In the Arnhem/Nijmegen region located against the German border, it is not uncommon to look across the border for living and working as well. Before accepting work in Germany, it is wise to take stock (or have it taken care of) of the social insurance and tax implications, even if the work in Germany is a so-called mini-job.
A minijob is a job in Germany with which the employee earns a maximum of €450 per month. The employee then does not owe any tax. Since 1 January 2013, an employee with a minijob in Germany is only insured for old-age pension and disability, but there is the option to choose not to use it.
However, under European rules on the allocation of insurance obligations, in most cases the employee is also not insured in the Netherlands. This means not only no cover for the risk of unemployment and incapacity for work, but also no right to child benefit and no accrual of AOW (with regard to AOW, however, there is the possibility to continue insurance voluntarily).
The employee with a minijob is also not insured for health costs in either country, cannot voluntarily insure himself for this in the Netherlands either, and therefore has to rely on private health insurance. The employee has to arrange this himself and, of course, the employee has to pay the premium himself.
This issue has now been referred to the European Court of Justice. In this case, Advocate General Szpunar recently concluded that the employee is subject to the social insurance rules of the State of employment (Germany). This also applies to days not worked.
However, if the employee is not entitled to social protection in the State of employment because the legal regime in the State of employment is minimal and this is due to short-term or small-scale employment contracts (such as mini-jobs), the application of the European imputation rules should be suspended in favour of the legal regime of the State of residence. The question is whether the Court will go along with this conclusion.
(Opinion of A-G EU Court 10-9-2014, no C-382/13)