A1 Certificate

Your employee is on a private workation or business trip abroad and returns with a hefty fine. How did that happen? It's quite simple; they didn't have an A1 certificate. Since July 1,2019, employers must issue this document to every employee traveling to an EU country.

What is an A1 Certificate?
The A1 certificate is a document that serves as proof that the social security legislation of the employer state stays applicable during a period abroad. This document is valid throughout the EU/EEA countries and Switzerland.

What is the difference between an A1 and CoC?
The CoC can be issued for all countries around the world as long as there is a Social Security Treaty between countries, while the A1 certificate is only between EU/EEA countries.

Why do you need an A1?
You need an A1 document to avoid paying social security contributions in both your employment country and the destination one. This document proves you're fully covered by the social security system of your employment country, preventing arising issues on where you are supposed to pay social security contributions.

Where do you need an A1?
An A1 document should be requested in the country of employment every time an employee go on a workation to a country where a social security treaty is in place.

What could happen when being on a workation without an A1? (In practice, not being provided with an A1 could entail a massive administrative burden for both employer and employee. The reason is that talents could become liable for social security payments in both the employment country and the country where they're temporarily working from. Eventually, this would lead to complications in eligibility for benefits and hinder their ability to navigate and utilize social security systems properly.