GTN Mobility Tax Blog

As organizations compete for talent, flexible work arrangements are no longer a perk, they are an expectation. However, while employees gain flexibility, employers may take on new and often unseen compliance risks.

To you, the HR manager, “home” means employees should work from the address reflected in company records and payroll systems. But to the employee, “home” may simply mean they can work remotely from anywhere they choose. That could mean working from another location within their Home country or from another country altogether.

In 2020, a leading e-commerce business began receiving remote work requests from employees on a regular basis. The company quickly realized they didn’t have appropriate policies, processes, or bandwidth in place to handle the requests. Unsure of where to start, they reached out to GTN for assistance. GTN worked alongside the company to build a global remote work policy and automated approval process that not only ensured employee and employer tax compliance, but also maintained a strong company culture and positive employee experience.

As the future of work continues to evolve, providing a “positive employee experience” is top of mind for companies. While some organizations have gone back to in-office working arrangements, many have retained a full or partial remote workforce culture. These businesses see the provision of a flexible workplace as critical to not only retaining key employees, but also in recruiting top talent to fill essential job duties. And while this incentive is a benefit for the employee and employer, there are important duty of care responsibilities that need to be considered when you have a remote workforce.

As travel is slowly returning worldwide, and remote work is becoming truly remote, the key to having a successful remote workforce policy is to have a plan. Having an approach that essentially lets your employees freely choose where they work puts both the company and the employee at risk. And there are many risks ranging from health, duty of care, employee benefits, and insurance, to more operational aspects such as immigration, tax, payroll withholding, and social security. Below are some guidelines for how you can handle your traveling remote workforce.