It is the Netherlands that partly pushed for a European solution for the working-from-home problem, says Pim Mertens, scientific co-ordinator at ITEM, the Maastricht Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross-border cooperation and Mobility that advises both the Dutch and the European government on this subject. This is now showing results. UM employees living in Belgium or Germany may soon, just like their colleagues living in the Netherlands, apply a hybrid working scheme according to UM rules, without any problems.
The so-called framework agreement partly replaces the old regulation, which required cross-border workers to work at least 75 per cent of their working hours in Maastricht. If they didn’t, they would have to switch to the social security system (including such things as pension schemes and health care insurance) of the country where they live. That is not an advantage for every employee, and certainly not for the university itself.
The European rules with regard to social security have existed for some time, but exceptions were made when large numbers of people had to work from home due to Covid. That agreement was extended several times, the last time was until 1 July 2023.
The new agreement, which has already been signed by the Netherlands – Belgium and Germany will follow soon, Mertens knows – is good news for the more than six hundred cross-border workers employed by UM. But also for people working for other companies in South Limburg, where the number of cross-border workers is sometimes as much as 50 per cent.