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Unemployment insurance when working in two or more EU countries
If you carry out your work in several EEA countries, it is important that you clarify in which country you are covered by social security (including unemployment insurance). You can only be covered by social security in one country. If you work in several countries, you must apply for a decision (A1 certificate) from the social authorities of the country in which you live.
It is important that you do not just keep paying social security contributions (or in countries with voluntary unemployment insurance, keep membership of an Unemployment Insurance Fund) if you cannot be socially insured in the country.
If you are insured in the wrong country or "double insured", this can mean that you completely lose your right to unemployment benefits.
For persons who works in two or more EU member states, Article 13 in Regulation 883/2004 sets out rules on how to determine in which country the person has to be covered by social security, including unemployment insurance.
A person who normally pursues an activity as an employed person in two or more Member States shall be subject to:
- the legislation of the Member State of residence if he pursues a substantial part of his activity in that Member State or if he is employed by various undertakings or various employers whose registered office or place of business is in different Member States, or
- the legislation of the Member State in which the registered office or place of business of the undertaking or employer employing him is situated, if he does not pursue a substantial part of his activities in the Member State of residence.
According to the last option - "..the Member State in which the registered office or place of business of the undertaking or employer employing him is situated..", the CJEU has stated in a decision (case C-610/18) regarding lorry drivers, that a letter box company could not be the employer, regardless of the fact that they were the employer according to the employment contract.
The true employer was instead the undertakings in another EU country which had actual authority over the lorry driver, which bore, in reality, the costs of paying his or her wages, and which had the actual power to dismiss him or her.
You are covered by Article 13 if you:
- simultaneously works in two or more EEA countries for one or more employers, e.g. persons who have an employment relationship in 2 EEA countries, or simultaneously work in two or more EEA countries for the same employer, or
- alternately works in two or more EEA countries for one or more employers, e.g. an engineer who is employed by a french company, and works for the company on 3 consecutive projects of 4, 4 and 5 months in 3 different EU countries. Or a guide living in Germany and employed by a german travel agency to work alternately for six months in Greece and Spain.
It can be permanent or temporary work in another member state, and it does not have to be within the same industry. It is also not decisive how often or regularly the person changes the country of work.
Travel days in one or more EEA countries also means that you work in several countries.
If you only work very little in one or more EEA countries, this must be disregarded. In that case, it will mean that the rule on work in several EEA countries must not be used to decide which country's legislation you are covered by (see more below).
Determing the country to be covered in
If your work in your country of residence accounts for 25% or more of your total working time and/or pay, then you are covered by social security in your country of residence. If less than 25% then you are covered in the country where your employer's head office or business is located.
Do you have the right to home working days (in your country of residence), and work for a company based in another EU country, you also per definition work in several countries. If your home working days make up at least 25% of your working time, you can thus retain social security in your country of residence.
If you are employed by one or more employers based in your country of residence and work in several countries, including your country of residence, you will always be covered by social security legislation in your country of residence.
Special cases
| If you... | You are covered... |
|---|---|
| work for two employers with head offices in different countries, one in your country of residence and one outside your country of residence but have no substantial activity in your country of residence | where your employer's head office or place of business is located outside your country of residence |
| simultaneously works for two or more employers, and at least two of them are domiciled in EU/EEA countries other than your country of residence, and you have no substantial activity in your country of residence | in your country of residence |
| are self-employed and have no substantial activity in your country of residence | where the centre of interest of your activities is located |
| are employed in one country and carry out self-employed work in another | in the country where you are employed |
Marginal work is disregarded
As mentioned above, the rule about work in several EEA countries is not used when the vast majority of work is carried out in one EEA country, and only very little in one or more other EEA countries.
It is considered marginal employment if the employment is insignificant in a financial and temporal sense. When assessing the scope of activities, emphasis is placed on working hours and/or wages. If, overall, less than five percent of the activity is carried out in one or more member states, it indicates that the employment is of marginal scope, see decision C-570/15 from the European Court of Justice.
In these cases, however, you must still contact the social authorities in the country of residence, who will decide that you must be covered by social security in the country where you work almost all of your time, despite the fact that the starting point after using the rules reviewed above would be different.
Does not apply to successive employments
The above rules on work in several EEA countries do not apply when you are employed from time to time to work in another EEA country (you change work country from time to time). In these cases, the person cannot be considered to normally work in two or more EEA countries.
The person may be considered to be posted.
The rules on work in several EU countries or the rules on posting?
Since there are different rules about where/how you are covered by unemployment insurance, depending on whether you fall under the rules for posting within the EEA or the rules for work in several EEA countries (Article 13), it is important to define when the different rules must be applied.
For employees, particular attention must be paid to which workplace is stipulated in the employment contract. In order to be covered by the rules on work in several EEA countries, there must be a fixed agreement in advance in the employment contract that the person must work in two or more member states.
It can, for example, be a salesperson residing in Germany who is employed by a german company. According to the employment contract, he must have travel activity (of a lasting/returning nature) in several EEA countries in order to meet customers. It is covered by the rules on work in several EEA countries.
An engineer who resides in France and is employed by a french company attends courses and conferences sometimes a year in other EEA countries. These activities are not mentioned in the employment contract, nor are they part of the person's job description. Since the work abroad here is not determined in advance and is of an ad hoc nature, the person cannot be considered to be covered by the rules on work in several EEA countries. The person may be considered to be posted.
- Unemployment insurance in Europe →
- Social security coordination →
Working in two countries
You might also be interested in:
⇒Unemployment Insurance Schemes in EU
⇒Unemployment Insurance in the Nordic countries
Key points of EU Unemployment Insurance coordination
- Transferring periods of work and insurance between EEA countries As an EU citizen you can transfer acquired rights from Unemployment Insurance when moving between EU/EEA contries. In this way it may be easier to become entitled to unemployment benefit in the country you move to.
In the vast majority of the Member states the aggregation rule become fully applicable as soon as you starts to work in the country. However in Denmark, Belgium and Finland you must work some period there before you can use the aggregation rule.
You need a PD U1 document in the country you leave or if the involved countries use electronically exhange (EESSI) there will be issued a SED U002. The countries who issues the highest number of PD U1 documents are Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The countries who receives most PD U1 documents are Lithuania and Italy. - Transferring unemployment benefits Under certain conditions you can go to another EU country to look for work and continue to receive your unemployment benefits from the country where you became unemployed. The period you can export your unemployment benefits varies from 3 to 6 months in the different Member states.
You have to apply for a PD U2 document in the country you leave, or if you haven't done that the institution in the receiving country must request a SED U008 from the competent institution in your last country.
The countries who issues the highest number of PD U2 documents are Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark. Poland is the country who receives by far most PD U2 documents. - Unemployment benefits coverage According to OECD the net replacement of income after 2 months of unemployment, for a single person without children whose previous in-work earnings were 67% of the average wage varies from 33 percent (Ireland) to 91 percent (Belgium). Read more here..
- Having residence in another EU country than where you work? According to EU social security coordination rules you must only be insured against unemployment in one country at a time. As a generel rule this country is where you work.
In Member states who have compulsory insurance, you will automatically be covered when you start working there.
However you may be insured by your country of residence if you are posted to a EU/EEA country or work in two or more EU/EEA countries at a time. In these situations you can not your self decide where to have unemployment Insurance, but you (or your employer) must apply for a PD A1 document which states in which country you are covered by social security, including Unemployment Insurance. Special rule also apply for cross-border workers ("frontier workers"). - Third-country Nationals working in EU/EEANON-EEA citizens are covered by Unemployment Insurance in the EU countries who have compulsory Unemployment Insurance. In countries with voluntary Unemployment Insurance (Denmark, Sweden and Finland) third-country nationals can become member of an Unemployment Insurance Fund.
In the most countries Third-country nationals can also use the EU Coordination rules when moving within EU/EEA (however not in Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
Third-country nationals in short-tem working relations often faces problems with actually get Unemployment benefits, even though they have contributed to the system. This is due to the fact that one normally need a residence permit which allow one to take any job, and also because of a qualifying period in most countries between 6-12 months.