Working whilst on holiday in Europe

A snowHead

A posting in another part of the forum caught my attention. I was in danger of going off topic so I have come here with it.

The posting said that working whilst on holiday in the EU would be illegal. It was the term "illegal" that caught my attention. I had interpreted the post to refer to working remotely away from their work place whilst in the temporary ski resort accommodation. ie Using a laptop to send work related messages, fill in spread sheets, answer eBay queries, etc.

Anybody know about this? I'm just interested.

A snowHead

You don't need to worry about sending a few work related emails during a holiday.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Each country have their own digital nomad laws & some may require a visa. Depends on the country what their rules are. More likely to hit issue with 90 day schengen limit

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Depends where you go. Not legal In Austria, but how would they know

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@TCSC47, how will anyone ever find out?

You'll need to Register first of course.

@TCSC47, it depends on the details. An hour a day while on holiday for a week isn't going to cause anyone any problems. Staying in France for 90 days and working for 8 hours a day, five days a week to hours based on the US East timezone so that you can ski every morning is more problematic, not just for you but more importantly for your employer, but as always it depends on being found out.

See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-france#working-in-france - once the authorities determine that you are working there, a whole world of pain can fall on you around visa requirements, registration, social security payments, tax on income, local taxes on residents, and so on.

Similar issues arise elsewhere in the EU, e.g. in Austria.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@TCSC47, To a large extent it depends on what you do. If you work in the corporate world then this is going to be problematic as there will be various HR rules which would rule this out as it could cause various legal & tax issues not just for you but your employer. Seems odd to me but some folk are banned from working whilst on holiday largely for this reason. On the other hand if you are self employed or work for a small firm it is very unlikely to be a problem. Yes working is prohibited if visiting Schengen on a 90 day basis but in practice if you are being paid in the UK and spending a couple of hours a day on a laptop no one is going to notice. It does take up valuable skiing and drinking time though Smile

After all it is free

Thanks everybody. My query was one of those "asking for a friend" things! No, not even that. It just made me wonder.

IANAL, but think there is probably a mix of truth and (unknowingly) untruth in the above.

Hundreds of UK employees have business meetings in Europe every day, "selling" services, gathering information, or providing advice to clients. Those meetings are not classified as "working in Europe"; the individuals are still employed by a UK employer, and are paid in the UK. I think answering a few emails for your (UK) employer while on holiday for a week would be similarly classified. It is always worth checking with your employer in advance, as some will have stricter rules, although in some cases (particularly in financial services) those rules are less about employment law and more about ensuring individuals have an enforced lockout from their systems for a few days. And it might become an issue if you want to do things for an extended period.

I think self-employed people are potentially MORE rather than less at risk than employees, in working when away, particularly for longer periods. I accept that they may be unlikely to get caught, but if they are it is more difficult to argue that they are not "earning" remuneration for their work while in France (or wherever), so may fall foul of local social security or similar rules.

If you want to be employed by a local company abroad, and paid locally, then you clearly need a visa which permits that.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@ecureuil, business meetimgs are fine in Austria (I believe) but working remotely while on 90 day visa exemption is verboten. As I said it depends where you go. The best advice has got to be to check with your employer...if you have one...and the government site of where you are going

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

I’ve looked into this quite a bit since remote work has become so common, and it really seems to come down to how long you stay and what kind of work you’re doing. Technically, even remote work for a foreign employer can count as “economic activity” in some EU countries, which can create tax, visa, or employment law issues if you’re there for more than just a short stay.

That said, for short periods (a week or two on holiday, answering a few emails or joining a meeting), it’s extremely unlikely to cause any problems or even be noticed. Most enforcement is aimed at people living and working there long-term without proper registration.

So the safest route is always to check the local rules or ask your employer’s HR department. The “illegal” label usually applies more to people effectively working abroad full-time under the radar, not those catching up on emails during a ski trip.

snow reports

My daughter in law, recently moved to Lyon, could not find a way of continuing to be employed by her UK employer (a think tank) even though both parties wanted it to work. It was too complicated for the employer. So she continues to do some work for them as a freelance, whilst looking for opportunities to make the right contacts in France. She's bilingual, which helps, obviously, but not familiar with all the French vocabulary in her specialised field - so been working on that. But she's living permanently in France (where she'd spent quite a few years of her life in the past) not just on holiday.

You know it makes sense.

She has a German passport.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Ah makes it easier

A snowHead

@daishan...? Laughing

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I would have professional liabilities for doing NHS work outside of the UK, despite being a self-employed contractor. I believe my laptop, and the appropriate systems to work would be fine (we work with a VPN if we are remote anyway), and no-one would be any the wiser. Although one of my ex-colleagues, a GP who has a Riadh in Morocco, used to work from there.

Help!!

Working whilst on holiday in Europe

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste