My Canadian employee is moving overseas – what do I do next?

Everyone’s got a star employee; let’s say Darren is yours. He’s self-motivated and professional, he leads by example, and he’s honed a unique skillset that’s become pretty foundational to your business’ success.

Darren also just told you that his partner is moving back home to Ireland… and he’s going with her.

Did your stomach just drop? Don’t worry: as long as he can work in his role remotely, Darren can remain part of your team – even from overseas!

But it’s not just as simple as adjusting meeting times for his new time zone. That’s why Payworks has partnered with global employer of record G-P to help Canadian businesses like yours hire and retain the best of the best (no matter where they choose to live).

Adrienne Drew is the Vice President of Legal Product Innovation at G-P, as well as the Chairwoman and Founding Member of the Global Employment Innovation Organization. We sat down with Adrienne to find out what employers need to consider when a staff member moves overseas… and how G-P can help make it seamless.

Photo: Adrienne Drew, G-P’s Vice President of Legal Product Innovation.

We’ll cover:

1. What do Canadian businesses need to consider when a Canadian employee moves overseas?
2. What are the options for Canadian businesses to remain compliant in paying and managing a Canadian employee who’s moved overseas?
3. What’s the advantage of an Employer of Record relationship?
4. What’s the process of moving an employee to an Employer of Record like G-P?
5. How have other businesses found success partnering with G-P when an employee moves overseas?

What do Canadian businesses need to consider when a Canadian employee moves overseas?

The first step is up to the employee: they need to ensure they’ve obtained the right to work in their new country of residence. This means ensuring visa compliance (which can involve employer sponsorship) for their specific circumstances; this can be influenced by whether the move is short-term or permanent, if they have citizenship in the country to which they’re moving or if they’re married to a citizen, and so on.

Once they’ve got that sorted out, you as the employer would then have lots to think about, because that employee is now subject to completely different employment laws! What’s the minimum wage? What are the required leaves and benefits? What deductions and taxes need to be withheld?

Ultimately, continuing to pay and manage them as if they still live in Canada would leave you as the employer on the hook for non-compliance with the employee’s new local legislation, and could have tax implications for both parties!

What are the options for Canadian businesses to remain compliant in paying and managing a Canadian employee who’s moved overseas?

Let’s assume the employee’s move is permanent. In that case, an employer’s two most straightforward choices would be to either:

1. Set up their own business entity in that new country, or
2. Engage an Employer of Record (EOR) like G-P to serve as the employee’s new employer.

In an EOR relationship with G-P, your employee would legally become a G-P employee, but would functionally remain a member of your team. G-P supports teams just like this in over 180 countries!

What’s the advantage of an Employer of Record relationship?

Beyond the expertise that an EOR brings to the process, there’s also speed to consider: setting up an entity can be extraordinarily complex and take at least six months, whereas G-P onboards your employees in minutes, not months.

We’re already familiar with the legislation, and we have a business bank account set up in the region, a name registered, and local payroll and benefits relationships established. If you were to set up your own entity, all that and more would be on your shoulders.

What’s the process of moving an employee to an Employer of Record like G-P?

It’s simpler than you might think! Once everyone’s on board, the employee would resign from their Canadian employer while simultaneously agreeing to an employment contract with the EOR.

There would be no gap in employment or change to seniority (which is helpful if there are any seniority-specific benefits or accruals); even their email address stays the same! From the perspective of the rest of your team and your clients, nothing will have changed.

How have other businesses found success partnering with G-P when an employee moves overseas?

We’ve successfully helped businesses all over the world navigate this particular transition, along with many others. And once they’ve experienced just how easy G-P makes it to find and retain the best talent (regardless of location), they feel much more empowered to expand their business – the sky’s the limit. We’re also proud to share that we’ve maintained a 100% pass rate on all compliance reviews, audits, and investigations.

As just one example, SaaS company Deliverect has been able to enter 40 new markets over the past two years by partnering with G-P for hiring and retention (you can explore the full case study here). “We can go to our board and say ‘Yes, we can hire someone in this or that location, but we can also retain talent,’” said Regina Simao, Deliverect’s Global Head of Reward, in a G-P webinar about overcoming HR challenges. “Say someone has a life change. They have a baby and want to go back to their country. Why not move them to G-P and keep on working with them? We’ve been doing that quite a lot… G-P is there to guide us and share the knowledge, and at the end of the day, we have the reassurance that we’re doing the right thing.”

Curious about how G-P can help you keep your team running smoothly, no matter where in the world they’re located? Connect with their team at https://www.globalization-partners.com/book-demo/.