If workers travel to the United States of America, the rules concerning the posting of employees to EU territory can’t be applied. Special regulations apply here. The Polish-American social security agreement which specifies, among others, the principles for determining the appropriate social security legislation is one of them.
1. Polish-American agreement
Issues concerning the use of the social security in Polish-American relations are determined in the Agreement on Social Security between the Republic of Poland and the United States of America, signed in Warsaw on 2 April 2008 (Official Journal of 2009, No. 46, item 374), hereinafter referred to as the Agreement. It entered into force on 1 March 2009. It contains provisions specifying, among others, the rules for avoiding double contributions, the aggregation of insurance periods and the transfer of benefits.
2. Social security legislation applicable to workers
The Agreement establishes the principle that employees are subject to the social security legislation of the country in which they perform work. However, this principle isn’t absolute. In the event that a person employed in the territory of the first Contracting State by an employer operating in this country is temporarily sent by that employer to the territory of the second Contracting State, the worker shall be subject to the social security system of the first State as if he/she were employed there the whole time. However, the anticipated period of employment in the territory of the second State can’t exceed five years. The rule in question also applies in a situation where a worker was sent by his/her employer from the territory of the first Contracting State to the territory of a third country and, during his/her employment in the third country, was compulsorily subject to the social security provisions of the first State, and then, he/she was sent by the employer from the territory of the third country to the second Contracting State.
3. PL/USA 1 Certificate
The PL/USA 1 certificate constitutes the document confirming that a given person is subject to Polish social security provisions. In order to obtain the attestation in question, it’s necessary to submit an application to ZUS (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych – Social Insurance Istitution) on the official form.
The PL/USA 1 certificate is issued for a maximum period of five years, but concerns a strictly defined departure to the United States. In practice, in the event that an employee provided work in the US and then returned to Poland, and the employer intends to send him/her back to the United States, it will be necessary to apply for a new attestation.
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