Time limited remote work from another EU country for UK based company.

[jsiu55779]

Hi guys,
I am UK resident, with address and workplace in the UK. Several times per year I commute to Poland where my family resides to spend all my PTO days. Due to family reasons I have proposed my employer remote working from Poland for several weeks per year. As a software developer all I need is reliable internet connection which is not a problem at all. I do not want change my residency status and to exceed 183 days per year in order to avoid double taxation so I will still rent an apartment in the UK and work in the UK office for the rest of the year. Employer is willing to allow me to work remotely from Poland however had to refuse because it would require additional paperwork hassle due to corporation tax and national insurance duties. Administrative expenses would be significant in order to approve this style of new work agreement.
Therefore I have a question, - what are the legal rules in such circumstances? Are really working remotely only for couples of weeks from other EU country require that UK company has to double their administrative workloads and have all this bureaucracy effort?
Are there any possibilities to avoid such requirements? Is there any minimal time frame I could work remotely without the company being required to deal with this hassle?
In extreme case, - what if I provide work from my laptop at the airport on my way, - does the corporation tax and national insurance have to be paid to the country?
How to get around this issue?
Any help, thoughts or suggestions are much appreciated.
This issue is very important for me since I need be physically in Poland to support my family but cannot afford lose job.
Thanks a lot.

[Brussels Slumdog]

Question seems unclear

Are you a contractor or a permanent employee? I don't understand what extra paper work the employer requires. I live in Belgium with a Belgian address and work sometimes in the UK paying UK tax and UK NI, working sometimes remotely at home. The 183 day rule applies to me and has nothing to do with my end client

[SueEllen]

Lots of employers don't want their staff working remotely let alone in another country. There is no law forcing them to do so.

If you need time off to look after one of your children or a sick parent then tell your employer the truth and they may agreed for some unpaid leave as well as your holiday. Depending on the age or disability of a child this is actually a legal entitlement.

[SueEllen]

Are you a contractor or a permanent employee? I don't understand what extra paper work the employer requires. I live in Belgium with a Belgian address and work sometimes in the UK paying UK tax and UK NI, working sometimes remotely at home. The 183 day rule applies to me and has nothing to do with my end client

He's permie.

Otherwise he wouldn't need to ask.

[jsiu55779]

Are you a contractor or a permanent employee? I don't understand what extra paper work the employer requires. I live in Belgium with a Belgian address and work sometimes in the UK paying UK tax and UK NI, working sometimes remotely at home. The 183 day rule applies to me and has nothing to do with my end client

Thank you for your response.I am permanent employee with permanent UK address, living and working in the UK.
I have just asked my employer to work occasionally remotely from my home in Poland.The company has a remote policy which allows to work form any city in the UK. For example if I would ask to work 5 days a week from any other distant city in the UK it would not be a problem.However they refuse to let their employees to work from other countries even for short period.

Below is the official response I have received from company when asked for permission to work remotely from Poland:

One of the main reasons that we cannot allow people to work outside the UK jurisdiction, is mainly to do with the UK company.By having someone work outside the UK even for temporary periods, the UK Company by law is required to pay corporation taxes and national insurance to the Country the person is working in. The cost and the administration of this would be too great and we could not justify the expense or the time associated with allowing someone to work outside the UK.
I am sorry the message is not more positive but as a Company we have to ensure we are compliant with governing laws and regulations.



Any idea how I could overcome this problem?

[jsiu55779]

Lots of employers don't want their staff working remotely let alone in another country. There is no law forcing them to do so.

If you need time off to look after one of your children or a sick parent then tell your employer the truth and they may agreed for some unpaid leave as well as your holiday. Depending on the age or disability of a child this is actually a legal entitlement.

Employer allows to work remotely even full time (5 days per week) from any other distant city in the UK so it does not seem to be an issue.Asking every year for unpaid leave is a bit cumbersome but it is a definitely kind of solution. Last year this was my only option which I made use of.Thanks for your thoughts.

[TheFaQQer]

Any idea how I could overcome this problem?

Leave and find some other employer who allows this? Of course you may find that they only want to pay Polish rates, which I guess are lower than the UK.

You may be better off looking elsewhere online, rather than a forum dedicated to contractors in the UK.

[BlasterBates]

It is legally difficult to have permanent staff work regularly in another country, other than business trips or restricted secondments. I don´t think you´ll find many employers who would want to do this. They could potentially get into trouble with the Polish tax authorities, i.e. employing someone in their country without registering anything.

One way round this would be to set up a Polish company who would then invoice the UK company for the work done in Poland. This is legally simple. I think you would find companies that would be quite happy for you to work in this way, i.e. as a self-employed contractor.

[NotAllThere]

I think BlasterBate's idea is a way forward. You set yourself up as a ltdco in Poland, and, while you're in Poland, you invoice your employer, rather than draw wages. Any local taxes are then the concern of your ltdco.

[jsiu55779]

I think BlasterBate's idea is a way forward. You set yourself up as a ltdco in Poland, and, while you're in Poland, you invoice your employer, rather than draw wages. Any local taxes are then the concern of your ltdco.

Many thanks for your advice.
This is definitely an idea worth to try and basically that's why I came to this forum in the first place. However I would rather set up ltdco here in the UK due to two main reasons: firstly, - for my employer probably it would be easier to cooperate with another UK company and secondly - all my taxes (personal and corporation) would be payable only in one country,- here in the UK where I spent most of my time.
How to convinced employer to this idea is completely different story and seems to me as a problem itself.