The recently finalised trade agreement between the United Kingdom and India marks a significant milestone in post-Brexit British trade policy and introduces important changes for businesses managing cross-border workforce mobility.
Key Cross-Border Compliance Highlights:
Visa & Mobility Provisions: Streamlined visa processes for business travellers and skilled professionals will facilitate greater workforce mobility between the two countries, with new pathways for temporary business transfers.
Social Security Coordination: The agreement introduces a comprehensive Social Security Agreement (SSA) that prevents dual social security contribution requirements. Employees temporarily assigned from one country to the other can now remain in their home country’s social security system for up to five years, avoiding double taxation.
Certificate of Coverage Changes: The new provisions require employers to obtain specific Certificates of Coverage (CoC) documenting an employee’s exemption from host country social security contributions. These certificates now have standardised digital verification requirements.
Digital Trade Framework: New provisions establish clear rules for cross-border data flows while maintainingappropriate data protection standards.
Compliance Requirements: The agreement introduces updated compliance protocols for businesses deploying staff across borders, including new documentation requirements and reporting obligations.
Cost Savings: Companies can save approximately 12% of salary costs in UK National Insurance contributions and 24% in Indian Provident Fund contributions by properly documenting assignments.
Enhanced Pension Rights: Employees can now aggregate insurance periods in both countries for determining pension eligibility, protecting long-term retirement benefits.
EU Court Brings Clarity on Cross-Border Social Security
September 25, 2025
Compliance
For years, companies and employees have wrestled with one question: how do you decide which country’s social security system applies when someone works in more than one EU state?
In September 2025, the Court of Justice answered that question in the Hakamp case (C-203/24). The message was simple: when you are applying the 25% test under EU Regulation 987/2009, the only things that count are working time and pay.
What happened in Hakamp?
A Dutch resident worked for a Liechtenstein employer on a ship that operated across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Dutch authorities argued that “other circumstances” should be taken into account when deciding if at least 25% of the work was done in the Netherlands. The Court rejected that approach.
The judgment makes it crystal clear:
≥25% of time or pay in your home country → insured there.
<25% → insured where the employer is based.
That’s it. No extra factors like where the company is registered or where equipment is located.
Why this matters
For employers, this means less guesswork and fewer disputes. You can rely on objective numbers instead of subjective interpretations. For employees, it means certainty about which system they’re covered under.
How this links with telework
This decision sits alongside the Framework Agreement on cross-border telework, in force since July 2023. That agreement lets employees work up to 49.9% from their country of residence and still stay covered in the employer’s state, provided an A1 certificate is applied for under Article 16. So, the baseline 25% test still applies, but there’s flexibility if the telework agreement is used.
What employers should do
Track working time and pay by country.
Keep records up to date.
Use the telework agreement if it applies to your situation.
Revisit old cases if national authorities relied on “other circumstances” instead of time/pay.
The takeaway
With Hakamp, the Court has finally put an end to inconsistent approaches. For social security coverage, it all comes down to two objective numbers: either the share of working time or the share of remuneration earned in each country. In practice, most employers track working time, but pay can also be used where it provides a clearer measure.
Case C-203/24, Hakamp
EU Posted Workers E-Declaration Portal: A Big Step in Single Market Digitalization
September 25, 2025
Compliance
On 13 November 2024, the European Commission proposed a regulation (COM/2024/531) to create a digital portal for declaring posted workers across the EU. On 22 May 2025, the Council adopted its negotiating position, paving the way for talks with the European Parliament. This initiative is part of the EU’s broader push to cut red tape and modernize the Single Market.
Why it matters
A “posted worker” is someone sent by their employer to work temporarily in another Member State — whether through a services contract, intra-group transfer, or agency posting. According to the European Labour Authority, there are about 3.6 million postings each year, involving 2.6 million workers, and roughly 1.2million of those work in two or more countries.
Right now, all 27 Member States require declarations before postings, but each country’s system looks different. They’re not connected to each other, so companies face duplicated forms, unfamiliar portals, and time-consuming admin.
What the new portal will do
The regulation would build a multilingual electronic interface, connected to the Internal Market Information System (IMI) — the EU’s existing tool for administrative cooperation. The idea is to reuse the infrastructure already working for posted road transport workers, where a similar IMI link has been live since 2022.
Core functions will include:
Secure accounts for employers to access the system
Creation, submission, and management of posting declarations
A standard form covering details of the employer, workers, assignment, service recipient, and liaison contact
Direct transmission of declarations into the IMI for authorities
The Council’s position strengthens this with extra features:
Employers can upload supporting documents directly
Built-in data validation and communication tools between authorities and companies
Workers can access electronic extracts of their postings
Expected benefits
Lower costs and less admin: The Commission estimates completing a declaration will be 73% faster than the current EU average. Cost savings could reach 58% even if only some Member States join. If all 27 participate, administrative costs could fall by as much as 81%.
Fairer competition and better worker protection: A harmonized, standard form should make checks easier, helping ensure posted workers enjoy the rights they’re entitled to.
For context, a 2024 business survey found that 46.1% of over 1,000 companies saw significant problems or uncertainties with posting. Time to file a declaration today ranges from 21 minutes (Estonia/Slovakia) to 87 minutes (Greece).
The initiative fits into the EU’s promise to cut reporting burdens by 25% while keeping worker protections intact. It also supports the Commission’s digital transformation agenda. As the Council put it: “Digitalising the administrative work for posted workers is a game changer in the internal market for services. Sending employees to another member state will be faster, cheaper and easier; workers will continue to enjoy their rights, and the single market for services will be closer to completion.”
Looking ahead
With the Council position now agreed, attention turns to the European Parliament. The file is already marked as “close to adoption” on the EU’s Legislative Train Schedule, so final approval could come soon. Once in place, the e-declaration portal will make posting workers simpler for companies, lighter for authorities, and fairer for workers — a practical win for a more digital, integrated Europe.
Excellence in Technology – The Cozm Wins the Relocate Global Award 2025
July 15, 2025
Compliance
We are incredibly proud to share that The Cozm has won the Relocate Global Award for Excellence in Technology.
This recognition means so much to us as a young company committed to driving real impact in global mobility. Every late night, every line of code, every brainstorming session — it’s all led us here. A heartfelt thank you to our brilliant team, supportive clients, and fantastic partners. You are the reason we get to do what we do.
Here is to continuing to push boundaries in global mobility — and beyond.
Our CEO, Benjamin Oghene, accepted the award and said:
“This company is only two and a half years old, so we are a startup,” he said. “It is amazing. I am a computer scientist by background, and when I used to tell people what we do, they would walk off in different directions. So AI has become more popular recently and this is a bit strange for me. Our whole team has worked really, really hard over the last two and a half years and we really appreciate this award, so thank you very much.”
The judges shared why The Cozm was selected for the award:
“The Cozm impressed the judges with its AI-powered platform that transforms global mobility compliance. By combining cutting-edge innovation with inclusivity and industry collaboration, The Cozm is paving the way for a more strategic and empowered future in the mobility space.”
“Cozm showcases an AI-powered platform that streamlines global mobility compliance, empowers professionals, and fosters inclusivity and industry collaboration. Given the speed of automation of operational compliance tasks, this tool certainly could free up global mobility for a much more strategic role.”
“An exceptional blend of AI-driven innovation, human empowerment, and inclusive values. Its creative connections between technology, people, and industry set it apart as both a leader and an inspiration in the global mobility space.”
Winners Announced! | Awards | Relocate magazine
In the past, building enterprise technology was often a slow and costly endeavour. Teams would spend months (if not years) and significant budgets implementing rigid software platforms, only to find them clunky and hard to change. Today, a new paradigm is emerging. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI)– from powerful generative models to agentic AI (autonomous, goal-driven AI "agents" that can act on our behalf) – are transforming how technology gets built. Development cycles are accelerating, costs are coming down, and solutions are more customisable than ever. The best part? Modern tech is being built with users, not pushed onto them.
Speed and Cost Have Changed
Generative AI and coding agents now handle tasks like code writing, testing, and documentation — allowing ideas to move from concept to working solution in days, not months. This drastically reduces the cost of development and iteration.
Instead of waiting through long development cycles or vendor change requests, teams can experiment, adjust, and roll out improvements quickly — building tech that evolves with your needs in real time.
No More One-Size-Fits-All
Contrast this with the old world of legacy enterprise systems. Traditional HR and global mobility platforms often took enormous effort to customise (if they were customisable at all). Organisations stuck on outdated systems find themselves pouring resources into just keeping those systems running - customisation came with high costs and delays. That does not work in global mobility, where every assignment, policy, and location is different and requirements are ever-changing.
A recent survey found that IT departments spend 55% of their tech budgets on maintenance – and only 19% on innovation. No wonder updating a legacy application is 2–5 times more expensive (and slower) than updating a modern one, simply because older systems are so hard to modify. These inflexible platforms were not built to adapt to each organisation's unique needs, leading to costly workarounds and one-size-fits-all processes that frustrate users.
AI enables modular, responsive systems. Agentic workflows can adjust to how you operate, and even surface process improvements proactively. Tech no longer dictates your way of working — it supports it.
Organisations can deliver more tailored user experiences without the traditional vendor customisation fees or endless developer hours, because AI makes adapting the software faster and easier.
Why It Matters for Global Mobility?
Managing an international relocation or expatriate assignment involves countless moving parts: immigration visas, work permits, tax compliance, shipping belongings, finding housing and schools – all coordinated among HR, employees, and service providers. It is exactly the kind of process that used to require heavy manual oversight or clunky legacy tools. These are not simple checklists; they are dynamic, high-stakes processes. AI is poised to reinvent this experience.
AI is now capable of driving core mobility workflows:
Immigration agents track policy changes, conduct assessments, pre-fill forms, and monitor case progress.
Tax agents simulate outcomes and flag compliance issues.
Relocation assistants match employee needs with housing or schooling options in line with company policy.
In a traditional model, each of those bullet points might have involved separate systems or manual coordination. These tools do not remove the human touch — they amplify it. Now, an integrated AI-powered mobility platform can orchestrate them almost like a well-trained team of digital assistants. The impact is profound: mobility professionals and HR teams are freed from chasing paperwork and micromanaging tasks, and can focus on strategic talent planning and meaningful human connections rather than drowning in logistics.
Built with You, Not Pushed on You
The real shift is in mindset. The future for global mobility tech and mobility leaders is optimistic: by embracing AI and agentic workflows, we can build solutions faster, at lower cost, and with far more alignment to what users actually need. We are moving away from the era of inflexible, IT-driven systems toward an era of collaborative technology – where building a new workflow might feel less like a massive IT project and more like working with a smart colleague.
Instead of technology being rolled out to you, it now should be built with you. AI enables co-creation — where mobility leaders and tech teams can shape solutions together, prototype ideas quickly, and adapt workflows based on real-time needs.
The future of global mobility tech is fast, flexible, and user-driven. It is not about replacing your team — it is about giving them better tools. And that starts by building technology with you, not pushed on you.
This is what we truly believe in at The Cozm. Unsure where to start your AI-powered digitalisation journey? Book a free one-hour discovery session with The Cozm. We will map out quick-win use cases that boost programme efficiency and let you focus on what really matters. Bring the ideas you thought were impossible—we will explore them together and turn them into practical mobility solutions.
