GTN Mobility Tax Blog

In our globalized business landscape, international assignments remain a cornerstone of talent management strategies. And the responsibility for HR and mobility program professionals to orchestrate seamless transitions for employees stepping into roles on foreign soil is pivotal. The success of these endeavors hinges on a multitude of factors, including strategic planning, resource allocation, and policy implementation.

This article was originally published in Training magazine.

Why does duty of care training need an update in the age of remote work?

Most business leaders realize remote and hybrid work have significantly transformed the way organizations operate. However, amid this shift, one critical aspect that often goes unnoticed is the need to address the duty of care training and safety measures concerning remote workers’ tax compliance obligations.

If your company has tax equalized assignees, you may have heard from employees who have received unexpected tax bills, have yet to settle their tax equalization payments, or are confused about how their tax liabilities were calculated. If any of these ring a bell, now is the time to re-examine the hypothetical tax positions for your mobile employees. Let’s explore some of the most frequent questions we receive and delve into our recommendations on how you can ensure a successful mobility program.

For many companies, the new workforce norm has shifted to virtual and remote employees. However, for several businesses, there remains a need to have employees working in-person on multiple projects across the country or around the world. Business travel, while still not up to pre-pandemic levels, is making its way back as a standard way of working.

While typical mobile workforce structures such as permanent and long-term assignments are generally managed through a defined HR or mobility function, management of short-term business travel tends to be less defined. Yet, understanding and actively managing the tax risks of short-term business travelers can greatly reduce costs and a variety of risks for both your organization and business travelers. Therefore, developing a structure to oversee this area is imperative.

Imagine this: you are sitting at your desk working to finalize the weekly status update. In walks the president of the company and says, “In order to increase our business, we are expanding overseas. I would like to send Jane Smith to Germany for three years. How soon can you make this happen?”

I’ll bet the questions that race through your mind are the same as every other HR manager tasked with sending employees internationally for the first time:

• Where do I start?
• What do I need to consider?
• What processes need to be in place?

As remote work requests continue to roll in and the future of work is one that embraces a mobile workforce, C-suite executives are pushing to offer remote work as a valuable incentive to retain and attract talent. While a drive to offer this employee incentive has already realized advantages for companies, it has also come with many challenges and compliance requirements that still need to be addressed.