Home office abroad
For many employees, the transition to a hybrid working environment is also reviving the dream of working on the beach. More and more employees are already taking advantage of the opportunity to work from other countries, while elsewhere companies are still hesitant to give their employees more freedom in their choice of work location.
Extending your vacation and working on the beach for a few days, which sounds straightforward at first, can lead to a number of questions. This guide provides an overview of what to look out for if you want to move your place of work abroad.
What is meant by working from home abroad?
Let us therefore first clarify when we can speak of working from home abroad. The following scenarios are conceivable:
- Employees travel abroad for a certain period of time and work from there
- Cross-border commuters no longer travel to the neighboring country for work, but work from home instead
- Employees move their center of life abroad and work permanently from there for the previous company in Germany
- Employees from abroad do not take up a posting or take up employment in another country
Reasons & advantages of working from home abroad
Employees
Being able to work in another country is a relevant issue for both employees and employers. For employees, flexibility in the choice of place of work and working hours is an increasingly important issue. The desire to achieve a better work-life balance will play an increasingly important role for many when choosing a job and employer in the future.
Employer
Conversely, the same applies to employers. In the battle for the best talent, being able to choose the best place to work from home is a way to set yourself apart from other employers. Offering remote work can be a competitive advantage, especially if a company cannot keep up with its competitors in terms of other factors such as salary, number of vacation days or company benefits.
What questions need to be answered before starting the home office abroad?
If employees are to be able to work from abroad, various questions must be clarified in advance of the country of residence.
Relevant issues in relation to working from home abroad
- Right of residence
- Work permit
- Labor law
- Tax treatment
- Social insurance
- Data protection & data security
Is there a right to work from home abroad?
In principle, there is no right to work from home abroad. Rather, the employer must give their OK. An entitlement can only arise if there is a corresponding provision in the employment contract, a collective agreement or a works agreement. However, even if there is a corresponding regulation on working from home, this does not necessarily apply to working from home abroad. As there may be a far-reaching need for clarification with regard to further issues (see below), this is not reasonable for the employer in case of doubt, according to court decisions.
Right of residence
Work permit
Labor law
When employees relocate their home office abroad, the HR department must clarify which requirements apply in terms of employment law. This includes the requirements regarding
Tax regulations
Social insurance
Data protection & data security
Last but not least, the issues of data protection and data security must not be neglected when working from home abroad. Data and confidential documents must be protected from access by third parties to the same extent as when working in the office or at a home office workstation at home.
Differentiation between home office abroad vs. workation
What to look out for when working from home abroad
Working hours & availability
Project cooperation
As with hybrid working in general, it is also important to define clear rules for collaboration. Software tools simplify the digital collaboration of distributed teams in various ways.
Technical equipment & infrastructure
Clarify with the IT managers in advance whether all the technical requirements (suitable technical equipment such as laptops, smartphones or tablets, as well as the necessary access options) are in place for working from abroad. This avoids a rude awakening on site later on.