Posting of workers : report on A1 portable documents issued in 2015

This summary presents the results of the collection of data on the number of Portable Documents A1 (PD A1) issued by the EU Member States and EFTA countries during reference year 2015. PD A1 is a formal statement on the applicable social security legislation. It proves, amongst others, that posted workers according to Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 or persons active in two or more Member States according to Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 pay social contributions in another Member State. This implies that they do not fall under the social security scheme of the Member State of (temporary) employment. The reader's attention is drawn to the fact that the figures shown in this report concerning the number of PDs A1 issued or received provide only an indicative picture of the actual number of postings according to Directive 96/71/EC (Posting of Workers Directive). Furthermore, differences exist in the definition of posting between Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and the Posting of Workers Directive. For instance, selfemployed persons posted according to Article 12 (2) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 are not covered by the Posting of Workers Directive. Moreover, workers active in two or more Member States may fall under the terms and conditions of the Posting of Workers Directive, and thus be considered as 'posted workers'.