How to ensure cross border compliance in “new normal”

With so many employees working remotely as a result of the pandemic, many employees are indicating that they would like more flexibility to work remotely into the future. Organizations are also seeing a number of benefits from remote work, including increased employee satisfaction, flexibility and decreased costs in many cases.

While the employers clearly recognize the benefits in terms of employee flexibility, productivity, broader talent pools and attractivity for employees, there are also potential risks and compliance obligations, especially created by the cross-border remote work – tax, legal and payroll issues which must be reviewed before starting remote work from abroad. Employees are requesting to work from another country from many reasons; they may have family abroad, a vacation home, or they simply want to travel or change the environment. But different situations have also different implications which may lead to different conclusions whether a remote work from certain jurisdiction is still feasible. Download our Remote working recommendations and discover Dos & Don’ts when working abroad for employers.

Currently, most organizations are at the stage of defining their new internal policies regarding remote work. They need a cost/benefit analysis to determine if they are going to allow remote work in other countries, or in what situations are they going to allow it. In order to make this determination, it is important to understand the various issues that may arise. KPMG has experienced professionals in its worldwide network assisting with the challenges you face and offer:

• Risk assessment and risk mitigation process to ensure cross border compliance
• Set up internal policies regarding remote work, approvals needed and set up rules for compliance
• Training for professionals in HR or payroll as well as provide guidelines for the employees
• Assist with compliance, registrations and notifications, payroll, request for A1 certificates, immigration rules.

The costs resulting from a noncompliance are often higher than the time needed for correct set up. Please do not hesitate to contact us in case of any questions you have.