Due to the current coronavirus outbreak, many companies around the EU/EFTA are advising their employees to work from home if possible. This brings up the question of possible unintended effects of such a directive for cross-border workers, in particular, if this situation could lead to a change in applicable social security legislation from the country of work to the country of residence.

The good news is home office work due to the coronavirus outbreak should not change the applicable social security affiliation within the EU/EFTA.

Current status:

The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic as of 11 March 2020. Due to the current situation, many companies have advised their employees to work from home.

What does this mean:

For many employees this means working primarily in their country of residence for the duration of the outbreak.

Art. 13 section 1 of the EU regulation 883/04 determines applicable social security affiliation for a person who is normally working in two or more member states and states that :

• If an employee is working in the country of residence for more than 25% of his/her time he/she will be subject to the legislation of that country.
• If the employee works less than 25% in the country of residence and has one employer he/she will be subject to the legislation of the country where the employer has its seat.

When determining whether a cross-border worker needs to be affiliated to the social security system of their country of residence, factors such as work pattern as well as whether the employer expects that the home office is the “normal” place of work for 25% of working time.

Under a strict interpretation of the above rules, employer imposed home office due to COVID-19 could mean that social security affiliation would suddenly switch for a large group of cross-border workers for this year.

Deloitte's view:

Working from home due to the coronavirus outbreak cannot be a considered as a “normal” work pattern organised by one’s employer. Therefore, employer imposed home office working due to the outbreak should not trigger a change in social security affiliation to a cross-border workers country of residence.
Based on recent discussions the Swiss federal authorities share our view.

Key contacts

Renaat Van den Eeckhaut – Partner, Global Employer Services Leader Switzerland and EMEA

Renaat leads the Global Employer Services (GES) Practice for Deloitte Switzerland and EMEA. He specialises in international assignment and cross-border employment matters and advises on tax, social security and international mobility policies. Renaat has nearly 20 years of experience with Deloitte Belgium and Switzerland and has worked with many companies across a broad range of industries. Renaat holds a Master in Law and Accounting Law and has authored many publications on international taxation.

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David Wigersma - Partner, Global Employer Services

David has 20 years of experience in the area of international corporate and individual taxation planning. He specialises in addressing the complex compliance needs of a cross-border workforce with varied elements of compensation.

Tabea Nyfeler - Senior Manager, Global Employer Services

Tabea is a recognized expert in the fields of international tax and social security planning. She is the co-lead of our international social security team in Switzerland. Over her career, she has acquired experience in a number of other areas of reward and mobility, including : global employment taxes, rewards, equity based compensation and pensions. Moreover, she has considerable experience in managing global mobility projects for multinational companies across a broad range of industries. Tabea is a Certified Tax Advisor and has authored publications on international tax and social security law.

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Harry Verougstraete - Senior Manager, Global Employer Services 

Harry is a Senior Manager within the Global Employer Services team of Deloitte in Switzerland. He is the co-lead of our international social security team in Switzerland. He supports global companies on their international assignment, cross-border employment matters and advices on tax and social security matters. Harry has more than 9 years of experience with Deloitte Belgium and Switzerland.

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