TN 13 (09-93)

A. DEFINITION

A detached worker is an employee who is sent by his/her employer in one country to work temporarily in the other country for the same employer or an affiliate of that employer.

B. POLICY

Under the totalization agreement, a detached worker remains subject only to the social security laws of the country from which he/she was sent provided all of the following conditions are met.

• The period of employment in the host country is expected to last no more than 5 years. The 5-year period is considered to begin with the date the employment in the host country begins or November 1, 1993 (the effective date of the agreement), whichever is later.

• The employment relationship existed before the
  employee is transferred from the home country.

• If an employee is sent by an American employer to become an employee of the company's affiliate in Luxembourg, the American employer must have entered into an agreement under section 3121(l) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the affiliate.

The detached worker rule may apply even if the employee has not been sent directly from one country to the other but is first assigned to work in a third country.

C. REFERENCE

Agreement under section 3121(l) of the Internal Revenue Code, RS 01901.070