Case C‑451/17

‘Walltopia’ AD

v

Direktor na Teritorialna direktsia na Natsionalnata agentsia za prihodite — Veliko Tarnovo

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Administrativen sad Veliko Tarnovo)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Social security — Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 — Article 12(1) — Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 — Article 14(1) — Posted workers — Legislation applicable — A1 certificate — Whether the employee is subject to the legislation of the Member State in which his employer is established — Conditions)

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 25 October 2018

Social security — Migrant workers — Legislation applicable — Person who is recruited with a view to being posted to a Member State other than that in which his employer is established — Applicability of the law of the Member State where the employer is established — Condition — Worker already subject to the law of the Member State where the employer is established before the start of his employment — Concept — Worker not being an insured person just before the start of his employment — Included if the worker was resident in that Member State just before the start of his employment

(European Parliament and Council Regulations No 987/2009, Art. 14(1) and No 883/2004, Art. 2, 11(1) and 12(1))

Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, read together with Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems, as amended by Regulation (EU) No 465/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012, must be interpreted as meaning that an employee recruited with a view to being posted to another Member State must be regarded as having been ‘just before the start of his employment … already subject to the legislation of the Member State in which his employer is established’, within the meaning of Article 14(1) of Regulation No 987/2009, even if that employee was not an insured person under the legislation of that Member State immediately before the start of his employment, if, at that time, that employee had his residence in that Member State, which is for the referring court to ascertain.

(see para. 51, operative part)