Social security for migrant workers
In EU and EEA Member States, common rules apply in the field of free movement of persons, designed to protect citizens' social security rights when staying or working in other EU Member States and in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
The European Regulations on social security coordination (EP and Council Regulations (EC) No. 883/04 and 987/09) do not replace national systems; they merely determine which system is relevant for a particular person in a particular situation. It is up to Member States to decide who will be insured under their legislation, what benefits will be paid and under what conditions, while respecting the basic coordination principles set out in detail in those Regulations.
The key principles of the Coordination Regulations are: equality of treatment, the application of the legislation of only one state at a time, the aggregation of insurance periods, and the export of benefits abroad.
DETERMINING THE APPLICABLE LEGISLATION (of the insuring state)
Detailed information can be found on the website of the Czech Social Security Administration.
When implementing the right to free movement of persons, a situation must not arise whereby a migrant is not covered by the social security system of any state (negative collision of national laws) or, conversely, is insured in more than one Member State (so-called positive collision).
The first situation may arise where a person works in a state in which the insurance is derived from residence in the territory of that state, while that person resides in a state that derives the insurance from the employment activity (the opposite case will lead logically to a lack of insurance cover).
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 ensures that such a positive or negative conflict of laws cannot occur. It lays down criteria for determining and applying only one country's legislation, the general rule being that the legislation of the country where the employed or self-employed person works applies, regardless of their place of residence (Article 11(3)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004) – known as 'lex loci laboris'. The legislation thus determined is valid both for the deduction of insurance premiums and for the provision of benefits, and applies to all branches of social security laid down by the relevant national legislation.
There are a number of exemptions to this rule. The most used of these is the posting of workers, which, under precisely defined conditions (Articles 12(1) (2) of the Regulation),allows a posted person (employees and self-employed) to remain in the insurance system of the posting state even if they are gainfully employed in another state (for a maximum of 24 months).
More information can be found on the website of the Czech Social Security Administration.
Another widely used exemption is the so-called concurrence of activities in two or more states. This is the concurrent performance of employment, self-employment, or a combination of both, or the concurrence of these activities with the performance of an official function. The criteria for determining the applicable legislation in these cases are set out in Articles 13(1) – (4) of the Regulation.
In contrast to the previously valid legislation, there is no longer a special rule for determining the jurisdiction of the category of persons performing activities in the field of international transport. One of the key criteria for determining the relevant legislation is the pursuit of a substantial part of the gainful activity in the state of residence. Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 sets out in detail the criteria for correctly determining the state of substantial activity and residence.
Civil servants must be insured under the legislation of the state to which the administrative authority by which they are employed is subject, while contract staff of the European Communities may choose between the legislation of the state where they are employed, the state of their most recent insurance, or the State of which they are nationals.
Under Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, two or more Member States may reach an agreement on an exception to the above rules, always in the interests of certain persons or groups of persons. There is no legal entitlement to grant exemptions.
Institutions designed to assess and determine the applicable legislation and the so-called liaison bodies for this area, issuing form A1 – Certificate of affiliation to social security legislation
For employees and self-employed persons, these are the Czech Social Security Administration and the district social security administration.
ČSSZ
Křížová 25
225 08 Prague 5
The rules for determining jurisdiction can be found on the website of the Czech Social Security Administration.
Contact details:
Email: posta@cssz.cz
Tel. no.: +420 257 061 111
For so-called non-active persons (for example, students and pensioners), this is the Health Insurance Bureau (KZP)
Kancelář zdravotního pojištění
Nám. W. Churchilla 2
113 59 Prague 3
Contact details:
Email: info@kancelarzp.cz
Tel. no.: +420 236 033 411
Social security sectors covered by the Regulations, and liaison bodies in Czechia:
ILLNESS AND MATERNITY
Cash benefits
These are benefits whose purpose is to replace any income forgone as a result of illness or maternity:
The liaison body for cash sickness and maternity benefits is generally the Czech Social Security Administration.
ČSSZ
Křížová 25
225 08 Prague 5
Information on sickness and maternity benefits can be found on the website of the Czech Social Security Administration.
Contact details:
Email: posta@cssz.cz
Tel. no.: +420 257 061 111
Call centre for sickness insurance questions: +420 571 811 081
Benefits in kind
Benefits representing medical care, including medicines and other products related to such care (e.g. prosthetic aids) and any other healthcare services. The specific content and scope of the benefits provided, as well as the method of their payment (including possible co-participation), is determined by the legal regulations of the state in which the benefits are provided and paid.
The liaison body for benefits in kind from health insurance is the Health Insurance Bureau.
Kancelář zdravotního pojištění
Nám. W. Churchilla 2
113 59 Prague 3
Contact details:
Email: info@kancelarzp.cz
Tel. no.: +420 236 033 411
LONG-TERM CARE ALLOWANCES
Long-term care allowances fall under sickness benefits. This refers to benefits provided to those who are dependent on the care of others (various kinds of personal assistance).
Cash benefits
These may be benefits paid directly to the disabled person (this is the case in Czechia) or to the person caring for them. In Czechia, these are:
The liaison body for long-term care allowances is the Employment Office of the Czech Republic – Directorate-General.
Employment Office of the Czech Republic – Directorate-General
Dobrovského 1278/25
170 00 Prague 7
Contact details:
Tel. no.: +420 950 180 111
Email: posta@uradprace.cz
Benefits in kind
In Czechia, no special benefits in kind for long-term care are provided outside the system of benefits in kind for sickness.
INVALIDITY BENEFITS
There are significant differences in the invalidity insurance systems of the states applying the Coordination Regulations. In some countries, the value of the invalidity pension does not depend on the duration of the insurance (the so-called type „A“ system).
In Czechia, the entitlement and value of the invalidity pension depend on the duration of the insurance, and the pension is calculated (with certain deviations) according to similar coordination rules as for old-age pensions. This system is referred to as „B“. An exception is the pension for persons whose invalidity arose before the age of 18 and were not insured for the period necessary to obtain the right to an invalidity pension; this pension take the nature of a type „A“ benefit.
The liaison body for pensions is generally the Czech Social Security Administration.
ČSSZ
Křížová 25
225 08 Prague 5
Information on pensions can be found on the website of the Czech Social Security Administration.
Contact details:
Email: posta@cssz.cz
Tel. no.: +420 257 061 111
Call centre for pension insurance questions: +420 257 062 860
OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS’ PENSIONS
A precondition for the application of pension coordination rules is that the person is in a certain „cross-border“ situation (e.g. resides in a Member State other than the one where they are insured, and most often – has completed periods of insurance in at least two Member States). A distinction is made between:
a so-called 'national pension' – i.e. a pension to which entitlement arises based purely on the legal regulations of the state in question, without the need to take into account foreign periods of insurance (such an entitlement arises, for example, for a person who has reached retirement age and attained at least 35 years of insurance in Czechia, or at least 15 or 20 years – depending on the situation – but at a higher retirement age); and
The Regulation-based 'pension’ or 'partial pension' – for which the periods in Czechia alone are not enough and the entitlement to a pension arises only on the basis of the total of the insurance periods in both Czechia and (an)other Member State(s). In this case, the institutions of the Member States first calculate the so-called 'theoretical pension amount', taking into account all confirmed periods of insurance from all Member States concerned, and adjusting the resulting amount as a percentage to correspond to the periods actually completed under their national rules, thereby obtaining the amount of the partial pension that they then grant to the person. The establishment of an entitlement always requires meeting the conditions set out in national legislation, e.g. on the prescribed retirement age, etc.
The liaison body for pensions is generally the Czech Social Security Administration.
ČSSZ
Křížová 25
225 08 Prague 5
Information on pensions can be found on the website of the Czech Social Security Administration.
Contact details:
Email: posta@cssz.cz
Tel. no.: +420 257 061 111
Call centre for pension insurance questions: +420 257 062 860
ACCIDENTS AT WORK AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
The provision of benefits in the event of routine accidents or illness is governed in principle by similar rules to those governing the provision of benefits in kind and in cash. A specific area of benefits is those provided by the employer as part of its liability for damage in the event of accidents at work and occupational diseases (a coordinated benefit is not compensation for material damage).
The liaison body for issues relating to accidents at work and occupational diseases is Kooperativa pojišťovna, a.s.
Kooperativa pojišťovna, a.s.
Rašínova 4
602 00 Brno
Contact details:
Tel. no.: +420 545 556 772
Email: ejurenova@koop.cz
DEATH GRANT
Death grant will be assigned by the competent institution of the state where the deceased was insured (in line with its legislation).
The liaison body for death grants is the Czech Labour Office – Directorate-General.
Employment Office of the Czech Republic – Directorate-General
Dobrovského 1278/25
170 00 Prague 7
Contact details:
Tel. no.: +420 950 180 111
Email: posta@uradprace.cz
UNEMPLOYMENT
With very few exceptions, entitlement to unemployment benefits applies in the country of the most recent employment or self-employment. Exceptions relate to cross-border workers (so-called commuters), who are differentiated between 'typical' and 'atypical'.
The liaison body for unemployment benefits is the Employment Office of the Czech Republic – Directorate-General.
Employment Office of the Czech Republic – Directorate-General
Dobrovského 1278/25
170 00 Prague 7
Contact details:
Tel. no.: +420 950 180 111
Email: posta@uradprace.cz
PRE-RETIREMENT BENEFITS
By their nature, pre-retirement benefits are very close to unemployment benefits, as they are usually provided to older people who have objective difficulties in finding employment but do not yet qualify for a retirement pension. This type of benefit does not exist in Czechia. These is neither the same as what is known as 'early retirement' (provided by the Czech Social Security Administration, Pillar I), nor so-called 'pre-pensions' provided by commercial insurance companies (Pillar III).
FAMILY BENEFITS
In Czechia, these are:
The liaison body for family benefits is the Employment Office of the Czech Republic – Directorate-General.
Employment Office of the Czech Republic – Directorate-General
Dobrovského 1278/25
170 00 Prague 7
Contact details:
Tel. no.: +420 950 180 111
Email: posta@uradprace.cz
The Coordination Regulations do not relate to: