Today I would like to briefly remind you of something that probably 99.9% of self-employed people and employers have not heard of. For business trips to EU / EFTA countries, a so-called “A1 certificate” must be carried for several years. Never heard of it? No problem. I think you’re in good company.
However, since 2019, the obligation to do so has become more relevant and it applies not only to employees, but also to self-employed people, and regardless of whether you travel 2 hours to a client in Switzerland, attend a conference in France or pursue a project in another EU country for a longer period of time. Inspections by the authorities now sometimes result in hefty fines. While employers, for example esport teams for their players participating in a tournament abroad in the EU, or software developers who send employed programmers to the customer, have been able to apply for this certificate obligatorily (due to an EU regulation) only electronically since January 1, 2019, self-employed persons must continue to do so in paper form. Self-employed persons in this context are all commercial traders and freelancers, whether lawyers, marketing consultants, streamers, programmers or other persons who carry out the trip for professional reasons. In addition to the EU countries, the obligation also applies to Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. 90 days also for Great Britain 😉
The whole thing is to prevent social security fraud and therefore to certify to foreign social authorities which social system is responsible for the traveler/worker.
As an employer, the application usually requires the same person who otherwise does the payroll certifications, because a certified payroll program is required for the application. The competent institution will then send the certificate, also electronically, and as an employee, it must then be carried.
Self-employed persons can/must fill out the form electronically here and send it to their own health insurance company with which one is insured. Additional guidance for other carriers can also be found on the form.
The regulations regarding the A1 certificate have just been tightened and the discussions regarding increasing social security fraud are growing in many countries. It’s hard for me to say what the risk of control is. The likelihood of this is probably greater for a self-employed craftsman working on construction abroad than for a web designer working from the Starbucks in Rome. On the other hand, applying for the certificate is not too much of a hassle either.
Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.
Internationalization offers start-ups enormous growth opportunities, but also brings with it complex legal challenges. Successful market entry abroad requires careful...
Read moreDetails
There is already a lot around the topic of influencers and labelling requirements and even if the case law currently...
Read moreDetails
How clients benefit from my network of colleagues, partners and service providers When I tell my clients about my network,...
Read moreDetails
I am always contacted by requests, such as how to deal with platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, for example...
Read moreDetails
Although the e-sports industry is experiencing an unprecedented boom, this rapid growth is also accompanied by numerous challenges and problems....
Read moreDetails
Last year, the Geoblocking Regulation was launched(see this article), and violations can result in severe fines(see this article). Now the...
Read moreDetails
For this reason, I would like to point out once again that operators of online shops similar websites with many...
Read moreDetails
Introduction The application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to pseudonymized data is a controversial topic that generates much...
Read moreDetails
Why a legal form as an influencer? It's been a little quieter about influencer marketing over the past month. However,...
Read moreDetailsThe Distance Learning Protection Act (FernUSG) has been experiencing a renaissance for some time now. What for decades was considered...
Read moreDetails
Welcome to the third episode of our podcast "IT Media Law"! In this episode, we delve into the fascinating world...
Read moreDetails
In this video, I talk a bit about transparent billing and how I communicate what it costs to work with...
Read moreDetails
