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Short-term benefit entitlements

Short-term benefits are those payable for sickness, unemployment and maternity absences, and usually require a recent history of social security contributions before any payment can be made. Each country has its own rules covering benefit entitlements and these can vary significantly. Where an individual moves from one country to another and where a social security agreement exists it may be possible for contributions paid in one country to be treated as having been paid in another.

The provisions of the various social security agreements have to be considered separately, but in practice this is usually only an issue where individuals are moving between EU countries. There is a general requirement that a contribution needs to have been paid in a country where a claim is made immediately before the contributions paid elsewhere can be taken into account.

See Example 1.

The authorities in each of the countries involved can liaise and provide the necessary contribution details, but this will take time and inevitably delays the payment of any benefit. A