The rules change for thousands of workers who live in one country and work in another within the European Union. Brussels has reached an agreement to modify the social benefits system and make it clearer which country must pay aid such as unemployment in these cases. In this way, many workers who were somewhat unprotected in this sense will feel more secure when they have to work in several countries at the same time or across borders. Especially in order to collect unemployment, something about which there were always doubts when one has to go to work abroad. This regulatory change is in line with other recent changes by the European Commission, such as the Quality Employment Law, which improve the conditions of thousands of employees throughout Europe.
The Council and the European Parliament have agreed on a reform of Social Security coordination rules that introduces key changes to unemployment, family benefits and other benefits in cross-border situations. The objective is to avoid conflicts between countries and better distribute the costs, according to what they say from the press department of the European Parliament.
This update comes after years of negotiations and seeks to adapt to an increasingly common reality: workers who carry out their activity in several countries or who move within the EU.
The country where you work will be the one that pays unemployment
One of the most important changes directly affects unemployment benefits. From now on, the regulations establish clearer criteria and establish that, in certain cases, the country where the worker has carried out his activity will be responsible for paying unemployment benefits.
For this to happen, it will be necessary to have contributed a minimum period of 22 weeks in that country. In this way, the cost is prevented from falling on States where the worker has not contributed to the system, something that until now generated tensions between administrations.
With this measure, the European Union seeks to balance the distribution of burdens and reinforce the contributory logic of the system.
More time to collect unemployment if you are looking for work in another country
The reform also introduces improvements for those who move within the EU in search of work. Until now, workers could continue to collect unemployment benefits from their country for three months when moving to another Member State. With the new rules, this period is extended to six months.
This change aims to facilitate labor mobility within the European market, allowing citizens to look for work in another country with greater margin and without losing their economic protection during this process.
Changes in family support and long-term care
The regulations do not only affect unemployment. The agreement also establishes a clearer framework for coordinating benefits such as family support or long-term care when beneficiaries have ties to several countries.
The aid that will be coordinated with the new common framework will mainly be:
- Family benefits
- Long-term care
- Social aid in cross-border cases
In addition, it is clarified how these benefits should be distributed when family members live or work in different countries.
All of this with the aim of avoiding duplication, administrative conflicts and inequalities between States.
More control over companies and displaced workers
Another pillar of the reform is the reinforcement of control mechanisms. Brussels wants to curb abusive practices, such as the use of shell companies, and improve supervision of posted workers.
In this sense, notification obligations are maintained when a company sends a worker to another country, although exceptions are introduced for very short trips. In addition, controls are tightened in especially sensitive sectors, such as construction, where these types of practices are more common.
The idea is to better distribute costs and facilitate labor mobility
With this reform, the European Union seeks to adapt the Social Security system to an increasingly international and dynamic labor market. Something that has been in demand for a long time and that with such a globalized economy makes all the sense in the world. More and more companies need workers from other countries for various reasons.
The idea is that each country assumes the benefits of those who have contributed in its territory, while facilitating the mobility of workers without them losing rights for changing countries.
The agreement will now need to be formally approved before it comes into force, but it already marks an important change in how social benefits will be managed within the European Union in the coming years.