Thus, as noted in a court release (No. 1/12 17 January 2012), the ECJ found that the work performed by an individual on a drilling platform that was adjacent to the Netherlands, was to be regarded as work performed in the territory of the Netherlands for purposes of the Dutch compulsory social security insurance.
Summary
The individual, a Netherlands resident and national, worked from 1996 on a gas-drilling platform that was located outside the Netherlands’ territorial waters, on the continental shelf adjacent to the Netherlands, approximately 80 km from its coast. He had been covered by compulsory insurance under the Netherlands social security law. Under this law, a person who works outside the Netherlands is not regarded as an employee unless that person resides in the Netherlands and his employer has its place of business or is established in the Netherlands.
In 2004, the individual moved his residence to Spain. As a result of his move to Spain, it was later asserted that he no longer satisfied the residence condition and, therefore, was excluded from the compulsory insurance, in particular from insurance against incapacity for work.
In 2007, following an illness, the individual applied for incapacity benefits under Dutch law. That application was denied by the Dutch unemployment insurance agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut werknemersverzekeringen) because, with his move to Spain, it was asserted that the individual was no longer compulsorily insured and was not eligible for the benefit.
On appeal, the Rechtbank Amsterdam (Amsterdam District Court) asked the ECJ to resolve whether EU law precludes an employee, working on a fixed installation on the continental shelf adjacent to a Member State, from being in a position in which he is not compulsorily insured under national legislation in that Member State solely on the ground that he is not resident there but in another Member State.
Today, the ECJ answered that EU law precludes an employee, working on a fixed installation on the continental shelf adjacent to a Member State, from being in a position in which he is not compulsorily insured under national statutory employee insurance in that Member State solely on the ground that he is not resident there but in another Member State.