European social security update: provisional agreement reached and confirmed by member states

Representatives of the EU member states have confirmed political agreement on the amendment of EU Regulation 883/2004. This EU Regulation coordinates the social security position of individuals within the European Union. 

What are the proposed changes?

The amendment touches on several areas of social security. The following changes will be relevant for HR and Global Mobility teams:

Unemployment benefits (WW)

• The period during which employees can take their benefit payments with them to another member state has been extended from three to six months.
• In many cases, the country of employment becomes responsible for paying unemployment benefits (rather than the country of residence), particularly for cross-border workers.
• To be eligible for unemployment benefit (WW), the employee must have worked in the employment country for at least 22 weeks. 

Secondment and A1 procedures

• The introduction of a mandatory prior notification for cross-border work (e.g. secondment).
• Exceptions apply for very short-term activities (e.g. short business trips).
• One of the current requirements to be eligible for an A1 certificate is that the employee must have had compulsory insurance in that country for at least one month prior to the application. This period has been extended from one to three months. 
• It is now permitted for different secondments (postings) in the European Union to follow one another consecutively. Under the new Regulation, there must be a break of at least two months between secondments to be eligible to apply for an A1 certificate again.
• The rules for determining in which country an employee has social security cover if they work in several member states will be further clarified. 

Next steps and planning

• The European Parliament has to formally approve the agreement.
• Followed by publication in the Official Journal of the EU. 
• The main changes are expected to enter into force about two years after publication.

As soon as the text of the amended EU Regulation is available, you will receive an update from us via our newsletter.