
Study on the European Social Security Pass
Leverage potential to enforce labour and social security rights.
VS – 02/2024
The "The European Social Security
Passport (ESSPASS)" study,
commissioned by the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social
Affairs (EMPL), examines the potential of the European Social Security Pass to
enforce labour and social security rights in Europe. Its tenor: The added value
of the ESSPASS lies primarily in the area of employee posting. The European
social security pass can make a significant contribution to preventing
fraudulent practices, raising awareness among posted workers of their labour
and social protection rights and facilitating mobility. At the same time, it
can help to significantly reduce the administrative burden on social security
institutions, employers and audit authorities.
Start with A1 and EHIC
The central component of the ESSPASS
initiative is the introduction of digital credentials that make use of the EU DI Wallet
(European Digital Identity Wallet). This initiative resulting from the eIDAS
2.0 Regulation is intended to further facilitate mobility within the European
Union (EU) in the coming years and, in the future, make two administrative
procedures in the area of social insurance digitally accessible: The portable
document "A1" for posted workers and the European Health Insurance
Card (EHIC) for cross-border healthcare.
Pilot procedure
The DC4EU consortium is currently
conducting a pilot project at European level. In the area of the social
security system, the German Pension Insurance Fund, together with partner
institutions from Austria and Denmark, is leading the development of the A1
digital certificate of posting. The Health Insurance Liaison Office - Overseas (DVKA) is involved in the development of the
European Health Insurance Card. The pilot projects should be completed by April
2025.
Leveraging the potential of ESSPASS
The study calls for the potential of the
ESSPASS to be fully harnessed and to go beyond the currently planned scope of application. It is therefore
recommended that the documentation of the labour law entitlements of posted
workers be included in the ESSPASS, if possible, during the pilot phase. This applies in
particular to the posting notification required by the Member States under the Enforcement Directive.
The study refers to the steps announced by the European Commission in its 2024
work programme to digitalise and standardise the posting of workers. This would facilitate inclusion.
In contrast, the inclusion of national
labour cards or social ID cards is considered to be more difficult. Their areas
of application diverge and contain a lot of diverse information. The
willingness of the Member States to agree to standardise these national practices is also viewed
with scepticism. Despite these difficulties, the study recommends investigating
the extent to which this evidence can be included in the ESSPASS. This applies
in particular to the construction sector, which is heavily affected by posting.