The International Mobility Team (IMT) recognises that it can sometimes be difficult to know what types of overseas working activities require actions to facilitate working in a legally compliant way.
The examples below aim to illustrate when you would need to fill in an overseas working request.
case studies
- A staff member from Spain is going home for Christmas and wants to extend the trip by two weeks to work remotely
- A staff member wants to spend three to four months in their home country to look after a relative
- An academic wants to spend a year living in a country where they currently do not have the Right to Work
- A learning and teaching staff member regularly goes between the UK and another country where they have a home that they work, but do not teach, from
- A British staff member is travelling to Italy for a conference which is classed as a business trip, they want to stay on afterwards to work from there
- A Line Manager is hiring a new member of staff who will be working overseas at an Imperial partner research institution in Europe
An Overseas Working Request would need to be submitted for the extended stay in Spain. This would allow:
- An assessment by the International Mobility Team (IMT) will identify if there could be a cumulative risk posed by any time spent in Spain over the last year, so the staff member is aware of any potential risks.
This should fall into the ‘Green category’, according to how requests are assessed using the International Mobility Framework. If nothing else is required, this request would likely be auto-approved in the system
- Evidence of the Right to Work in Spain (e.g. a Spanish passport) may be required if it has not already been provided.
Action required: Submit an overseas working request to the IMT, so the university is aware of the employee’s working location.
Possible support: The IMT can provide any necessary support.
An Overseas Working request would need to be submitted for the stay in the staff member's home country. This would allow:
A risk assessment by the IMT will identify any implications for:
- Immigration
- Healthcare access
- Tax implications
This will likely fall into the 'Amber category', according to how requests are assessed using the International Mobility Framework.
- The actions required to facilitate the request and their associated costs will be identified.
- The IMT will work with the department and staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
- The IMT will initiate any actions required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.
Action required: Submit an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.
Possible support: The IMT can proceed in applying for an A1 or other relevant Certificate of Coverage (to ensure access to host healthcare).
An Overseas Working Request would need to be submitted for the planned stay overseas. This would allow:
A risk assessment by the IMT to identify any implications for:
- Immigration / Right to Work
- Healthcare access / Pension treatment
- Tax implications
- Payroll/reporting liabilities
- Permanent Establishment risks
- Potential corporate tax, etc.
This will likely fall into the 'Red category', according to how requests are assessed using the International Mobility Framework.
- The actions required to facilitate the request and their associated costs will be identified.
- The IMT will work with the department and the staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
- The IMT will initiate any actions required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.
Action required: Submit an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.
Possible support: The IMT will advise on what Right to Work documentation is required and assist in applying for an A1 or relevant Certificate of Coverage etc. The university may need to establish an overseas payroll in the destination territory. The staff member would need to agree to adhere to specific conditions to prevent triggering a Permanent Establishment (when a business is deemed to have a taxable presence outside of its home jurisdiction, i.e. outside the UK for the university).
An Overseas Working request would need to be submitted for all overseas working. This would allow:
A risk assessment by the IMT will identify the implications for:
- Immigration / Right to Work
- Healthcare access / Pension treatment
- Tax implications
- Payroll / reporting liabilities, etc.
‘Commuter-type’ overseas working can be one of the more complex scenarios.
The rules for the amount of time spent in each territory to avoid triggering liabilities will be identified as well as any actions required to facilitate the request and their associated costs.
- The IMT will work with the department and the staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
- The IMT will initiate any actions required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.
Action required: Submit an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.
Possible support: The IMT will advise on what Right to Work documentation is required and assist in applying for an A1 or relevant Certificate of Coverage. The university will need to establish potential employer reporting obligations in both jurisdictions, via a Section 690, before the overseas working arrangement can begin.
An Overseas Working request would need to be submitted for the period beyond the conference. This would allow:
A risk assessment by theIMT to identify any implications for:
- Immigration / Right to Work
- Healthcare access / Insurance
- Tax implications
Details of the overseas working (including the duration and Right to Work documentation) determine how the request is assessed using the International Mobility Framework to identify any actions required to facilitate the request and any associated costs.
- The IMT will work with the department and staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
- The IMT will initiate any actions where required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.
Action required: Submit an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.
Possible support: The IMT can advise on relevant insurance coverage for the trip.
An Overseas Working Request would need to be submitted by the Line Manager on behalf of their employee before they start work. This would allow:
A risk assessment by the IMT to identify any implications for:
- Immigration / Right to Work
- Healthcare access
- Tax / Social Security implications
- Pension contributions
- Payroll / Employer reporting obligations
Details of the overseas working (including duration and Right to Work documentation) determine how the request is assessed using the International Mobility Framework to identify any actions required to facilitate the request and any associated costs.
- The IMT will work with the department and staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
- The IMT will initiate any actions required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.
Action required: Line Manager submits an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.
Possible support: The IMT can provide advice on what is required to facilitate the new hire.
What could happen if I don’t submit an overseas working request?
You may accidentally breach local laws and legislations by not having the correct Right to Work status, staying too long cumulatively in a country over a year or not paying the required Tax or Social Security contributions,.
Some roles are not permissible to be undertaken from outside of the contracted country of employment, as they may potentially create a Permanent Establishing in that jurisdiction, along with Corporation Tax liabilities for Imperial.
This can have significant financial implications for you and / or Imperial and can also result in you being ‘blacklisted’ for entry to a country, which may subsequently impact entry to other countries who are able to see breaches in other jurisdictions.
As your employer, Imperial has a duty of care to be able to offer any support should there be an incident in your overseas location. If your whereabouts are not properly recorded, it makes it harder for us to uphold this duty of care.
The IMT is here to protect and support our staff, by submitting your overseas working request you enable the IMT to facilitate your overseas working in both a safe and legally compliant manner.
For the university, there are serious risks posed by staff working overseas ‘illegally’, that extend beyond brand and reputational damage, such as fines and penalties, court summons and in some cases criminal corporate proceedings.