Following Luxembourg’s signature of the European framework agreement on cross-border telework in the field of social security on 5 June, the Ministry for Social Security has issued a press release dated 20 June 2023explaining that the declaration for cross-border remote working as of 1^st July 2023 “where the activity is between 25% and less than 50% of total working time has been drawn up regarding social security”.

Any “habitual” remote working[1] in one or more Member States by an employee who does not live in Luxembourg must be declared to the Joint Social Security Centre (Centre Commun de la Sécurité Sociale or CCSS).

The CCSS has set up a temporary website to allow employers to declare habitual remote working by their employees: https://www.teletravail.ccss.lu/..

This declaration will involve submitting an online form, for which the employer will need a TOKEN that will be provided soon.

It is worth remembering that this declaration via the online form is only a temporary process while the CCSS establishes long-term solutions for declaring remote working.

It is worth remembering that this declaration via the online form is only a temporary process while the CCSS establishes long-term solutions for declaring remote working.

According to the information provided via the online form, the CCSS will apply the appropriate procedures for employees declared by employers.

• For remote working covered by the framework agreement

The remote working framework agreement applies to employees working for an employer based in one Member State and living in another Member State, if the following criteria are fulfilled:

• The two Member States must have signed the remote working framework agreement (at the moment, the other signatory states of the framework agreement are Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, the Czech Republic, Austria, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Belgium, Finland, Norway and Portugal);
• Le télétravail devrait être exercé exclusivement dans l’État membre de résidence ;
• L’activité de télétravail devrait se situer entre 25% et moins de 50% du temps de travail total du salarié ;
• Une connexion à l’infrastructure informatique de l’employeur devrait être possible ;

• The employee must not carry out any other work in their country of residence or in any other Member State.

For more information about the European framework agreement on cross-border telework in the field of social security, please see our newsflash dated 13 June 2023..

• For remote working that is not covered by the scope of the framework agreement

Pour les salariés qui ne remplissent pas les conditions nécessaires pour l’application de l’accord-cadre (par exemple État de résidence non signataire, activité de télétravail de moins de 25% ou d’au moins 50%, etc.), ce sont les dispositions européennes en matière de détermination de la législation applicable qui s’appliqueraient (Regulation (EC) no. 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems and Regulation (EC) no. 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) no. 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems).).

• Tax thresholds and social security

The question of declaring habitual remote working for between 25% and 50% is not relevant for businesses who do not allow their cross-border employees to work remotely beyond the thresholds allowed for tax purposes.

[1] La notion d’activité de télétravail régulièrement exercée dans un ou plusieurs États membres n’est pas expressément définie. Au vu de l’objet de l’accord-cadre, il serait cohérent de retenir que cela correspond à une activité qui se situe entre 25% et moins de 50% du temps de travail total.