Taking on foreign remote subcontractor

[ladymuck]

The other consideration is around data laws and moving data outside the EU. Your client may have obligations in this area and, whilst UX design might not require that level of concern, it's worth being mindful. It's all too easy to send a sample to aid the design process and then suddenly find you've fallen foul of the regs.

[WordIsBond]

I have a foreign subcontractor. No real problems.

You just say to the client that the work will probably be done by someone working for you from overseas. It shouldn't matter to the client whether the worker is your employee or a subcontractor, none of their business. If they ask you can tell them but they shouldn't care. They'll contract with you, you provide the services.

You'll have to decide whether your contract with the subcontractor is under UK or Singapore or Malaysian law. If non-UK you could be creating problems for yourself, but that flips the other way as well.

You'll want the contract to specify that any company, VAT, service taxes, personal taxes, and employment taxes, in either Singapore or Malaysia, are the responsibility of your subcontractor.

This is not an IR35 silver bullet but it certainly makes it easier to argue that you are running a business (rather than a disguised employee) if you have someone working for you.

[northernladyuk]

Should clarify that I wouldn't be attempting to subcontract a role that I'd personally be doing - I would be seeking out new roles specifically for her, and there wouldn't be any deception to the client. I'd simply be putting someone who subcontracts for me forward to the client who needs a UI/UX Designer, that subcontractor would be the one who interviews, interacts with the client day-to-day and completes the work (all remotely). I'd effectively acting as a recruitment agency.
The core of the issue is that given the circumstances above, how exposed am I to legal issues regarding right-to-work and employment law and would any end client even go for something like that?

I can't see a reason why you shouldn't buy services from an overseas company and sell services to a UK company. As others have said, as long as it's all out in the open.

[ladymuck]

The OP hasn't said if they're offshoring their own job, part of their job, or a job completely different to theirs.

If you're subbing out all or part of your work then my silly link is actually a cautionary tale of what can go wrong if you don't keep your client in the loop.

If they're telling the client they can source a person to fill a gap in a project and are acting as an agency/intermediary then that's completely different.

[RunlevelC]

Should clarify that I wouldn't be attempting to subcontract a role that I'd personally be doing - I would be seeking out new roles specifically for her, and there wouldn't be any deception to the client. I'd simply be putting someone who subcontracts for me forward to the client who needs a UI/UX Designer, that subcontractor would be the one who interviews, interacts with the client day-to-day and completes the work (all remotely). I'd effectively acting as a recruitment agency.
The core of the issue is that given the circumstances above, how exposed am I to legal issues regarding right-to-work and employment law and would any end client even go for something like that?

[Lance]

Not quite! He was a permie, and was giving direct access to systems to someone outside the US. Even sending his RSA token to China in the post. Smart, yet incredibly stupid.

And he was staff. And it's the US.
Doesn't really come close to OPs suggestion.

OP needs to read his contract, make sure he's not in material breach, with extra care paid to security policies, intellectual property and also his insurances.

The wider question is around whether Op tells the client what he's doing. If not then he's dishonest and if they find out he may get binned (and sued).
If he's honest they may say 'no way Jose'.

More a question for the client than lawyers. And certainly not a lot we can offer without a LOT more detail.

[l35kee]

Like this?

Not quite! He was a permie, and was giving direct access to systems to someone outside the US. Even sending his RSA token to China in the post. Smart, yet incredibly stupid.

[ladymuck]

Like this?

[RunlevelC]

All, this is a long-shot and yes I will ask my accountant and legal-person depending on the general consensus of this thread.

I have a friend based in Singapore who's a talented UI/UX Designer, she's a Malaysian national, so no right to work in the UK.

If she's a Singapore-based contractor - and therefore a business rather than an individual - would I be able to subcontract her to UK-based *remote* UI/UX roles?

I have very little knowledge of employment law or right-to-work stuff but the above arrangement would mean:
- End Clients / Recruitment Agencies would deal with me and my UK-based Ltd company as the intermediary instead of the subcontractor themselves.
- I'm simply subcontracting a required service to a service provider that happens to be based overseas.
- Everyone is a business so there are no employment/holiday/sick pay issues to deal with (AFAIK)
- My subcontractor would be remote, so no need to even interview or even step-foot in the UK

As mentioned this is a longshot with very specific circumstances but I do see plenty of remote UI/UX roles around so I figured I'd ask. As mentioned if there is any indication that this is even a possibility I would of course take serious legal advice.