The A1 certificate constitutes an extremely important document for employees posted to work abroad. Indeed, this document confirms which social security system a given person is subject to.
1. Determination of the applicable social security legislation
The rules for determining the applicable social security legislation are specified in Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems (Text with relevance for the EEA and for Switzerland) (OJ L 166, 30.4.2004, p.1, as amended), hereinafter referred to as the Regulation.
The Regulation adopts a general rule that a person working in an employed capacity is subject to compulsory social security in the country where the work is performed. For example, if an employee is posted to work in France, the employer should pay social security contributions for him/her in France.
Obtaining an A1 certificate allows to make an exception to the above rule. This document certifies that the individual specified therein is covered by the social security system of the country that issued the attestation. This means that social security contributions for a worker holding an A1 certificate shall be paid in the State that issued the document and in accordance with the provisions in force there. Therefore, in the event that the employee from the previous example would have an A1 attestation indicating that he/she is subject to the social security system in Poland contributions for his/her work in France should be paid in Poland.
2. Application for an A1 certificate
The processing of applications for A1 certificates falls within the competence of the authorities responsible for social security matters in individual EU Member States. In Poland, The Social Insurance Instituion (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych – ZUS) is such an authority.
In Poland, a request for an A1 certificate can only be submitted via the ZUS PUE platform. The application is an interactive form.
Both the employer and the worker, as well as a self-employed person, may apply for an A1 certificate.
ZUS should examine a request for an A1 certificate without undue delay. In the event that the processing of the application would require an investigation procedure, the case should be considered within one month at the latest, and as regards particularly complex cases – within two months at the latest.
3. A1 certificates for workers posted within the EU
The provisions of the Regulation allow to distinguish several types of A1 certificates. The most popular ones include:
- A1 certificate issued pursuant to Article 12(1) of the Regulation, i.e. in connection with the secondment of employees to work in an employed capacity in another Member State,
- A1 certificate granted pursuant to Article 13(1) of the Regulation, i.e. in connection with the simultaneous or alternate performance of an activity as an employed person in the territory of two or more Member States.
3.1. A1 certificate issued pursuant to Article 12(1) of the Regulation
If an employee is to be posted to work in a country other than the State where he/she normally performs work, the A1 certificate referred to in Article 12(1) of the Regulation will be appropriate. In such a case, the person indicated in the A1 attestation, while performing work in the territory of the country to which he/she has been posted, is subject to the social security legislation of the State in which he/she normally works.
When considering an application for an A1 certificate pursuant to Article 12(1) of the Regulation, ZUS examines whether the posting employer ‘normally carries out its activities’ in the Republic of Poland. The aim is to determine whether the employer conducts a significant part of its activities, other than those related to internal management, in Poland. For this purpose, it’s necessary to take into account all criteria characterising the employer’s activities. The ratio of employees working in Poland and abroad, as well as contracts and turnover in Poland and abroad, are analysed.
The provision of Article 12(1) of the Regulation expressly stipulates that an A1 certificate can’t be issued if the employee for whom the attestation is to be granted has to replace another worker. A person who has been previously seconded may only be replaced in the event that his/her posting period hasn’t ended.
This type of A1 certificate may be issued for a maximum period of 24 months.
3.2. A1 certificate issued pursuant to Article 13(1) of the Regulation
An A1 certificate under Article 13(1) of the Regulation shall be requested in the event that an employee is to perform one or more separate jobs simultaneously or alternately in two or more EU countries, in the same or in several enterprises, either for one or more employers.
In order to obtain the attestation in question, it’s necessary to determine in which country the employee performs a substantial part of his/her work. This refers to a significant part of the work in an employed capacity in terms of quantity. However, this doesn’t have to be the largest part of the work. The assessment takes into account working time and remuneration. If these are less than 25% in a given State, a substantial part of the work isn’t performed there.
The application for an A1 certificate referred to in Article 13(1) of the Regulation must be accompanied by a planned work schedule. It should contain information on the intended distribution of working time during the period for which the attestation is to be issued. In the event that an A1 certificate under Article 13(1) of the Regulation has already been granted for a given employee, an archived work schedule shall be attached to the request for another such an attestation. It should include information on working arrangements for the period covered by the previous certificate.
The A1 certificate referred to in Article 13(1) of the Regulation is issued for a maximum period of 12 months.
4. Legal notice
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