EU social security regulation updated

Subject to certain conditions, internationally mobile workers can obtain an A1 certificate confirming that they remain covered by their current social security system while working in another Member State. This prevents social security contributions from being due in more than one Member State.

The adjusted regulation changes how applicable social security legislation is determined and when an A1 certificate needs to be requested.

Assignments

• Replacement. Employees and self-employed persons may remain covered by their home-country system if the anticipated assignment is shorter than 24 months. Under the revised rules, they may replace another posted person, provided the combined duration of all such activities in the host Member State does not exceed 24 months.
• Re-assignment. In case of a re-assignment to a Member State, the social security coverage can continue if at least two months have elapsed from the end of the previous period.
• Advance notification. When a worker is assigned to a Member State other than the one whose social security system applies, the competent authority must be notified in advance and an A1 certificate must be requested.
• Business trips and short activities. For business trips ór activities lasting no more than three consecutive working days within a 30-day period, no A1 certificate is required. The construction sector remains an exception: an A1 certificate is still required for such short activities, supporting risk assessments and the detection of fraud or abuse.
• Definition Business trips. The revised regulation defines business trips as a temporary activity as an employed or self-employed person, which is limited in time and which is related to the business interests of the employer or, in the case of a self-employed person, the person concerned, excluding the provision of services or the delivery of goods, but including attending business meetings, cultural and scientific events, conferences and seminars, such as those related to academic research, or receiving training.
• Prior coverage. For an employee including the employees recruited specifically, for an assignment in another Member State, an A1 certificate can be requested only if the employee has been covered by the social security legislation of the employer’s Member State for at least three months immediately before employment begins.

Multistate workers

• 24 months. Coverage for multistate workers may be determined for up to 24 months, based on their expected circumstances over the next 12 calendar months. After this period, applicable legislation must be reassessed in light of the worker’s situation.
• Workers residing outside the EU. For an employed or self-employed person who resides outside the EU and works in two or more Member States, the standard rules for determining the applicable legislation apply. For this purpose, the person is deemed to be resident in the Member State where the majority of the EU working time is carried out. 
• Registered office or place of business. To assess an employer’s registered office or place of business, it is relevant to determine where key decisions are made and where the central administration operates. Relevant factors include turnover, the location of general meetings and where activities are regularly performed. All circumstances must be considered; the listed factors are not exhaustive.

Social security authorities

When an A1 certificate is requested, the social security authorities must now issue a certificate identifying the applicable legislation or, if this cannot be done immediately, acknowledge the request as proof of notification. The provisional determination becomes final after two months unless an institution objects or requires more time.

Further, the adjusted regulation clarifies which Member State is responsible for unemployment benefits, improves benefit portability, formally recognises long-term care benefits and simplifies coordination of cross-border family benefits.

The regulation will enter into force in the month after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Some procedural provisions will apply immediately, while some changes—including the revised rules on unemployment, posting and long-term care—will apply 24 months later. This transition period gives Member States time to update their systems and administrative procedures.

The adopted regulation is the most extensive update to the EU social security coordination framework in more than a decade. Although its core principles remain unchanged, employers with international mobile workforces should review their mobility programs, assignment arrangements and A1 application processes. The new framework combines stricter compliance expectations and enforcement, making timely and accurate administration increasingly important.