Germany and Quebec step up cooperation in social security. The understanding improving statutory accident insurance comes into effect on 1 April 2014.
The new understanding supersedes its predecessor from 1987 and comprises amendments necessitated by a corresponding Treaty between Germany and Canada. Moreover, the scope of the understanding now concluded includes statutory accident insurance as well.
The new understanding will also avoid placing a double contribution burden on enterprises in this branch of insurance, where employers have so far had to bear the cost of contributions alone. It does this by making employees posted to the other country subject only to the legal provisions of one party to the understanding, usually those of the home country.
Furthermore, posted workers in particular will in future be entitled to avail themselves of accident insurance benefits in kind in case of a temporary stay in the territory of the other state under the legal provisions in the territory of stay. In practice, certain employees will experience simpler and faster processing of their case through the agreed statutory accident insurance procedure, where benefits in kind are paid on behalf of the insurance institution in the home country: They now no longer need to make advance payments themselves. This provision for benefits in kind in case of a temporary stay in the territory of the other state will mean much lower premiums for the official providers of statutory accident insurance.
The new understanding provides for the unrestricted payment of pensions (principle of portability). The precondition for entitlement to both German and Quebecan pensions, the completion of the qualifying period (minimum insurance period), can be met by aggregating periods of insurance completed in both countries.