NIM33405 - Special Cases: international - people going to or coming from abroad - Reciprocal Agreement (RA): posted workers

Note: This page is under review and the content may only be appropriate to periods beginning before 1 January 2021 and for those covered by a Withdrawal Agreement

An exception to the general rule concerns posted workers. A worker may remain liable for Class 1 NICs if:

  • they are employed in the UK ; and
  • are posted by that employer to work in another RA country ; and
  • the posting is for a period not exceeding the maximum posting period allowed by the terms of the RA (the maximum period of posting will depend on the RA)

Some Reciprocal Agreements contain articles for working in both territories for the same period. In these circumstances, liability is normally in the territory where the employee is ordinarily resident.

The employer can obtain a certificate of continuing liability (COC), similar to Portable Document A1, see GOV.UK to prevent a demand for payment of contributions in the RA country. Extensions of the posting periods can be obtained with agreement with the foreign authority similar to EC rules - see NIM33020.

Posting Period

  • Barbados – 3 years
  • Bermuda – 12 months
  • Canada – 5 years
  • Republic of Chile – 5 years
  • Isle of Man - refer to RA
  • Israel – 2 years
  • Jamaica – 3 years
  • Japan – 5 years
  • Jersey and Guernsey – 3 years
  • Republic of Korea – 5 years
  • Mauritius – 2 years
  • New Zealand - 52 weeks
  • Philippines – 3 years
  • Turkey – 3 years
  • United States of America (USA) – 5 years
  • Republic of Former Yugoslavia (covers Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and the Republic of North Macedonia) – 12 months