Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1 Social security for migrant workers - Legislation applicable - Definition of employed and self-employed for the purposes of Articles 14a and 14c of Regulation No 1408/71 - Determination according to the social security legislation of the Member State in whose territory the activities are pursued - Those concepts not endowed with a Community meaning

(Council Regulation No 1408/71, Arts 14a and 14c)

2 Social security for migrant workers - Legislation applicable - Person employed in one Member State and self-employed in another Member State - Legislation of one of those Member States insuring against only some of the risks covered by social security - Whether permissible - Insured person working in that Member State for only part of the working week - Determination of the amount of contributions to be paid, without taking into account contributions paid in the other Member State - Whether permissible

(Council Regulation No 1408/71, Art. 14c(1)(b))

Summary

3 For the purposes of Articles 14a and 14c of Title II of Regulation No 1408/71 relating to the determination of the legislation applicable, as amended and updated by Regulation No 2001/83, `employed' and `self-employed' are to be understood to refer to activities which are regarded as such for the purposes of the social security legislation of the Member State in whose territory those activities are pursued.

Since the wording of Article 13(1) of the regulation indicates that Title II concerns, in particular, employed and self-employed persons as defined in Article 1(a) thereof, a logical and consistent interpretation of the scope ratione personae of the regulation and of the system of rules of conflict of laws which it establishes requires `employed' and `self-employed' in Title II of the regulation to be interpreted in the light of the definitions in Article 1(a) thereof. Whether a person is to be regarded as an employed or as a self-employed person for the purposes of that article depends on the national social security scheme to which he is affiliated, and only the definitions used by that scheme, which may differ from those used in employment law, must be applied.

That reference to the definitions in national social security laws is not precluded by the existence of a Community definition of `worker' for the purposes of Article 48 of the Treaty, since Regulation No 1408/71 contains no indication that the intention was to refer to that definition nor, having regard to its purpose of merely coordinating national social security laws, does it presuppose such a definition, unlike Article 48 of the Treaty, the subjects of which must be capable of being identified by Community law itself.

4 Where Article 14c(1)(b) of Regulation No 1408/71 is applicable, Community law does not preclude the legislation of one of the two Member States from insuring the person in question against only some of the risks covered by its social security scheme, provided that there is no discrimination in that regard between nationals of that State and nationals of the other Member States. It is for the legislation of each Member State to lay down the conditions creating the right or the obligation to become affiliated to a social security scheme or to a particular branch of such a scheme.

Where that article applies, Community law does not preclude one of the two Member States from determining the amount of contributions to be paid by an insured person who works in that State for only part of the working week, without taking into account contributions which that person may pay in another Member State in respect of work performed there during the rest of the week. No provision of the regulation requires a Member State to take into account, in order to calculate the contributions which it levies on the part of the income obtained by an insured person on its territory, the fact that that person works in that State for only part of the working week.