Workation in companies › All things legal. And what else you need to consider
ALL THINGS LEGAL. AND WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO CONSIDER
COVID-19 has turned lots of employees into home office experts. We’ve trained ourselves, changed our processes, and are no less productive. The home office abroad, the so-called workation, is now the next step.
If you, as a company, want to enable your employees to take workations, you should bear in mind some of the legal aspects. Of course, we can only give you a rough overview here. When planning, you should clearly take legal advice that is informed about the guidelines in your country and your company.
Here are a few points that should always be considered:
Insurance
What is your employee’s insurance status in the event of an accident in their home office abroad? And who pays if their laptop gets broken on the beach? Questions about the insurance of employees and work equipment must be checked in advance.
This is just one list of some of the important points worth considering when planning a workation. It is by no means complete. Be sure to check for yourself which national regulations apply to you. Our shortlist is just a reminder for you as an employer or employee that there are a few legal questions that need to be clarified before embarking upon a workation.
Tax
The question of whether a short-term workation abroad would lead to an additional income tax liability must be checked with the legal requirements of the relevant country. Tax issues can become pitfalls, but your tax advisor will be able to answer your questions.
This is just one list of some of the important points worth considering when planning a workation. It is by no means complete. Be sure to check for yourself which national regulations apply to you. Our shortlist is just a reminder for you as an employer or employee that there are a few legal questions that need to be clarified before embarking upon a workation.
Workation inside or outside the EU?
The Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons applies within the EU. This means that employees from an EU country do not need a work permit if they want to work from home within the EU and Switzerland. For all countries outside the EU, their national regulations must be observed.
This is just one list of some of the important points worth considering when planning a workation. It is by no means complete. Be sure to check for yourself which national regulations apply to you. Our shortlist is just a reminder for you as an employer or employee that there are a few legal questions that need to be clarified before embarking upon a workation.
Remote working or workation?
From a purely legal point of view, a workation is a home office abroad. The difference between workation and remote working is the duration. A workation covers a limited period of time, while remote working abroad does not have a time limit.
This is just one list of some of the important points worth considering when planning a workation. It is by no means complete. Be sure to check for yourself which national regulations apply to you. Our shortlist is just a reminder for you as an employer or employee that there are a few legal questions that need to be clarified before embarking upon a workation.
Define the general conditions
It is advantageous for everyone involved if the general working conditions during a workation are clearly defined. How available are employees expected to be? Which costs are covered by employers? However, the tax and social security aspects must also be clarified individually, and these depend on the length of the stay abroad.
This is just one list of some of the important points worth considering when planning a workation. It is by no means complete. Be sure to check for yourself which national regulations apply to you. Our shortlist is just a reminder for you as an employer or employee that there are a few legal questions that need to be clarified before embarking upon a workation.
