Posting of a worker abroad

A Slovenian undertaking wishing to provide services in another EU Member State or in the EEA or the Swiss Confederation is required to obtain an A1 certificate for every worker it intends to post. This is so as to establish which social security legislation is applicable to the posted worker under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems.

A Slovenian undertaking is also required to obtain that certificate for a worker who normally carries out work in two or more of the above-mentioned states. A worker uses this certificate abroad to demonstrate that they remain part of the Slovenian compulsory insurance scheme for the duration of their work in the other country.

As an A1 certificate cannot be used in other countries, it is possible to select a service recipient from a ‘third country’ on the SPOT (Slovenian Business Point) portal.

The set of countries in which it is possible to define the place of provision of a service is limited to those countries to which the relevant EU legislation applies.

The SPOT portal enables the electronic submission of applications for  the acquisition or early termination of:

• A1 certificates under Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and the Transnational Provision of Services Act (ZČmIS) – single posting
• A1 certificates under Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 – simultaneous employment of workers who normally carry out work in two or more countries and for a single employer only. An application for an A1 certificate may be submitted for the following categories of workers: drivers, service/repair engineers and fitters.

The statutory representative of a business entity entered in the Slovenian Business Register (PRS) or an authorised person may submit an application:

Electronically via the SPOT portal:

• A1 certificate – Article 12 of the EC Regulation:
  • Article 9 of the Transnational Provision of Services Act (ZČmIS) specifies the instances in which it is COMPULSORY to submit an electronic application only.
  • An employer or a self-employed person may submit an application for an A1 certificate no more than 30 days prior to the anticipated commencement of the transnational provision of services.
  • An A1 certificate may be issued for an anticipated duration of posting of up to 24 months
• A1 certificate – Article 13 of the EC Regulation:
  • Electronically supported submission of an application for the following categories of worker: road transport drivers, service/repair engineers and fitters.
  • An A1 certificate under Article 13 of the EC Regulation may be obtained for the period of the following 12 months.

By post to the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia (ZZZS):

• A1 certificate – Article 13 of the EC Regulation for the selected categories of: fitters and service/repair engineers
  • application submitted to: monterji.serviserji.A1@zzzs.si
  • Nova Gorica regional unit is responsible for processing these applications
• A1 certificate (Article 13 of the EC Regulation) for drivers, other categories and simultaneous employment (work for two or more employers in two or more Member States)
  • application submitted to: dolocanje.zakonodaje@zzzs.si
  • Maribor regional unit is responsible for processing these applications

The ZZZS website contains further information on the submission of applications.

• Sample application for an A1 certificate for a person who normally carries out work or pursues an activity in two or more Member States for a single employer or as a self-employed person in Slovenia (international road transport, fitting, servicing/repair work)
• Form for the issuing of an A1 certificate under Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and Articles 14 and 16 of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 (determination of the legislation applicable in the case of the simultaneous performance of work or pursuit of an activity in two or more Member States)

• Instructions on the electronic completion of an application for an A1 certificate or early termination of an A1 certificate via the SPOT portal
• The application and the form contain instructions for printed applications.

You can use the SPOT portal to check the status of an application. You will receive email notifications when any change occurs to the status of the application. If the application is approved, you are also required to collect the certificate from the portal.

The instructions on the electronic completion of an application for an A1 certificate or early termination of an A1 certificate on the SPOT portal contains a detailed description of the application submission procedure, instructions on how to search for applications already submitted and collect documents, as well as other information relating to the electronic procedure.

Issued A1 certificates contain a QR code that provides access to the ZZZS website, from where you can check whether the A1 certificate bearing that code is valid. You can also check A1 certificates that will not become valid until a later date.

You can check the validity of an A1 certificate on the ZZZS website by entering the requested information.

After obtaining an A1 certificate, the employer and the posted worker are required to notify the ZZZS of any changes that occur during the period of posting. An application for early termination may only be submitted for an A1 certificate that is still valid.

An employer is required to notify the ZZZS of the early termination of a posting if:

• the posting did not take place or
• the posting was completed before the planned date of completion.

An A1 certificate may be terminated early from the day the application is submitted or for the requested dates of termination, up until the validity of the certificate expires. It is not possible to cancel a certificate for a past period (i.e. retroactively) via the e-VEM (electronic ‘one-stop shop’) portal.

If you submit an application for early termination of an A1 certificate and an application for a new certificate at the same time, the application for early termination is considered before the application for a new certificate. This is because a worker may only hold one valid A1 certificate at any one time.

The ZZZS informs the competent institutions of other countries of all A1 certificates that have been terminated early.

Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part was published in the Official Journal of the EU L 444 on 31  December 2020 (hereinafter: the Agreement). The Agreement has been in temporary use since 1 January 2021 on the basis of reciprocity. For more, click on the link.

Pursuant to the Agreement, an applicant may also, in relation to the UK and under certain conditions, obtain an A1 certificate for posted workers or for the pursuit of an activity in two or more Member States. The Agreement sets out the conditions for obtaining an A1 certificate. This section of the European regulations, which include Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and Regulation (EC) No 987/2009, is no longer applied in relation to the UK. Similarly, the Transnational Provision of Services Act (ZČmIS) no longer applies to workers posted to the UK. The ‘A1 certificate’ document may be used until a new form is prescribed in relation to the UK.

Applicants who completed a form for work in a third country (UK) after 1 January 2021 and submitted it to the ZZZS may file a retroactive application for an A1 certificate (i.e. for a period of posting from 1 January 2021 onwards) and the ZZZS may issue such a certificate. It is up to the applicant themselves to register for and de-register from insurance under the correct insurance basis.

PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING AN A1 CERTIFICATE

POSTED WORKERS (Article SSC. 11 of the Agreement):

You may submit an application for an A1 certificate:

• via the SPOT portal: The application is completed in the same way as set out in Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. Select the ‘New application for posting under the ZČmIS (Article 12 of the Regulation)’ procedure or
• manually: Complete and sign the ‘Application for an A1 certificate for posted workers under Article SSC.11’, then send it to a regional unit of the ZZZS:
• Celje regional unit: OECE@zzzs.si
• Maribor regional unit: OEMB@zzzs.si
• Nova Gorica regional unit: OENG@zzzs.si

In the case of a manual application, the A1 certificate will be sent by ordinary post to the applicant’s address.

For cases under Article SSC. 11 of the Agreement, insurance basis 002 is used. It is up to the applicant themselves to register for and de-register from insurance under the correct insurance basis, regardless of the method by which the application was submitted (via SPOT or manually).

For cases under Article SSC. 11 of the Agreement or Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, the same person may not be granted two A1 certificates (e.g. one A1 certificate for an EU Member State and another for the UK) for the same period of posting, nor may periods of posting overlap.

PURSUIT OF ACTIVITIES IN TWO OR MORE STATES (Article SSC. 12 of the Agreement):

An application for an A1 certificate for road transport drivers, service/repair engineers and fitters may be submitted:

• via the SPOT portal: The application is completed in the same way as set out in Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. Select the ‘New application for drivers, service/repair engineers and fitters (Article 13 of the Regulation)’ procedure or
• for the selected categories of: fitter and servicing/repair work: monterji.serviserji.A1@zzzs.si

The Nova Gorica regional unit is responsible for processing these applications.

• for road transport drivers: dolocanje.zakonodaje@zzzs.si

The Maribor regional unit is responsible for processing these applications.

Insurance basis 001 is used for all cases under SSC.12 of the Agreement (including when work is carried out in the UK). It is up to the applicant themselves to register for and de-register from insurance under the correct insurance basis.

For other categories and for simultaneous employment (work for two or more employers in two or more Member States), complete and sign the ‘Form for the issuing of an A1 certificate under Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and Articles 14 and 16 of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009’, then send it to the Maribor regional unit: dolocanje.zakonodaje@zzzs.si.

In the case of a manual application, the A1 certificate will be sent by ordinary post to the applicant’s address.