If you’ve ever been asked to supply contractors to an overseas site, you may not have thought much of it at first – simply arrange travel and accommodation (or ask them to organise this themselves) and ensure they get paid. There are however many more factors to take into account and as the hiring company, more often than not, the responsibility falls on you to manage these.
Take the mobilisation process, for example: getting your contractors into a new country usually isn’t as simple as just booking a flight. You will likely need to have an appropriate visa in order for them to gain entry. On top of this, if the candidates are unfamiliar with the local area and can’t speak the language of the country they’ll be working in – which is often the case – you will also need to consider arranging an in-country meet and greet as well as some language support to help get them settled.
Tax is another big issue; one that can incur significant financial implications should you fail to adhere to the destination country’s legislation. It is absolutely crucial your contractor pays the correct amount of tax. Full compliance is the bare minimum you should aim for if you don’t want to risk incurring penalties & legal action.
A third factor you will need to think about is insurance, which needs to be in place should an accident or travel impact occur. Ensuring adequate insurance provision will give both parties peace of mind should any complications arise.
These are some key things to think about, but they certainly do not encompass everything involved in mobilising candidates abroad. The big question to ask yourself is how can all of the above be delivered?
This is where the importance of having access to a host of in-country partners comes into play – companies who can provide assistance with the mobilisation, taxation and insurance of your contractors. The issue many companies encounter is that establishing these partnerships is a time-intensive process. Successfully identifying a suitable partner means you have access to their support in the country they specialise in, but what happens when you need to mobilise candidates to the next location?
The solution to this problem is to establish a working relationship with a company that has already done this work for you – a supplier that is capable of managing all aspects of mobilisation, taxation and insurance through a large network of partners across a wide range of countries and regions.
This is the concept that NRL’s International Assignment Support is designed around. Our background in international recruitment allows us to look at compliance from the point of view of both the client and candidate and our experience in this field means we have already built strong relationships with many international partners – taking the hassle out of understanding the regulations specific to each country.
Do you think you need to audit your overseas processes?
We invite companies who currently engage contractors overseas or are planning on mobilising candidates abroad to apply for a free, no obligation, compliance audit where we can evaluate any potential risks. From this audit we would then be happy to give suggestions and implement a costed solution to ensure your mobilised candidates are working in line with in-country legislation.