Short News Febuary 9, 2023
Italy
Work permit quotas for 2023 released
Depending on nationality and employment type, Italian work permits may be subject to a quota. Companies are, therefore, advised to submit work permit applications for their affected employees immediately after March 27. This not only ensures that employees receive a work permit, but also takes into account the long processing times in Italy.
Finland
A1 required from day 1 for foreign assignments
The "Finnish Centre for Pension" points out that employees need an A1 from the 1st day of their foreign assignments. This regulation is not new. It rather underlines the importance of the A1 social security certificate in the European area. Depending on the country of assignment, the penalties for not having an A1 certificate can be significant.
France
Online platform for posted workers improved
The handling of the French online platform for posted workers has been improved. Among the innovations are the access to information via a QR code and the simplified availability of the registration confirmations for posted employees.
GLOBAL MOBILITY INSIGHTS NEWS LETTER WINTER 2022/2023
Not all cross-border commuters are the same. - When Google research raises more questions than it answers
EXAMPLE
A company based in Aargau (Switzerland) wants to hire a new candidate from Germany. The future employee, who lives in Stuttgart (Germany), has googled extensively and now has a lot of questions about the cross-border commuter status, income taxes, and his German health insurance, which he would like to keep for health reasons. A move to Switzerland is not out of question.
Question
What does the future employee need to know regarding the cross-border commuter status?
Possible solutions
Under the scenario described above, the first step would be a detailed discussion with the candidate to shed more light on his personal situation. Because this is the only way to work out the optimal solution for him. - For first things first. Not all cross-border commuters are the same.
The topics of income taxes and work permits for cross-border commuters must be considered almost separately. It is the same wording in both areas that regularly leads to misunderstandings.
Thus, a cross-border commuter permit does not automatically lead to cross-border commuter taxation. Only the actual circumstances and not the type of permit are decisive for determining the income tax liability. But let's first highlight the key points without getting lost in the many exceptions.
Work permit
If the employee will regularly work more than 12 hours per week in Switzerland, the so-called cross-border commuter permit (G) can be applied for. This must be done by the employer. The employee is not involved here.
Even with a cross-border commuter permit, the employee could rent an apartment in Switzerland. This would make him a so-called "international weekly commuter". This requires that the employee registers in Switzerland and leaves Switzerland every week.
If the employee does not want to or cannot leave Switzerland every week, the B permit is also an option. For a B permit, the future employee must take up residence and register in Switzerland.
Best Practice
Health insurance
With the cross-border commuter permit, the employee from Germany has a right of choice regarding health insurance within the first 3 months of taking up employment. He can actively choose to remain in the German health insurance and consequently be exempted from the Swiss health insurance obligation.
The regulations on this are complex (depending on the country of residence). In addition, the possible co-insurance obligation of non-employed family members should be checked for each case individually.
With the B permit, there is no right of choice. The employee would have to take out mandatory health insurance in Switzerland.
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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
