle of unique legislation applicable, which applies to all EU workers who are or have been working in more than one MemberState, the regulations for the coordination of social security systems in theEU will determine which Member State with laws on this subject will apply to the worker, according to the circumstances in each case (temporary nature ,country of residence, work location, etc.).
Scenario one. Posted worker
The regulations state that, as a general rule, an employee working in a Member State will be subject to the laws of that country (lex loci laboris). However, if the employee who normally works in one country is temporarily sent by their employer to work in another Member State, they may be subject to the laws of the former Member State.
Therefore, if a company sends its employees to work temporarily in another European Union country, they will be considered posted workers. During these postings, the original contractual conditions will remain valid considering that, following the transposition in Spain of the Posted Workers Directive, these may be no less than the working conditions of workers in the destination country.
The duration of the posting will be subject to the specific job, which in principle will be for a maximum of 24 months and, once complete, they willr eturn to the place of work in the EU country of origin.
Before the posting, the employer must inform the competent SocialSecurity authorities and obtain the certificate accrediting the applicable law, known as “A1”, which the employee must carrying with them and which certifies that they are protected by the laws of the Member State from where the company has posted them.
In addition to notification of the posting, the worker must hold theEuropean Health Card if they are to be posted for up to 90 days, or the S1 Certificate if they are to be posted for over three months, in order to be able to receive health care in the destination country.
Scenario two. Multi state worker
In the case of employees who normally work in two or more Member States at the same time, and a significant part of their professional activity is conducted in their country of residence, they will remain linked to the social security system of that country.
A “significant part” of their activity is considered to be when the employee spends at least 25% of their time working in that country.
The worker must ask the competent Social Security authority for the document “A1”, which they must carry with them and that determines the laws of which country will apply to them.
Specific cases
- If you work for a significant time in your country of residence and you work for several companies or for several employers who have headquarters or head offices in different Member States, you are bound by the social security law of your Member State of residence
- If you work for two employers with head offices in different countries, one in your country of residence and another outside your country of residence, but you do not work for a significant time in your country of residence, you are bound by the social security law of the Member Statein which the main company or employer has their headquarters or head offices.
Conlusion
InternationalSocial Security law is governed under the principle of territoriality, whichstates that, in general, the worker is subject to the laws of the country inwhich they are working. As a result, they will also pay into the SocialSecurity system of that country.
In view of this general rule of territoriality, there are several exceptions of situations that allow for workers to pay into the system in the country of origin, which we discuss in this article: the Posted and the Multi-State Worker.
Contributed by GD Global Mobility.
