A trilateral reciprocal agreement on Social Security between Jersey, the United Kingdom and Guernsey came into force on 2nd November, 1994. This agreement applies only to Social Security and the corresponding schemes in the United Kingdom and Guernsey and superseded the former agreements. There is, in addition, a Health Service Convention which came into effect on 1st May, 1976, which is also described in this leaflet.
The agreements also apply to Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man and references in this leaflet to the United Kingdom should therefore be taken to include both these areas. Reference to Guernsey also includes the Islands of Alderney, Herm and Jethou (Sark is not included except in the Health Convention). Some benefits may be restricted to certain territories only.
The reciprocal agreement is designed to ensure that a person who is insured, and has paid contributions in one country, but who then moves to live in another country, may be able to qualify for the equivalent benefits of the other country's Social Security scheme by making use of contributions paid in the former country. This leaflet describes the main provisions of the agreements.
If you are ordinarily resident in Jersey but are sent in the normal course of your employment in Jersey to work temporarily in the United Kingdom or Guernsey (for a period which is not expected to exceed three years) your employer should continue to pay Jersey contributions.
While there is a possibility that voluntary contributions may also be paid to the United Kingdom or Guernsey, contributions, are not obligatory. To avoid a demand for them, your employer should obtain a certificate of liability under the Jersey scheme from the Employment and Social Security Department. When applying for the certificate the employer should give the following information:-
detached workers Other employments in the United Kingdom or Guernsey or if you are self-employed or non-employed
If you leave Jersey to reside in the United Kingdom or Guernsey then you will probably be liable to pay United Kingdom or Guernsey contributions. If you are in any doubt you should seek advice from the appropriate authority (the nearest local office of the Department of Social Security in the United Kingdom, or the Social Security Authority in Guernsey) taking with you any official document which shows your Jersey Social Security number. Prior to departing for the United Kingdom or Guernsey you should notify the Employment and Social Security Department of the date of your departure from Jersey.
People coming to Jersey from the United Kingdom or Guernsey
Arrivals in Jersey
When you arrive in Jersey for the first time you must start paying contributions as soon as you begin to work for an employer or in any case six months after your arrival. It may be to your advantage to begin paying at once, please ask us for more details.
If possible you should bring with you an official document which quotes your United Kingdom or Guernsey Social Security number as this may be useful for liaison purposes. A Jersey Social Security number will be issued to record your contributions to the Jersey Social Security scheme.
If you are returning to Jersey after a period of absence and have previously paid Jersey contributions you must begin to pay contributions again immediately upon your return.
People who are temporarily employed in Jersey in continuation of employment in the United Kingdom or Guernsey
If you are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom or Guernsey but are sent in the normal course of your employment in the United Kingdom or Guernsey to work temporarily in Jersey, your employer should continue to pay United Kingdom or Guernsey contributions under similar arrangements as described in Part 2 of this leaflet.
Payment of Voluntary Contributions to either the United Kingdom, Jersey or Guernsey
You may be allowed to pay voluntary contributions to Jersey, Guernsey or the United Kingdom when you qualify for the scheme of another country.
For further information you should enquire at the Employment and Social Security Department
Part Three - Benefits
Benefits covered by the Agreements
The benefits covered by the agreements are sickness and invalidity, maternity and accident benefits; old age pension; widows benefit; death grant; attendance allowance; family allowances (called ‘child benefit' in the United Kingdom).
Important Note - Unemployment Benefit
Unemployment benefit is not a benefit payable under Jersey legislation and residence in Jersey or payment of contributions to the Jersey Social Security Scheme cannot be taken into account for entitlement to unemployment benefit claimed in the United Kingdom or Guernsey.
Incapacity Benefits
If you are paying Jersey contributions (as in Part 2) whilst you are working in the United Kingdom or Guernsey, you can receive Jersey sickness or invalidity benefit there subject to the usual conditions. Conversely, this applies to anyone working in Jersey in continuation of their normal employment in the United Kingdom or Guernsey. Such persons can claim sickness or invalidity benefit from their respective countries subject to the usual conditions.
If after paying contributions in Jersey you move to the United Kingdom or Guernsey and have become liable to pay contributions since you last arrived there, then your Jersey contributions may be taken into account if you claim United Kingdom or Guernsey sickness or invalidity benefit.
If you have become liable to pay contributions to the Jersey scheme and make a claim to sickness or invalidity benefit but cannot fully satisfy the contribution conditions on the basis of your Jersey contribution record alone, then your contribution record in the United Kingdom or Guernsey may be taken into account to help satisfy those conditions.
If you are in receipt of sickness or invalidity benefit in Jersey and you then move to reside in the United Kingdom or Guernsey, you will be entitled to continue to receive payment of benefit from Jersey, (subject to the same conditions for entitlement that applied when you were residing in Jersey). Similar arrangements apply to a person in receipt of sickness or invalidity benefit from the United Kingdom or Guernsey and who then moves to reside in Jersey.
Maternity Allowance
The provisions relating to sickness benefit also apply to maternity allowance.
Maternity Grant
Confinement in either Jersey or Guernsey:
If a woman is confined in either Jersey or Guernsey then a grant may be payable provided that she (or her husband) satisfies the contribution conditions.
If you (or your husband) are insured in Jersey and Guernsey:
Where the contribution conditions for a maternity grant are not satisfied in either country a grant may nevertheless be paid by combining the contributions paid in either of the two countries.
Entitlement in more than one country:
If a woman is entitled to receive maternity grants under the legislation of Jersey and Guernsey then the maternity grant will be payable only by the country in which the confinement occurs.
Confinement in a country outside the Agreement:
If the confinement occurs in any other country not party to the agreement and the woman is entitled to a maternity grant from Jersey or Guernsey, then the maternity grant will be payable only by the country in which the woman, or her husband, last paid a contribution.
Please Note: Maternity grant no longer exists in the U.K.
Accident Benefit (Jersey) or Industrial Injury Benefits (Guernsey or the United Kingdom)
If you have an accident in the United Kingdom or Guernsey (at a time when you are required to pay Jersey contributions) while you are employed there, you are treated as if the accident had happened in Jersey.
There are similar provisions regarding benefits for people coming from the United Kingdom or Guernsey to Jersey.
If you are in the United Kingdom or Guernsey, you are not disqualified (by reason of absence from Jersey) for receiving Jersey accident benefits resulting from an accident previously sustained in Jersey.
Old Age Pension (Retirement Pension in the United Kingdom)
The agreement enables a person in receipt of a Jersey old age pension who is living in the United Kingdom or Guernsey to receive his pension at the rate at which it would be payable if he were resident in Jersey, and also to receive any increases in rates of pension which may be effected by the Jersey Social Security Department.
Similarly, a United Kingdom or Guernsey pensioner living in Jersey may receive his pension at the rate at which it would be payable if he were in the United Kingdom or Guernsey, together with any increases in rates of pension which may be effected by the United Kingdom or Guernsey authorities.
If you satisfy the contribution conditions for a pension in any one of the countries of the agreement you will receive a separate pension from that country.
If in another country you do not satisfy the basic contribution conditions for a pension, that country will combine your contribution records in both or all three countries, and from this will calculate your entitlement to a proportionate pension.
There are similar provisions, subject to modifications in certain cases, for a woman to claim pension on her husband's or ex-husband's contributions. Any claim for pension which a person wishes to make involving one of the countries of this agreement should be made in the country in which he is residing.
Further information may be obtained from the appropriate authority listed at the end of this leaflet.
Survivor's Benefit
The provisions for survivor's benefit are similar to those previously explained for the old age pension.
Death Grant
If there is entitlement to a death grant under the legislation of Jersey or Guernsey then the claimant will be entitled only to the grant from that country where the death occurred.
Where the contribution conditions for a death grant are not satisfied under Jersey or Guernsey's scheme, a grant may nevertheless be considered by the country in which the death occurs on the combined contributions in both countries.
Please Note: Death Grant no longer exists in the U.K.
Attendance Allowance
If a claim for Attendance Allowance is made under the legislation of either Jersey, Guernsey, the United Kingdom or the Isle of Man, certain residence conditions have to be established. However, periods of residence in one of these countries may be treated as residence in the country where the claim is being made.
Part Four - Family Allowances
General
Family Allowance in Jersey is a tax free cash payment for the benefit of the family as a whole. It is paid to families who have at least one child under the age of sixteen AND where family income is below specified income limits. Payment may continue after the sixteenth birthday if the child remains in full-time education in Jersey.
The rate of family allowance payable is directly related to family income. The maximum allowance is paid for each child in the family where family income does not exceed the lower income level. Where family income exceeds this level the rate of the allowance falls as income rises. No allowance is payable where family income exceeds the upper income limit. This limit varies according to the number of children in the family.
People coming to Jersey from the United Kingdom or Guernsey
If you come to Jersey and become ordinarily resident here, normally you will cease to be entitled to United Kingdom child benefit/Guernsey family allowance. Instead you may become entitled to Jersey family allowances. These are dependent upon your income in Jersey and your entitlement cannot be determined until 12 months after the date of your arrival. Any arrears due for the first 12 months of residence in Jersey will then be paid.
If you are employed in Jersey and are covered by the Social Security arrangements for special categories of people as previously described, you may be eligible under the United Kingdom or Guernsey schemes even though you are resident in Jersey. If this is the case you will be paid United Kingdom child benefit or Guernsey family allowance.
People going to the United Kingdom or Guernsey from Jersey
If you go to the United Kingdom or Guernsey to work temporarily in continuation of your normal employment in Jersey, whilst at the same time remaining ordinarily resident in Jersey, you may be entitled to continue to receive Jersey family allowances.
If you go to the United Kingdom or Guernsey, and immediately become ordinarily resident there, you will be covered by the United Kingdom child benefit scheme or the Guernsey family allowance scheme. To help you satisfy the residence tests for United Kingdom child benefit, or Guernsey family allowance, your periods of residence in Jersey will be treated as though they were periods of residence in the other country, and if you were born in Jersey you will be treated as if you had been born in the other country.
If you are employed in the United Kingdom or Guernsey and are covered by the Social Security arrangements for special categories of people as previously described, you may be insured under the Jersey scheme even though you are resident in the United Kingdom or Guernsey. If this is the case you will be covered by the Jersey family allowance scheme and you will not be entitled to United Kingdom child benefit or Guernsey family allowance.
Part Five -General Medical Practitioner and Pharmaceutical Services
General
The general medical practitioner scheme in Jersey is based on a fee for service and reimbursement and is available only to persons ordinarily resident in Jersey. No payment of benefit can be made in respect of medical and pharmaceutical services provided outside the Island of Jersey. A person is not required to register with a particular doctor and doctors are not under service contracts with the States of Jersey to provide a service to any particular person.
The Benefits
A person who has satisfied a six months residence condition during which they may have been paying Social Security contributions receives part reimbursement of the cost of general medical practitioners services. This is called medical benefit. They are also entitled to pharmaceutical benefit which consists of listed drugs and medicines supplied by approved chemists on payment of a prescription charge per item. They are entitled to these benefits both for themselves and for their dependants.
People coming to Jersey
Before a person is entitled to the benefits under the scheme for himself or his dependants a qualifying period of six months residence must elapse. It is important therefore that all persons including those over pensionable age should apply for a benefits card under the Jersey Health Scheme after satisfying the six months residence qualifying period in Jersey.
Part Six - Reciprocal Health Arrangements
There is a Health Service convention between the governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the States of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and the Chief Pleas of Sark.
The convention provides that when people are temporarily resident in another country and requires immediate treatment, they shall be treated as if they were ordinarily resident in that country. If you are visiting the United Kingdom and if you, or your dependants, are ill and do not wish private medical care you should go to a National Health Service doctor. Lists of such doctors are available at most main post offices, and you must specifically request National Health Service treatment from this doctor. If you do not follow this procedure, you may be seen (treated) as a private patient and will be charged the cost of such consultation (treatment). The cost of private consultation (treatment) obtained under these circumstances cannot be refunded.
In Jersey the term “treatment'' means the hospital medical and nursing services, including dental, ophthalmic and pharmaceutical services provided through the Hospital Services of the Public Health Committee of the States of Jersey. It does NOT cover the General Medical Practitioner and Pharmaceutical Services available in the Island.
Visitors to the Island and residents who have lived on the Island for less than 6 months do not qualify for subsidy under the Health Scheme and so may be required to pay the hospital treatment, doctor's fees and prescription costs in full.
If you wish to see a general practitioner you should telephone 616833 and you will be given the name and address of the rota surgery.
A charge may be made for your visit and for any prescriptions you require. Please check when you make an appointment.
If in the opinion of the relevant competent authority of any country adequate treatment facilities do not exist in that country, then arrangements can be made for the treatment to be provided in another country. Any charges which would normally be paid by a resident of the country providing the treatment will also be levied on a person receiving treatment under this convention.
The convention does not include provision for the payment of expenses incurred in travelling between two countries for the purpose of obtaining treatment.
Further information about reciprocal health arrangements can be obtained from:-
Health & Social Services
Peter Crill House
18 Gloucester Street
St Helier, Jersey
JE2 3QS
Tel: (01534) 622000
Fax: (01534) 622887
Department of Health
Richmond House, Room 542a
79 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2NS
Tel: (0207) 2104850
Fax: (0207) 2105863
http://www.doh.gov.uk/
Board of Health
Princess Elizabeth Hospital
Le Vauquiedor
St Martin
Guernsey
GY4 6UU
Tel: (01481) 725241
Fax: (01481) 235341
Further information concerning the social security and family allowance arrangements described in this leaflet is available from:
Social Security Department
Philip Le Feuvre House
La Motte Street
St. Helier
Jersey
JE4 8PE
Tel: (01534) 445505
Fax: (01534) 445525
The Department for Work and Pensions
Tyneview Park
Whitley Road
Benton
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
England
NE98 1BA
Tel: (0191) 2187777
http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/
Social Security Agency
Overseas Benefit Unit
Network Support Branch 1
Room 2 Block 2
Castle Building
Stormont
Belfast
Northern Ireland
BT4 3SP
Tel: (02890) 523333
Fax: (02890) 523271
http://www.ssani.gov.uk/
Social Security Division
Department of Health & Social Security
Markwell House
Market Street
Douglas
Isle of Man
Tel: (01624) 685025 - policy section
Fax: (01624) 685008
http://www.gov.im/dhss/
Social Security Authority
Edward T. Wheadon House
Le Truchot
St. Peter Port
Guernsey
GY1 3WH
Tel: (01481) 732500
Fax: (01481) 728187
www.gov.gg/ccm/navigation/social-security/
Part Seven - Further Information
This leaflet gives general information and does not try to give full details on any particular matter. It cannot be treated as a statement of the Law.
Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions about the information contained in this leaflet.
Our staff are here to help you, please telephone us on 445505 or call into our office.
Please note: calls to the Department may be monitored for training purposes.
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