The UK has reached an agreement with the EU on its future relationship. The social cost coordination provisions in this agreement ensure workers who move between the UK and the EU only have to pay into one country’s social security scheme at a time.
These are call the ‘Detached Worker’ rules, and the country the worker will pay social costs in depends on whether the EU country in which they normally live has agreed to apply the ‘Detached Worker’ rules. The EU country must agree to implement the ‘Detached Worker’ rules by 1 February 2021 in order for them to continue to apply, but it is expected that all countries will do so.
An EU based worker coming to work temporarily in the UK from a country which has agreed to apply the ‘Detached Worker’ rule will be required to only pay social costs in their home EU country whilst working temporarily for up to 2 years in the UK where the ‘Detached Worker’ rules apply. The worker should apply for the relevant “Detached Worker” certificate (previously called a “Floating A1 certificate”) in their home country to confirm that they are still paying Social Costs there.
More information on coming to work in the UK is available on GOV.UK. Information is also included on coming to work temporarily in the UK from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
For EU countries that don’t apply these rules, the worker will be liable to pay Social Costs in the UK.
