A frontier or cross-border worker is a person who works in one country and lives in another, and therefore crosses a national border when commuting to work.
Frontier or cross-border worker?
Frontier worker and cross-border worker are two alternative terms used in EU documents to describe the same phenomenon. However, it must be acknowledged that the term frontier worker is more intuitive and better conveys the meaning of the English term cross-border commuter and, indeed, what a cross-border worker is. According to the official website of the European Union - europa.eu - a cross-border commuter is a person who works in one EU country but lives in another, to which he or she returns every day or at least once a week. The English term reflects this very neatly: the word commute means a daily commute to work/school, so a cross-border commuter is literally a person who crosses a border on his/her way to work. In Polish, the term cross-border commuter may be dubious, being associated with people going abroad to work for long periods of time. However, the term cross-border commuter is immediately associated with people working in the border area, for example Poles from Świnoujście, Zgorzelec or Cieszyn working in Germany or the Czech Republic.
Frontier worker - definition
So who is a frontier worker? As already mentioned, it is a person who commutes to another country to work. However, the centre of that person's life interests remains a country other than the country of employment. This is usually the home country of the cross-border worker, although this is not part of the definition. What is the centre of vital interests? It is where most of the activities of a person's daily life take place, i.e. where he or she lives, has family, friends, a social life and spends leisure time. The key aspect here is the place of residence, although in contentious situations, the other issues mentioned may also be taken into account when determining the status of a frontier worker.
What makes cross-border workers different from so-called guest workers and economic migrants? Let's start with the latter category - people on 'full-time' emigration - because these differ significantly from border workers. This category includes people who permanently work and live in a country other than their home country. Especially if they emigrate with their family, their children go to school in that country, their private and social life takes place there, they go to the cinema and to the doctor there, and they only come to their home country for short periods of time, such as holidays or holidays. What about people who go abroad to work for longer periods of time (usually a few months), but leave their home and family behind in their home country? Such persons also do not have the status of cross-border workers. The definition of a frontier worker clearly states that those meeting it return to their country of residence on a daily basis and at least once a week (e.g. for weekends).
Frontier worker - law
A frontier worker is bound by the laws of both countries. The laws of the country in which he/she is employed govern labour law and the income tax paid by the cross-border worker, as well as most issues related to the worker's social security. It is worth noting that there are no rigid rules when it comes to taxation - usually a person employed in a given country is granted tax residence in that country, even though he or she does not live there, on the basis of international double taxation agreements. When taking up a job (or employing a foreigner as a frontier worker), it is necessary to find out about the specific regulations and make sure that both the employee and the employer have properly informed the tax authorities of both countries about the situation.
As far as social security is concerned, a cross-border worker - regardless of whether he or she is contracted or self-employed - pays social security contributions and is covered by social security in the EU country where he or she works. However, he or she can receive medical care in the country where he or she lives. On the other hand, if he or she loses his or her job, he or she should claim benefits in the country where he or she lives, not in the country where he or she was previously employed,
In contrast, most other issues are governed by the law of the country of residence. In particular, this refers to property taxes and other tax obligations, as well as residence formalities (e.g. if there is a registration obligation in the country of residence or if the country of residence is also not the employee's home country and he/she has to deal with residence formalities).
