Transnational Labour Law
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Reg. 883/2004
Social security and EU-mobility:
- The coordination of social security in EU in cross border situations
- The Regulations 883/2004 & 987/2009
Labour law and EU-mobility:
- The applicable labour law in EU in cross border situations
- Rome 1 Regulation & Posting Workers Directive
Social policy issues
- Regime competition and social dumping
Coordination of European Social Security
- Regulation 883/2004 & 987/2009
- Every MS has his own system of social
security no harmonisation on national
- European social security is on top of the
national level when different EU countries
are involved cross-border situations
Difference between coordination and harmonisation
- Coordination keeps the national law unchanged regulation
- Harmonisation wanted to have a shared level (for example: minimum wage)
- There is no definition in regulation, in TFEU, by CJEU
- Territoriality principle of social security
o Every country has the authority to make social security law, this law is in line with the
territory of the country
o Dutch law is only for the Dutch people
o It is very logical to start with; however, it is a hinder for free movement because
Dutch law is only for Dutch people
- Negative conflicts of law – positive conflicts of law
o State pension between Belgium and the Netherlands
Belgium Netherlands
Working in Belgium Living in NL
1. Anna is working in Belgium and living in the Netherlands, so she gets a
combined pension positive conflict
2. Peter is living in Belgium and working in the Netherlands, so he gets no pension
at all negative conflict
o To avoid these situations, we needed more legislation and coordination
, - National and international rules of conflict
- Other forms of coordination: bilateral (between two EU countries), multilateral (between
one EU country and one non-EU country), tax treaties
Legal foundation
1. Art. 48 TFEU
The EP & Council shall, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, adopt
such measures in the field of social security as are necessary to provide freedom of
movement for workers; to this end, they shall decide to secure for employed and self-
employed migrant workers and their dependants
2. Art. 45 TFEU
Freedom of movement of workers / no discrimination on nationality
Concept
Unclearness of a term or concept in relation to the regulation?
- CJEU: preliminary rulings (Art. 267 TFEU)
- Legal force of the rulings of the CJEU
- However, free movement of worker should be guaranteed
Main principles/techniques of coordination:
- Non-discrimination/equal treatment: equal treatment (Art. 45 TFEU)
- Payments of benefits abroad/export of benefits
- Aggregation of periods
- Determination of applicable legislation
- Pro rata temporis (ratio worktime)
- Pension unique: you get a pension from every country where you have worked
- Anti-cumulation of benefits: you don’t get the same kind of benefits from different countries
at the same time
- Cross border care
- One is the basis regulation (BR), one is the implication (IR)
- In 2004 the regulation 883 was made, however ten countries joined the EU, therefore it was
hard to make the implication regulation
- The idea of these regulations was to make it shorter and easier to understand, however they
forget some rules and therefore there was a new regulation in 2012
,Regulations 883/2004 & 987/2009 Conditions for Applicability
- At least 2 Member States involved cross border element
- Territorial scope (Art. 91) 28 EU MS + Liechtenstein, Island, Norwegian and
Switzerland
- Personal scope (Art. 2)
- Material scope (Art. 3) is it about social security benefits?
Structure of regulation
1. Considerations
- Free movement/coordination/state of
employment principle/equal treatment
2. General provisions
- Art. 1- Art. 10
3. Determination of legislation applicable
- Paying contributions: in which country?
- Paying benefits: which country?
- Art. 11 – Art. 16
4. Chapters on the specific benefits
- Art. 17- Art. 70
5. Rest
- Art. 71-91
Personal scope – Art. 2 of Reg. 883/2004
- Paragraph 1 and 2
o All nationals and their families
o Stateless/Refugees living in MS
o Survivors
- In the beginning, it was only applicable for workers
- Members of the family?
o Who exactly? coordination of different EU MS
- So: all insured persons (coverage by one social security scheme of a MS is sufficient)
Extension of Art. 2 by Reg. 1231/2010
- Nationals of third countries (non-EU citizen)
- Reason for this new regulation? no legal basis in Art. 48 TFEU
- UK and Denmark opted out
- Example:
o Canadian living in Switzerland and working in Austria
o Moroccan living in Spain and working in France
Material scope – Art. 3 of Reg. 883/2004
- Limitative list (but extension by CJEU)
- How to determine the specific benefit?
o Constituent elements: purpose and conditions for acquiring, not name or way of
financing
o Hoeckx, Molenaar and Kuusijarvi case
- Only statutory schemes and legislation (Art. 3 & Art. 1)
- Contributory or non-contributory
- Including obligations of employers in these schemes
o Paletta
- Excluding public or medical assistance and schemes for victims of war
, - How to quality a benefit? Not the name/source of levy but constituent elements of the
benefit – its purposes/aim and conditions
- Not: public assistance (Art. 3,5 BR)
o Reason: financial burden on state/s budget
o No export
o Acciardi case (1993) narrow definition of social assistance
- Yes: special non-contributory benefits (Art. 3 + Art. 70)
o Export ban possible but not compulsory
o Residence clause is possible
o Annex X
Territorial scope – Reg. 883.2004
- All EU Member States (28)
- Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway
- Switzerland
- What about Brexit?
Applicability of the regulation
1. Facts are not restricted to one-member state (cross border element so working and living in
another MS)
2. Territorial scope
3. Personal scope
4. Material scope
Regulation is applicable if all four elements are checked!
Lecture 2 – Rules on determining the legislation
applicable
Is Reg. 883/2004 applicable?
- Syrian refugee works in a restaurant in Tilburg and lives in Belgium. Is he covered for the
statutory risks like pension and health care?
o Netherlands and Belgium
o Both MS
o Refugees (Article 2.1)
o Healthcare (Article 3.1a) Yes!
- Polish plumber works in Belgium and NL. Is he covered by the statutory risks of art. 3 of BR?
o Belgium and NL
o Both MS
o National of a MS (Article 2.1) Yes!
- American lives in London and works in Brussels.
o UK and Belgium
o Both MS
o Extension of the personal scope to third-nationals by Reg. 1231/2010. However the
UK opted out No!
- Greek interpreter moves to Paris for work and living.
o No cross border element
- Russian man works in Copenhagen and lives in Malmo.
o DK and Sweden
o Both MS
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Reg. 883/2004
Social security and EU-mobility:
- The coordination of social security in EU in cross border situations
- The Regulations 883/2004 & 987/2009
Labour law and EU-mobility:
- The applicable labour law in EU in cross border situations
- Rome 1 Regulation & Posting Workers Directive
Social policy issues
- Regime competition and social dumping
Coordination of European Social Security
- Regulation 883/2004 & 987/2009
- Every MS has his own system of social
security no harmonisation on national
- European social security is on top of the
national level when different EU countries
are involved cross-border situations
Difference between coordination and harmonisation
- Coordination keeps the national law unchanged regulation
- Harmonisation wanted to have a shared level (for example: minimum wage)
- There is no definition in regulation, in TFEU, by CJEU
- Territoriality principle of social security
o Every country has the authority to make social security law, this law is in line with the
territory of the country
o Dutch law is only for the Dutch people
o It is very logical to start with; however, it is a hinder for free movement because
Dutch law is only for Dutch people
- Negative conflicts of law – positive conflicts of law
o State pension between Belgium and the Netherlands
Belgium Netherlands
Working in Belgium Living in NL
1. Anna is working in Belgium and living in the Netherlands, so she gets a
combined pension positive conflict
2. Peter is living in Belgium and working in the Netherlands, so he gets no pension
at all negative conflict
o To avoid these situations, we needed more legislation and coordination
, - National and international rules of conflict
- Other forms of coordination: bilateral (between two EU countries), multilateral (between
one EU country and one non-EU country), tax treaties
Legal foundation
1. Art. 48 TFEU
The EP & Council shall, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, adopt
such measures in the field of social security as are necessary to provide freedom of
movement for workers; to this end, they shall decide to secure for employed and self-
employed migrant workers and their dependants
2. Art. 45 TFEU
Freedom of movement of workers / no discrimination on nationality
Concept
Unclearness of a term or concept in relation to the regulation?
- CJEU: preliminary rulings (Art. 267 TFEU)
- Legal force of the rulings of the CJEU
- However, free movement of worker should be guaranteed
Main principles/techniques of coordination:
- Non-discrimination/equal treatment: equal treatment (Art. 45 TFEU)
- Payments of benefits abroad/export of benefits
- Aggregation of periods
- Determination of applicable legislation
- Pro rata temporis (ratio worktime)
- Pension unique: you get a pension from every country where you have worked
- Anti-cumulation of benefits: you don’t get the same kind of benefits from different countries
at the same time
- Cross border care
- One is the basis regulation (BR), one is the implication (IR)
- In 2004 the regulation 883 was made, however ten countries joined the EU, therefore it was
hard to make the implication regulation
- The idea of these regulations was to make it shorter and easier to understand, however they
forget some rules and therefore there was a new regulation in 2012
,Regulations 883/2004 & 987/2009 Conditions for Applicability
- At least 2 Member States involved cross border element
- Territorial scope (Art. 91) 28 EU MS + Liechtenstein, Island, Norwegian and
Switzerland
- Personal scope (Art. 2)
- Material scope (Art. 3) is it about social security benefits?
Structure of regulation
1. Considerations
- Free movement/coordination/state of
employment principle/equal treatment
2. General provisions
- Art. 1- Art. 10
3. Determination of legislation applicable
- Paying contributions: in which country?
- Paying benefits: which country?
- Art. 11 – Art. 16
4. Chapters on the specific benefits
- Art. 17- Art. 70
5. Rest
- Art. 71-91
Personal scope – Art. 2 of Reg. 883/2004
- Paragraph 1 and 2
o All nationals and their families
o Stateless/Refugees living in MS
o Survivors
- In the beginning, it was only applicable for workers
- Members of the family?
o Who exactly? coordination of different EU MS
- So: all insured persons (coverage by one social security scheme of a MS is sufficient)
Extension of Art. 2 by Reg. 1231/2010
- Nationals of third countries (non-EU citizen)
- Reason for this new regulation? no legal basis in Art. 48 TFEU
- UK and Denmark opted out
- Example:
o Canadian living in Switzerland and working in Austria
o Moroccan living in Spain and working in France
Material scope – Art. 3 of Reg. 883/2004
- Limitative list (but extension by CJEU)
- How to determine the specific benefit?
o Constituent elements: purpose and conditions for acquiring, not name or way of
financing
o Hoeckx, Molenaar and Kuusijarvi case
- Only statutory schemes and legislation (Art. 3 & Art. 1)
- Contributory or non-contributory
- Including obligations of employers in these schemes
o Paletta
- Excluding public or medical assistance and schemes for victims of war
, - How to quality a benefit? Not the name/source of levy but constituent elements of the
benefit – its purposes/aim and conditions
- Not: public assistance (Art. 3,5 BR)
o Reason: financial burden on state/s budget
o No export
o Acciardi case (1993) narrow definition of social assistance
- Yes: special non-contributory benefits (Art. 3 + Art. 70)
o Export ban possible but not compulsory
o Residence clause is possible
o Annex X
Territorial scope – Reg. 883.2004
- All EU Member States (28)
- Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway
- Switzerland
- What about Brexit?
Applicability of the regulation
1. Facts are not restricted to one-member state (cross border element so working and living in
another MS)
2. Territorial scope
3. Personal scope
4. Material scope
Regulation is applicable if all four elements are checked!
Lecture 2 – Rules on determining the legislation
applicable
Is Reg. 883/2004 applicable?
- Syrian refugee works in a restaurant in Tilburg and lives in Belgium. Is he covered for the
statutory risks like pension and health care?
o Netherlands and Belgium
o Both MS
o Refugees (Article 2.1)
o Healthcare (Article 3.1a) Yes!
- Polish plumber works in Belgium and NL. Is he covered by the statutory risks of art. 3 of BR?
o Belgium and NL
o Both MS
o National of a MS (Article 2.1) Yes!
- American lives in London and works in Brussels.
o UK and Belgium
o Both MS
o Extension of the personal scope to third-nationals by Reg. 1231/2010. However the
UK opted out No!
- Greek interpreter moves to Paris for work and living.
o No cross border element
- Russian man works in Copenhagen and lives in Malmo.
o DK and Sweden
o Both MS
