A sunny terrace, in the background the sea or a swimming pool, palm fronds which provide a little shade and an individual – rather young – in shorts and sunglasses, sitting in front of a laptop computer… The caption specifies that the telework can be practiced everywhere, so why not in an exotic country?
Since it is possible to telecommute full-time and remotely, employees have started to want to do it from abroad. And this trend is growing. Even if it means spending time in front of a screen, whether in the sun and with your feet in the water or in your country of origin. But if the case turns out to be rather simple for “digital nomads”, it can prove to be a real headache for companies.
For an employee, going to work abroad supposes having reached an agreement with his employer and being in good standing with the legislation in force in the host country, in particular with regard to visas and taxation according to the length of stay.
It is not enough to have a laptop, a good Internet connection and a job that allows telecommuting. “For the employee, it is a question of knowing which social protection applies if he leaves, for example, for Bolivia for four months with the agreement of his employer, and that he has an accident at work. There, we are in the lawlessness, because the employer is not affiliated with the social protection organizations of the host countryunderlines the lawyer Me Adeline Cornic. If the employee is a national of a European country and does a minimum of 25% of his work in another country of the European Union, i.e. more than one week per month, Community law states that the right to this other country applies and that the employer must join and contribute to both social protection schemes. »
Recruitment assistance
Suffice to say that for French companies, already subject to highly developed social legislation, these obligations can be particularly heavy to manage. Despite this, they are gradually accepting this new way of working remotely, because they are all having difficulty recruiting and employees are asking for more teleworking.
For some professions, accepting work from abroad helps them recruit and retain employees. “For this reason, VSEs and SMEs are more open to this form of work, but they do not have the financial and administrative means to manage it. As a result, they ask employees to become freelancers or go through wage portage… And when they are denied this possibility, employees leave their employer and set up as freelancers”remarks Marjorie di Placido, coach specializing in teleworking.
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