National Insurance Contributions (NIC) for workers moving between the UK and the EU

HMRC has published updates to two of the guidance pages that discuss the National Insurance (NI) implications for individuals from the UK going to work in the EU and social security contributions for individuals coming to work temporarily in the UK, following the fact that all EU member states have expressed their wish to opt in to apply the detached worker provision.

National Insurance for workers from the UK working in the EEA or Switzerland

Working in the EU

To ensure that they only pay NI contributions in the UK, a worker, or their employer, should apply for the relevant certificate or document if they are:

• Going to work temporarily in the EU for up to two years
• A multistate worker working in the UK and one or more EU countries
• A civil servant working for the UK government
• Working onboard a vessel at sea with a UK flag
• Working as a flight or cabin crew member, where the home base is in the UK

The application for the NI certificate needs to be made and the certificate received before it can be applied to payroll.

Social security contributions for workers coming to the UK from the EEA or Switzerland

Updates to guidance have been included to demonstrate the fact that individuals, who are coming to work on a temporary basis in the UK, and their employers, should apply for a certificate or document from the social security organisation in the EU member state that they are coming from. This could mean that they continue paying social security contributions there and will not be required to pay social security contributions in the UK.