EDIFACT message guide · Healthcare and social

SOCADE Social administration

The UN/EDIFACT message an employer sends to an organization to report information about people who receive wages or benefits from it.

Sent by
Employer
Received by
Social security or administration organization
Standard
UN/EDIFACT · Batch message
X12 equivalent
No direct equivalent

What is the EDIFACT SOCADE message?

SOCADE is the UN/EDIFACT social administration message. The directory defines it as a message sent by an employer to an organization to report information about persons who receive wages or benefits from the employer. It can relate to an event concerning one or more persons.

Employers report hires, departures, wage changes and absences to social security, pension and similar organizations. Structured reporting replaces many separate forms and keeps the organizations' records accurate for contributions and benefits. National schemes define which events must be reported.

How the EDIFACT SOCADE message worksDiagram of the UN/EDIFACT SOCADE Social administration message. Employer sends it to social security or administration organization. It usually starts the exchange. It is usually followed by COPAYM. Inside the UNB and UNH envelopes, the directory D.21A requires, in the start of message: BGM (Beginning of message) and DTM (Date/time/period) and body and segment groups: the required SG1 loop with PNA (Party identification), UNS (Section control) and the required SG3 loop with PNA (Party identification). 5 conditional segment groups are listed by their trigger segment.How the EDIFACT SOCADE message worksSocial administration: who sends it, where it fits and what the directory marks mandatory1 WHERE IT FITSUSUALLY FOLLOWSStarts the exchangeSOCADESENDEREmployerRECEIVERSocial security oradministrationorganizationCONTRL syntax report back, if agreedUSUALLY FOLLOWED BYCOPAYMContributions forpayment2 WHAT DIRECTORY D.21A REQUIRESInterchange: sender and recipient IDsUNB … UNZMessage SOCADEUNH … UNTSTART OF MESSAGEBGMBeginning of messageDTMDate/time/periodBODY AND SEGMENT GROUPSMandatory group SG1 · repeats up to 9PNAParty identificationUNSSection controlMandatory group SG3 · repeats many timesPNAParty identification+ 5 conditional groups, starting with:ADRRFFPRCAUTBlue box: mandatory segment group. Conditional groups are listed by the trigger segment that starts them; a group is sent only when its data applies.Conditional segments outside groups are not drawn.Structure: mandatory segments and groups in the UN/EDIFACT directory D.21A listing for SOCADE. Your trading partner's implementation guide adds itsown requirements.
How the EDIFACT SOCADE message worksDiagram of the UN/EDIFACT SOCADE Social administration message. Employer sends it to social security or administration organization. It usually starts the exchange. It is usually followed by COPAYM. Inside the UNB and UNH envelopes, the directory D.21A requires, in the start of message: BGM (Beginning of message) and DTM (Date/time/period) and body and segment groups: the required SG1 loop with PNA (Party identification), UNS (Section control) and the required SG3 loop with PNA (Party identification). 5 conditional segment groups are listed by their trigger segment.How the EDIFACT SOCADEmessage worksSocial administration: who sends it, where itfits and what the directory marks mandatory1 WHERE IT FITSUSUALLY FOLLOWSStarts the exchangeSOCADESENDEREmployerRECEIVERSocial securityoradministrationorganizationCONTRL syntax report back, if agreedUSUALLY FOLLOWED BYCOPAYMContributions for payment2 WHAT DIRECTORY D.21A REQUIRESInterchange: sender and recipient IDs(UNB … UNZ)Message SOCADE (UNH … UNT)START OF MESSAGEBGMBeginning of messageDTMDate/time/periodBODY AND SEGMENT GROUPSMandatory group SG1 · repeats upto 9PNAParty identificationUNSSection controlMandatory group SG3 · repeatsmany timesPNAParty identification+ 5 conditional groups, starting with:ADRRFFPRCAUTBlue box: mandatory segment group. Conditionalgroups are listed by the trigger segment thatstarts them; a group is sent only when its dataapplies. Conditional segments outside groups arenot drawn.Structure: mandatory segments and groups in theUN/EDIFACT directory D.21A listing for SOCADE.Your trading partner's implementation guide adds itsown requirements.

How to read this diagram: the top row shows who sends SOCADE, to whom, and which messages usually come before and after it. The lower part shows what the directory D.21A itself requires: the envelopes around SOCADE and the segments and segment groups it marks mandatory. Conditional groups are listed by their trigger segment rather than drawn in full. This is the directory's minimum, not a trading partner's requirement: a message implementation guide, such as an industry subset or a partner’s own guide, usually makes some conditional groups mandatory, restricts the codes and may use an older directory.

Expand diagram Download SVG

When it is used

  • Reporting new hires and departures
  • Reporting wages for contribution purposes
  • Reporting absences such as sick leave

Where it fits in the message flow

This message SOCADE Social administration
Usually followed by COPAYM Contributions for payment

Structure

Mandatory segments in SOCADE (directory D.21A)

In UN/EDIFACT directory D.21A, the SOCADE message has 53 segment positions arranged in 12 segment groups. These are the segments and segment groups marked mandatory at message level, in order; a mandatory group is shown with the segment that starts it. Segments inside conditional groups are needed only when the group is used. This is the directory’s requirement, not your trading partner’s: each partner’s message implementation guide names the directory it uses, often an older one such as D.96A or D.01B where the structure can differ, makes some conditional segments mandatory and restricts the codes.

  • UNH
  • BGM
  • DTM
  • SG1 (PNA)
  • UNS
  • SG3 (PNA)
  • UNT

Practical example

SOCADE in practice

An employer hires 20 seasonal workers and reports the hires, contracts and wages to the social security organization with SOCADE messages. When the season ends, it reports the departures, and the organization updates each person's records.

Implementation

Implementation considerations for SOCADE

  • Follow the receiving organization's specification.
  • Report events within statutory deadlines.
  • Protect employees' personal data under applicable law.
  • Reconcile reported wages with payroll records.

Need help with SOCADE?

ECOM maps, tests and monitors EDIFACT messages for your trading partners and integrates them with your ERP.