UK and EU Secondment Rules After Brexit
Published / Last Updated on 01/10/2025
Freedom of movement between the UK and EU stopped at the end of the Brexit Transition Period on 31st December 2020. From January 2021, new rules started and this also affected secondment.
What is Secondment?
You transfer to live and work temporarily in another country. Secondment is usually where businesses are looking to develop their business, services or contacts in another country or indeed bring in expertise from another area of their operations. This means either the employer or a self-employed person themselves must apply for the person to live a work temporarily in another country.
- Different employment/self employment rules and laws may apply in different countries.
- An application is usually made to your home nation’s tax and social security bodies (HMRC in the UK).
- The social security body will usually issue a certificate to confirm you will continue to pay ‘home nation’ social security contributions and remain within and be covered by your home nation’s social security system, i.e., your and your employer continue to pay social security contributions to your home nation despite living and working overseas. This is then presented to your temporary country’s authority.
- You then receive reciprocal healthcare cover in your secondment country.
- Usually, you will pay income taxes in the country you are seconded to, subject to local laws.
- For most secondment agreements between the UK and other nations, you are allowed to live and work temporarily in your secondment country for up to 2 years.
UK and EU Secondment Before January 2021
- Initially secondment is for up to 2 years with the option to automatically extend to up to 5 years.
- This means that if you were seconded between UK and EU, before 31st December 2020, if you extended your secondment to 5 years, your final secondment period ends this year on 31st December 2025. Hence this update.
Brexit, UK and EU Secondment from 1st January 2021
- Secondment between UK and EU is still possible as part of the UK/EU Trade Co-operation Agreement (TCA).
- Your employer must confirm with HMRC its eligibility for sending workers temporarily overseas using form CA3821.
- You/Your Employer/Your Agent must complete HMRC’s Form PDA1 to confirm you will pay UK National Insurance Contributions when working temporarily overseas.
- HMRC will issue a certificate that can be presented to the authorities in any EU country, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland that you are being seconded to.
- As the UK is now a ‘third country’ in relations with the EU, you must also comply with the host nation’s local worker laws and secure any visas, work permits etc.
- The secondment period is now 2 years with no right to automatically extend.
- Extensions may be granted but it is no longer an automatic right and must be agreed by both nations.
- The secondment must be a “New” position or opportunity, it cannot be a replacement for another worker whose secondment period is ending.
- You/your employer continues to pay social security contributions in your home nation, and you do not pay social security contributions in the host nation.
- Your employer will usually need to be registered as an employer in the host nation, and you will usually pay income taxes in the host nation.
- For workers in an EU country, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland being seconded to the UK will follow the same process as above by getting and completing the equivalent PDA1 form in the home country, presenting this to HMRC and securing any relevant UK visas.
