Statistics on Insurance for Work Abroad and Posted Workers

Statistics on insurance for work abroad and posted workers

Producer: Finnish Centre for Pensions
Website: Statistics on insurance for work abroad and posted workers
Subject area: Social protection
Part of the Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): No
ISSN: 2669-9052

Description

The statistics contains data on the number of persons posted from Finland to EU countries or countries with which Finland has a social security agreement or who work in several countries.

Data content

The statistics contains data on decisions regarding coverage by Finnish social security.

Classifications

target country, age, gender, personnel group, certificate’s period of validity

Methods of data collection and source

The data is based on solutions issued by the Finnish Centre for Pensions regarding the application of Finnish social security laws.

Update frequency

The data is updated once a year.

Time of completion or release

The data is released during the first half of the year following the statistical year. The time of release is notified each year in the release calendar for statistics https://www.etk.fi/en/statistics-2/statistics/release-calendar/.

Time series

The statistics has been released as of the year 2019. The time series is from the year 2005.

Key words

social insurance, workforce mobility, posted workers, working abroad, EU Regulation on social security, A1 certificate, social security agreement

A1 certificate, certificate of a posted worker

The A1 certificate states which country’s social security laws will be applied to the person to whom the certificate has been issued.

A person posted to an EU/EEA country, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or a country with which Finland has a social security agreement, and who continues to be covered by Finnish social security laws, needs a certificate (an A1 certificate in the EU/EEA area) to accrue pension to Finland. The certificate is issued, upon application, by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

Age

In the statistics, the age of a person is their age at the end of the statistical year.

Automated decision

A decision on an application which is issued automatically by the processing system, without the input of a handler.

Change in posting status

A notification of change in foreign posting status filed by the employer or employee, for instance because a posting abroad has been terminated earlier than intended.

EU social security regulation

The mobility of persons moving between the EU Member States is regulated by the EU Regulation on social security 883/2004.

The Regulation is applied in EU countries, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The Withdrawal Agreement or the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community is applied to the United Kingdom.

Exemption

An agreement between authorities based on which the applicable social security rules determined for a person differ from what is regulated in the EU Regulation on social security or a bilateral social security agreement, for example, due to a long period of work abroad.

Processing time

The processing time begins on the date that the Finnish Centre for Pensions receives the application and ends on the date that the Finnish Centre for Pensions issues its decision.

Personnel group

The personnel groups referred to in the statistics are employer, sailor, grant recipient, civil servant, flight crew and self-employed person.

The division into personnel groups is based on the EU Regulation on social security and the social security agreements.

Posted worker

A worker whom a Finnish employer sends abroad to work for a fixed period. The pension of a posted worker will accrue under Finnish laws if the conditions for posting set in the EU Regulation on social security or a bilateral social security agreement are met.

Social security agreement

An agreement between two countries that regulates the social security of individuals who are mobile between these countries.

Social security internationally (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health)

Worker who works in several countries

A person who works regularly in two or more countries.

1. Contact

1.1 Contact organisation

Finnish Centre for Pensions

1.2 Contact organisation units

International Services and Planning Department

1.3 Contact name

Hanna Hyttinen
Katariina Käkönen

1.4 Contact person function

Senior Policy Advisor
Statistical expert

1.5 Contact mail address

Finnish Centre for Pensions
FI-00065 ELÄKETURVAKESKUS
Finland

1.6 Contact email address

firstname.lastname@etk.fi
Contact form (Insurance While Working Abroad)
Contact form (statistics)

1.7 Contact phone number

+358 29 411 20

1.8 Contact fax number

Fax: +358 9 148 1172

2. Metadata update

2.1. Metadata last certified

31 January 2025

2.2. Metadata last posted

31 January 2025

2.3. Metadata last update

31 January 2025

3. Statistical presentation

3.1. Data description

The Statistics on insurance for work abroad and posted workers describes the number of workers and other personnel groups posted from Finland to EU and social security agreement countries. The data is based on solutions issued by the Finnish Centre for Pensions regarding the application of Finnish social security laws.

3.2. Classification system

The granted A1 certificates have been categorised by personnel group and target country, as well as by the person’s age and gender.

3.3. Sector coverage

The data of the statistics is based on the total sample of the decisions issued and applications received by the Finnish Centre for Pensions in each given year. The data has been compiled based on implementation data used within the earnings-related pension system.

3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions

Concepts and definitions have been presented on the statistics page.

3.5. Statistical unit

Granted certificate (A1 certificate and equivalent certificate granted for social security agreement countries) and similar decisions on coverage by Finnish social security.

3.6. Statistical population

Persons for whom the Finnish Centre for Pensions has granted an A1 certificate or an equivalent certificate regarding their inclusion in the Finnish social security system or another decision concerning their status within Finnish social security.

3.7. Reference area

EU countries and countries with which Finland has a social security agreement.

Social security internationally (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health)

3.8. Time coverage

The statistics has been released as of the year 2019. The time series has been produced in retrospect as of the statistical year 2005.

The data in the statistics is final.

4. Unit of measure

A1 certificates granted and decisions issued: number of certificates and decisionsProcessing time: days
Proportion of automated decisions: %.
Share of target country’s certificates/year: %.

5. Reference period

Calendar year

6. Institutional mandate

6.1. Legal acts and other agreements

The Finnish Centre for Pensions is responsible for determining, upon application, whether a person remains subject to Finnish social security legislation in cases covered by EU’s Social Security Regulation. A person who continues to be covered by the Finnish social security system is granted an A1 certificate as proof of this.

The Finnish Centre for Pensions is responsible for determining whether a person may be granted a certificate or a decision specifying the applicable legislation under Finland’s bilateral social security agreements.

According to the Act on the Finnish Centre for Pensions, the Finnish Centre for Pensions has exclusive authority to make these determinations.

The Act also states that the institution’s responsibilities include compiling and maintaining statistics in its field of operation.

Act on the Finnish Centre for Pensions (Finlex, in Finnish)

6.2. Data sharing

The data on A1 certificates granted by Finland is delivered to the European Commission annually for statistical monitoring purposes relating to intra-EU labour mobility and the granting of A1 certificates.

7. Confidentiality

7.1. Confidentiality – policy

The Finnish Centre for Pensions is committed to data protection as a fundamental principle of statistics, which ensures the confidentiality of data.

7.2. Confidentiality – data treatment

Data is protected by the necessary physical and technical solutions at the various stages of processing. Personnel have access only to the data necessary for their work. Third parties do not have access to the premises where the data is processed. Employees are required to sign a confidentiality agreement when they are hired.

8. Release Policy

The statistics of the Finnish Centre for Pensions are released on weekdays at 9.00 a.m. on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Any exceptions to the release time are announced separately.

The data in the statistical database are released as open data. The database’s open interface can be freely used under the CC BY 4.0 licence, with the Finnich Centre for Pensions being cited as the source of the statistical data.

8.1. Release Calendar

The release dates of the statistics are published in the release calendar. The release calendar for the following year is published towards the end of the year.

8.2. Release calendar access

Release Calendar

8.3. User access

The statistics are available to everyone when they are published on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions at a previously announced date.

Embargo policy: Media that are bound by the journalist’s guidelines may request material from the Finnish Centre for Pensions’ Communications Department.

Contact information of Communications Department

9. Frequency of dissemination

The statistics are published once a year.

10. Accessibility and clarity

10.1. News release

The releases of the statistics can be found in the shared open repository Julkari:
Statistics on insurance for work abroad and posted workers

Press releases on this topic can be found online at the website of the statistics.

10.2. Publications

Key Figures: Insurance for work abroad and posted workers

10.3. Online database

Insurance for work abroad and posted workers (Px-Web)

10.4. Microdata access

The Finnish Centre for Pensions’ registry data can be requested for scientific research use.

Register data can be used for research purposes in accordance with the Publicity Act, Data Protection Act, and the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data (hereinafter Act on Secondary Use), even though individual-level data is confidential. The research must be individualized and scientific and based on a research plan. Register data are not disclosed for commercial purposes.

Apply for research access to register data of the Finnish Centre for Pensions

11. Quality Management

11.1. Quality assurance

The Finnish Centre for Pensions is committed to the quality principles of Official Statistics of Finland. Our statistical production follows the quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland, which are compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice.

11.2. Quality assessment

The quality of statistics is assessed at several stages in the statistical process.

12. Relevance

12.1. User needs

The feedback received is monitored and considered in the development of the statistics.

13. Accuracy and reliability

13.1. Overall accuracy

The data of the statistics is based on the total sample of the decisions issued and applications received by the Finnish Centre for Pensions in each given year. The data has been compiled based on implementation data used within the earnings-related pension system.

13.2. Sampling error

–

13.3. Non-sampling error

The statistics does not include persons who

• work in EU or social security agreement countries in a local employment relationship, or
• work in other than EU or social security agreement countries.

The same person can be granted a certificate several times in one year, so no direct conclusions can be drawn on how many persons have gone abroad from Finland to EU and social security agreement countries per year. The Finnish Centre for Pensions does not monitor the actual movement between countries of persons who have received the certificate.

Based on the statistics, it is also impossible to determine whether the persons are (under labour law) posted workers or whether directives or other regulations on posted workers can be applied to them.

14. Timeliness and punctuality

14.1. Timeliness

The data is released at the beginning of the year following the statistical year.

15. Coherence and comparability

15.1. Comparability – geographical

–

15.2. Comparability – over time

The statistics has been released as of the year 2019. The time series has been produced in retrospect as of the statistical year 2005.

The comparability of the time series depends on, among other things, the following amendments:

• The register that the statistics are based on were changed in 2015.
•  The number of EU and social security agreement countries has grown.
• The definitions of the personnel groups have changed due to changes to regulations.
• The awareness of the necessity of the certificates has grown. This, for one, has led to a growth in the number of applications for certificates.
• Clarifying the guidance on applying for an A1 certificate in 2023 led to an increase in both the number of certificates granted and decisions issued.

15.3. Coherence – cross domain

The European Commission regularly publishes statistics on the labour force mobility within the EU and on granted A1 certificates. The statistics on the A1 certificates granted by Finland are based on the decisions issued by the Finnish Centre for Pensions. For the main part, they are identical with this statistics.

16. Cost and burden

The production of the statistics is financed annually by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

17. Data Revision

–

18. Statistical processing

18.1. Source data

The data in the statistics are based on the registers of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

18.2. Frequency of data collection

–

18.3. Data collection

Administrative registers.

18.4. Data validation

Adjustments are made at different stages of statistical production in accordance with the production processes of the Finnish Centre for Pensions. In addition, the results are compared with changes in legislation and with data from previous statistical years.

18.5. Data compilation

Aggregate data is compiled from registers to produce statistical tables.