Remote working overseas – considerations

Life as a military spouse or partner means that you can find yourself being asked to move overseas. While this can be an exciting opportunity to experience life in a new country, it can have a huge impact on the career of the non-serving partner if they are unable to move their own job abroad.

With the rapid increase in remote working, military spouses are increasingly exploring this as a possible way to continue their employment while overseas. However, it is obviously not as simple as them just picking up their laptop and connecting from the host nation.

There are many factors for employers to consider when exploring the potential for an employee to work from overseas - conducting ‘due diligence’ is essential in making this a success.

We have put together a list of some of the matters for you to consider as an employer, should a military spouse employee request to work remotely from a host nation overseas. We strongly recommend that you seek professional advice - this is intended as a starting point and is not a definitive list:

  • liability and indemnity insurances
  • work visa requirements
  • employment law in the host nation
  • tax compliance obligations and liabilities
  • payroll or social security responsibilities in the host nation
  • data protection and GDPR regulations
  • health and safety
  • internet firewalls
  • different time zones and national holidays
  • additional costs for communications
  • potential professional considerations, e.g. whether you can provide financial or legal advice when outside the UK

Each country’s requirements are different, and some are more straight forward than others. Your employee will also need to fully understand their personal tax liabilities and any working visa or restrictions that may apply to their posting.

It has helped in some cases that the employer and employee have established a ‘memorandum of understanding’ to set out expectations for both parties whilst they are overseas. For example, whether there is a requirement to return to the UK periodically.

The process can be long-winded and difficult, but not impossible, and we know that some partners accompanying their serving person overseas have successfully managed to make this work for their careers too.