On 1 July 2023, the Framework Agreement on Cross-Border Telework entered into force. Under this agreement, employees who work between 25 - 50% of their total working hours at home in their state of residence can rely on the exemption from the European rules. 

Under the main rule, employees who work in several member states are insured in the country of residence if they work more than 25% of the total working hours in the country of residence. For cross-border workers who previously worked 100% in the Netherlands and, therefore, were subject to Dutch social security, but who wish to work from home two days a week (40% in the case of full-time employment), this would mean that social security would shift from the Netherlands to the country of residence. To prevent this, the Framework Agreement on Cross-Border Telework entered into force on 1 July 2023. The laws on social security of the country of employment may continue to apply if employees work less than 50% of their total working hours in the country of residence. 

In order to make use of this Framework Agreement and the exemption from the main rule, an application must be submitted to the Social Insurance Bank (SVB). It has been possible to submit applications since 1 July 2023. In principle, an application has 3 months’ retroactive effect, but applications submitted before 1 July 2024 have retroactive effect to the effective date of the framework agreement (1 July 2023). 

For more information on the Framework Agreement, see our earlier news release on this subject. The following countries have already signed the Framework Agreement: The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden. For the Netherlands, the fact that Germany and Belgium have signed the agreement is the most significant.

If you have employees who have been benefiting from this scheme since 1 July 2023, make sure that the application for an A1 certificate of coverage is submitted with the SVB by 30 June 2024 at the latest! We can obviously take care of this application on your behalf.