Definition: Social security costs

Category: Structural business statistics

Employers' social security costs correspond to an amount equal to the value of the social contributions incurred by employers in order to secure for their employees the entitlement to social benefits.

Social security costs for the employer include the employer's social security contributions to schemes for retirement pensions, sickness, maternity, disability, unemployment, occupational accidents and diseases, family allowances as well as other schemes.

Included are the costs for all employees including homeworkers and apprentices.

Charges are included for all schemes, regardless of whether they are statutory, collectively agreed, contractual or voluntary in nature. Wages and salaries which the employer continues to pay in the event of illness, occupational accident, maternity leave or short-time working may be recorded here or under wages and salaries, dependent upon the unit's accounting practices. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:1998:344:0049:0080:EN:PDF