Posting of Workers Directive: A1 certificate

Subject: Posting of Workers Directive: A1 certificate

The Posting of Workers Directive determines which social security legislation applies to posted workers.

Under German social security law, there is no difference between a posting lasting several months and a business trip/mission. In particular, there is no de minimis ceiling for short periods of travel on official business. This means that, for any cross-border activity, no matter how brief – even a visit of just a few hours – an ‘A1’ certificate (‘statement of applicable legislation’) is needed.

This A1 certificate has to be obtained as and when required; it therefore cannot be issued in advance for more than one trip.

Due to the Directive on the enforcement of the Posting of Workers Directive, the legal situation in three countries in particular – Austria, France and Belgium – is now untenable for businesses and calls into question the free movement of workers. Social security law in those Member States not only requires the permits in question to be obtained in advance: it also requires the persons concerned to bring the permit with them when travelling to the foreign country on business, and those who infringe these rules may in some cases be subject to serious penalties.

1. Is the Commission aware of this problem?

2. Does the Commission agree that the practice in these Member States constitutes a disproportionate obstacle to freedom to provide services and free movement of workers? 3. What does the Commission intend to do to reduce bureaucracy (REFIT process) and tackle this problem?

Answer given by Ms Thyssen on behalf of the European Commission

(16 May 2019)

The purpose of the A1 certificate is to show that its holder is already affiliated to a social security scheme of a Member State, and therefore confirms that the person has no obligations to pay contributions in another Member State. It is issued based on the rules on social security coordination, not on the Enforcement Directive on Posting of Workers (1).

Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 (2) provides that the employer or the person concerned shall inform the competent institutions in their own Member State about their planned activities in another Member State, whenever possible before this activity takes place.

Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 provides that, at the request of the person concerned or of the employer, in case of activity performed in a Member State other than the competent Member State, the competent institution shall issue an A1 certificate.

In the course of the ongoing revision of the social security coordination rules (3), the Commission has been in favour of clearly exempting business trips from the requirement of prior notification in the home Member State.

EC law does not deprive Member States the right to check that persons performing activities in their territories are affiliated to a social security scheme in another Member State.

⋅1∙ Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers

in the framework of the provision of services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the internal market Information System (‘the IMI Regulation’) (OJ L 159, 28.5.2014, p. 11).

⋅2∙ Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC)

No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems (OJ L 284, 30.10.2009, p. 1). ⋅3∙ COM(2016) 815 final.