Keeping a-kasse while doing traineeship abroad

Hi,

according to the EU coordination of social security systems, you must be insured against unemployment in the country where you work. And you can only be member of the Unemployment Insurance in one EU-country at a time.

However there are few exceptions to this main rule – if you are posted by a danish employer, work as cross-border worker, or work in more than one EU-country at a time. As I see it you are not covered by any of the exceptions.

The persons covered by the coodination is persons doing “activity as an employed person” or similar activity (Article 1a).

In the definition in Article 1a, it says that ‘activity as an employed person’ means any activity or equivalent situation treated as such for the purposes of the social security legislation of the Member State in which such activity or equivalent situation exists.

I do not have the knowledge to say if your internship “paid” with a monthly grant is considered “activity as an employed person”.
I think you need to find out of this by asking the Belgian Authorities (or maybe Udbetaling Danmark can help you).

If your internship is considered as an “activity as an employed person”, you must become member of the Belgian Unemployment Insurance. You need a PD U1 document to transfer your rights from the danish A-kasse.
When you return to Denmark you get a new PD U1 from the Belgian Insurance system, and you can use that to transfer rights to the danish A-kasse.

Because your internship is unpaid it can not be used to earn rights in the danish A-kasse system, but if you return to Denmark before your 3-year reference-period expires (the period in which your 2 years dagpengeperiod must be used), you can continue to receive the remaining period with dimittend-dagpenge.

Let me know if you have any comments.

Best regards,
Anders Weber, A-kasser.dk