Question:What has to be done by the company so that it can send a group of workers (who will be insured in Bulgaria) on a business trip abroad (Belgium) but as a subcontractor to another company? What are the required forms and the necessary papers, insurances?
Answer: 1. First, in the labour contracts the place of work should be the registered address of the company in Bulgaria and on the grounds of the business trip order the workers have to be sent to work abroad (in Belgium). The reason behind this is to guarantee that the workers will stay under the Bulgarian legislation. The procedure is slow and complicated and requires that a set of rules is observed. In order to prove that the Bulgarian legislation is applied to these workers the employer has to apply for the issuing of certificate A1 before he sends the workers on a business trip. The request for the issuing of A1 is made individually for each worker. Usually the procedure takes one month and is executed before the worker is sent on a business trip. The A1 certificate can be issued on condition that the employer matches the following criteria (declared in front of NRA):
1.1.The business trip period does not have to exceed 24 months and the worker must not be sent to replace another worker.
1.2.The worker has worked under the Bulgarian legislation for at least 1 month prior to his employment in your company.
1.3.The employer has to prove that he usually executes the activity of his company in Bulgaria. For that reason he should meet the following requirements:
-The registered address of the company should be in Bulgaria
-There have to be employed workers on the territory of Bulgaria whose job corresponds to the declared activity of the company. In this case the availability of administrative personnel cannot be used as a proof that the employer usually executes the activity of the company in Bulgaria. The observation of that requirement is crucial for the issuing of A1.
-The turnover on the territory of Bulgaria has to be at least 25 percentof the total turnover of the company for the past 12 months
As for the insurances, it can be mentioned that the medical insurance (Travel assistance) for the whole period of the business trip is obligatory.