Impact of the country of employment on employee's social security

Your employee's social security during work abroad primarily depends on the country to which you send them to work. EU social security regulations and bilateral social security agreements aim to ensure that a person is subject to the legislation of only one state at a time.
In agreement countries and EU countries, the conditions are the same for when an employee can be considered a posted worker.

Here's how to proceed when your employee goes to work in an

EU/EEA country or Switzerland

• When you send your employee from Finland to work temporarily in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, apply for an A1 certificate from the Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK). The certificate demonstrates coverage under Finnish social security during the time working abroad.
• Since the beginning of 2023, ETK has advised applying for an A1 certificate even for short business trips abroad, i.e., whenever the employee travels abroad.
• A person working in EU/EEA countries and Switzerland is subject to the social security legislation of only one country at a time. If your employee works in multiple EU countries simultaneously, the employee's country of residence determines the applicable legislation and insurance.
• EU countries include Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Poland, France, Romania, Sweden, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Denmark, Czech 

Social security agreement country

• Finland has bilateral social security agreements with several non-EU countries. The content and coverage of these agreements vary by country. At their most limited, the agreement may only cover pension insurance.
• Currently, Finland has social security agreements with Australia, Chile, South Korea, India, Israel, Canada/Quebec, China, the United States, and Japan.
• If you are posting your employee to any of the these countries, apply for a social security certificate through the Finnish Centre for Pensions' electronic service.

You can find more information about the content of Finland's social security agreements on the Employment Pension Act Service (linkki Sosiaaliturvasopimusmaat Archives - Telp.fi)

To another country 

• If you send your employee to work in a country with which Finland does not have a social security agreement, and it is not an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, the employee remains under Finnish pension security as long as they work for you. Therefore, obtain TyEL insurance from Finland for them, regardless of the employee's nationality, if they are covered by Finnish social security at the start of the employment relationship.
• Additionally, it is possible that you will need to insure your employee according to the legislation of the country of employment. As an employer, you must determine the social security contributions required by the laws of the country of employment.

More information on the impact of the country of employment can be found on the Finnish Centre for Pensions website(linkki Ulkomaantyön vakuuttaminen - Eläketurvakeskus)