Remote working across borders: The hidden risks businesses need to understand

Someone asks to “work from another country for a few weeks” and it feels like an easy yes. Then the questions start: does a visitor visa change tax status, when do workdays become taxable, and could a single remote worker accidentally create a permanent establishment abroad? We sit down with Carla Wilson, the Chairperson of the Chartered Accountants Worldwide UAE Committee, international tax specialist Hugo Van Zyl and HR leader Sarah Brooks to get brutally practical about cross-border remote working, especially for organisations employing UAE-based staff who want flexibility without triggering hidden compliance costs.

We talk through the real mechanics of tax residency and double tax treaties, including why the 183-day threshold is not a universal safe harbour and how source rules can tax income from day one in some jurisdictions. Hugo explains how dual residency can arise and how treaty tie-breakers like permanent home, centre of vital interests, and habitual home are applied in the real world. From the employer side, we dig into permanent establishment risk and what actually happens when you cross the line: registration, filings, potential VAT thresholds, withholding duties, and wider risk management considerations.

Sarah brings the people and policy lens: what happens to UAE payroll, WPS, visas, and end-of-service gratuity when someone works abroad, and why “approved on WhatsApp” is not a process. We also cover governance: who owns the decision, what a clear approval framework should include, and how to handle edge cases like maternity leave where “presence” and “exercising employment” can become a critical nuance. If you manage global mobility, HR governance, payroll compliance, or corporate tax risk, you will leave with a sharper checklist and a clearer line between supportive flexibility and unmanaged exposure.

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Transcript

Carla Wilson: 0:13

Welcome to this special edition of Different Makers Discussions Live. I am Carla Wilson, chairperson of the Chartered Accountants Worldwide UAE Committee, and I am delighted to be joined today by two highly respected experts who bring both technical expertise and practical experience to one of the most important workplace issues facing organizations today: remote working across borders and the hidden risks businesses need to understand. As organizations continue to embrace flexible working arrangements, many are finding themselves navigating increasingly complex tax, payroll, regulatory, and governance considerations when employees work from different jurisdictions. While international remote working can create tre- tremendous opportunities for both businesses and employees, it can also introduce significant risks if not managed appropriately. To help us explore these challenges, I am joined by Hugo Van Zyl, an international tax specialist with more than twenty years of experience advising globally mobile individuals and businesses on cross-border taxation, tax residency, and treaty matters. Hugo has worked extensively on complex international tax issues and has advised on major tax regulation initiatives, bringing a wealth of practical insights into the tax implications of working arrangements. I am also delighted to welcome Sarah Brooks, founder of Fikra HR, an award-winning HR leader with almost three decades of experience across the GCC and UK. Sarah is a chartered fellow of the CIPD and has built a reputation for helping organizations navigate the intersection of compliance, people strategy, and workplace culture. Her practical approach to HR governance and workforce management makers- makes her ideal- ideally placed to help us understand the people and policy considerations associated with international remote working. Together, Hugo and Sarah will help us unpack some of the key questions organizations should be asking before approving overseas remote working requests, including cross-border tax exposure, permanent establishment risks, employee resident considerations, payroll implications, governance frameworks, and practical risk management strategies. Hugo, Sarah, welcome to the Difference Makers Discussion Live UAE special. Thank you. Thank you. As we approach this period, many businesses are receiving requests from employees who want to work remotely from another country, whether for a few weeks or for several months. To begin our discussion, perhaps you could share what you see the most common misconceptions employees have about international remote working and where organizations are most at risk of unintentionally creating problems for themselves. Over to you, Hugo, if you would like to start

Hugo Van Zyl: 3:01

Thank you. I think the, uh, most common one is that the employees themselves think that they can enter the country as a visitor, because often they use a visitor's visa, which allows them sometimes 90 days, sometimes 183 days in the specific country, and they use the, um, visa title to determine their tax status, and that's not always true. There's a counting of days. UK, for example, they call work days, and from work day one they tax you on work done in the UK. South Africa takes about 180 days. So does every country have their own set of rules

Carla Wilson: 3:40

And Sarah, what would you say that you see?

Sarah Brooks: 3:43

Um, it's along the same lines as what, um, Hugo's mentioned as well, is th- there also needs to be the understanding of not just the personal tax element, but also the implications to the business as well. And if somebody is, for example, going on annual leave and tagging on this remote working element with an annual leave, um, period, it can then e- get even more complex around that situation. So really, you know, businesses need to be mindful of, um, their own tax status as well as the individuals, the countries, the nationalities, and the regulatory requirements in each of them- those relevant countries before even approaching any remote working. Whilst I'm all for remote working and the trust and, and, um, rep- you know, sort of relationship building that it does, um, but this, you know, it's fairly serious. If you get it wrong, it can be an expensive mistake.

Carla Wilson: 4:35

Absolutely. I love that. Um, Hugo, can we start with a person? So if we have a UAE resident that decides to work from, let's say, South Africa or the UK or India for a couple of months, at what point does that create a tax problem for them as an individual?

Hugo Van Zyl: 4:54

Thank you. So the ins- let's look- start at South Africa. Um, and remember the UAE has treaties with all these said countries. They unfortunately do not have a treaty with the US, so US is excluded from what I'm stating at the moment. The country will normally tax you from day one. So South Africa, if it's just an incidental visit, won't tax you. But the treaty then overrides the tax rights of the country. And the treaties, for example, state if you're employed by a UAE company, so you've not changed your employment, you are then in the other country for a period of normally either 180 days or 183 days, treaty-dependent, and some treaty says in a tax year, other refers to any 12 months. Then only will the guest country, the country where you are remotely based, start taxing you or have the right to tax you. So it is mostly for UAE employees working remotely, treaty-dependent. And so would a UK national that comes to the UAE also remain UK taxed as long as they're in the UAE for less than 183 days. So the UAE treaty, interestingly enough, gives the UAE the right to tax after 183 days. But as we all know, there's no personal income tax in the UAE, so therefore it's not a problem if you come to the UAE. But in your example, we're a UAE tax-free citizen- visits another country, they become taxable normally after 183 or 180 days in a 12-month cycle, and that's a complex calculation. It's the day you arrive, counting forwards 365 days, or the day that you leave that country, 365 days backwards. Okay. But there are some treaties that refers to a tax year, and then you must determine your home country's tax year

Carla Wilson: 6:47

So I think you, you touched on a point which brings me to my next question. So obviously the UAE has no personal income tax. So many people just assume that their income earned, regardless of their location, if it is bound and supported by a UAE employment contract, they are tax-free wherever they go. Why would you say that this assumption is very dangerous for an individual to make?

Hugo Van Zyl: 7:12

Uh, two things. The one could be the source rules, like the UK has the work days count, and South Africa also works on the, um, number of days in a tax year. So although the trigger is in a 12-month cycle, the calculation in South Africa is on a tax-year basis. But there is in all the tax treaties, and literally all the OECD model tax treaties, as well as the United Nations model, a provision that if your employer, employer recoups some of your salary from the branch, if you're sitting in another branch, then it becomes taxable in that country. So the two things could be triggering it, source rules of the specific country where you're in, and also does the treaty deem it to be taxable because it's recouped. So for example, if you're working for a big hotel group and you're going to physically work in that hotel's, um, uh, property in, for example, Durban in South Africa because the weather is nice now, it's, it's, it's cooler weather, it's not as hot as Dubai, um, you unfortunately, they will intercompany charge, and therefore that makes you taxable in South Africa from day one. The 183 days are not going to protect you.

Carla Wilson: 8:20

So I think it's clear from what you're saying is that your UAE tax status doesn't guide your international tax status- No … where you choose to work remotely. So can someone end up being a tax resident in two countries at the same time, and how would you be able to untangle that through the double tax treaties?

Hugo Van Zyl: 8:43

Right. Yes, you can, and that's specifically dealt with in the double tax, tax treaties, normally in Article 4, which deals with the so-called tiebreaker tests. I'll quickly run through them. There's four important ones. The first one is normally the place where you have your permanent home available. Not owned, available. Can be rented. If you have a home in both countries, then the next test is your center of vital interest. That's where your family is, core family, and where you are employed, where you're earning your new wealth. Not how rich you are in the other country, it's where you are employed. If that does not determine it, for example, a pilot in the UAE often leaves their children at home in South Africa or in the UK because remember, most of the pilots in UAE are expats. Then we go to the third one, which means your habitual home. That's the home where you go and rest and recuperate. Very important, recuperate. It's not necessarily where you spend more days. There was a very, very important UK case, HMRC against Jonathan Oppenheimer. Yes, for those South Africans listening, the family is the Oppenheimers we know. He spent more days in the UK than in South Africa, but the court found his habitual home remained South Africa because that's where he went to rest and recuperate. The visits to the UK was purpose, and it was to go and attend school functions and be with his child. He was not employed in the UK, so the center of vital interest could never trigger it. And yes, the family is all well known that they have a, a property in the UK. That property has won the best garden in the UK for the seven out of the last 25 years, so it's a very well-known property. So no, it's not always property, it's not always employment. The three tiebreaker tests. If none of those tests answer, the fourth one is were you a national, and the fifth one, if you're a national in both countries, um, then it is what the two parties agree in a mutual agreement process, MAP, MAP process

Carla Wilson: 10:42

So that sounds quite, um, complicated and not always straightforward for an individual to, um, determine within themselves. So it sounds like that the best thing would be if you are uncertain, to ask before you get on the plane.

Hugo Van Zyl: 10:56

Correct.

Carla Wilson: 10:56

Right? Take the advice before you get on the plane. So if we move then to the business side of it and the permanent establishment risk that organizations carry, in plain English, what is a permanent establishment, and why should a business owner care if somebody- if one of their staff is sitting in another country?

Hugo Van Zyl: 11:19

So most countries have a different definition, but again, the treaties, um, are relatively the same. So the first test is if there is a premises or an office lasting for more than six months or construction site more than six months. So normally a remote worker, digital nomad, does not work at a specific office. So that one for most of the digital nomads, the employees are not a risk. But the one that really becomes a risk is the seniority of that person. If that person habitually signs contracts or enter into contracts on behalf of his offshore or home country-based employer, that in itself makes it a permanent establishment. So those are the two most critical ones. There's finer nuances, um, but there's a specific exclusion. For example, if it's at the airport and there's a display room of high, uh, high-end or luxury Louis Vuitton, um, display. That display is not a branch. It's purely a display, and normally most treaties excludes a storeroom or store facility. The bonded warehouses, they are not permanent establishments.

Carla Wilson: 12:28

Okay. If a UAE company accidentally creates a PE abroad, what's the real-world consequence, and what do they do if they end up filing or having to pay?

Hugo Van Zyl: 12:42

So interesting is that in the real world, and specifically the examples you used, India and South Africa, it's not just tax, it's exchange control as well, okay, because both countries have very strict exchange control. The second one is then two, um, um, important levels of taxes, and that is normally the income tax side and the value-added tax side. Because that can trigger, if you then exceed your turnover, that you may not be a taxable profitable company because you're a cost center, but your turnover exceeds the VAT, VAT threshold. So for example, in South Africa, um, it's 2.5 million, um, rand. That's like £100,000, and you're there. And the income tax has two levels itself. It is the company paying tax, and then the company's obligation to withhold tax. So normally, if the digital nomad or the remote worker is just in India, there's no obligation on the UAE company to withhold tax. It is for that employee to declare his tax to the Indian authorities. But the moment if that PE, permanent establishment, was deemed to be present, they have an obligation to register, file for income tax, deduct payroll taxes, and it could be more than just income tax. It could be Social Securities, medical aid, all those type of things, and then the value-added tax level of that country

Carla Wilson: 14:05

So if I understand correctly, what you're saying is that if a PE is triggered, you are then not just only required to pay tax, you actually have to register within that jurisdiction to be able to pay the tax. It's not as simple as I'll do a bank transfer, or I'll write a check and my tax obligations have been met. There is obviously a registration process and a whole administrative process that you would have to be able to, to execute to remain compliant under those circumstances. And Sarah, from the people side, you know, listening to all of this, how do you normally see that this risk usually creeps in? Do senior staff normally take informal arrangements? Is simply nobody answering the question? Are people kind of like, "We want to be fluid and supportive of our staff, so, you know, we want to embrace a work from anywhere policy"? What do you see on your side?

Sarah Brooks: 14:57

A combination of everything you've just mentioned, to be honest. Um, there's a number of companies that are quite open, uh, to the fluidity and allowing people to work remotely attached to or independent of leave breaks that they've got. Um, there's a lot of UAE companies that actually employ remote workers on a permanent basis as either sub- you know, consultant subcontractors, fine, or employees that are physically working in other countries and maybe don't understand the tax implications that there are. Um, they believe that because they're in a tax-free country, obviously we have income tax and corporate tax, but, um, you know, from personal income tax, that there's no applications around that for, um, employees that they might have permanently working in India, for example. Um, and that's most common with IT companies, um, e-commerce and things like this as well, where it's cheaper to hire staff members from, and, and keep them based in, in the subcontinent, for example. Um- From my end, it's funny that you mention the hospitality side of things because that's my b- my, um, corporate background is hospitality for many years. Um, and it's very common for individuals to be put on secondment to, for… I mean, even myself, I was initially put on a secondment to Oman for a month, for example, from the UAE back in 2009. Um, and thankfully, Oman is a tax-free coun- country as well, but there was no conversation and discussions about tax status or anything with myself. It wasn't even on my radar back then. Um, so I think for individuals who are, um, employees of a company who are requested, they see it as a bo- as a, as an opportunity to, to improve their situation, their status, so they're happy to move. They just… And they don't necessarily think of the consequences of where they're moving to and what that might be. Um, some companies that tend to be a little bit more of, um, global market players, if you like, the larger hospitality groups that are a bit more global than regional, um, will have clauses within the contracts that may mention that the company would then take responsibility for any tax implications. Um, others will do the reverse and say it's up to the individual to, to make sure that they, um, comply with tax implications. So my advice is always get proper tax advice before you sign and agree to anything, um, um, from a tax advisor as well as from a legal advisor.

Hugo Van Zyl: 17:21

Mm-hmm. Sarah, I think a very valid comment. Carlow, if I can quickly jump in. Of course. If your contract provides and you are seconded, be adamant that the company provides at least a tax advisor at their- Mm … expense. Mm. So that equalization will, uh, top up the different tax is a nice-to-have. You can't always demand that, but at least ask that their tax advisor, because the alignment between corporate tax and personal tax then becomes extremely important. Absolutely. Especially for that big groups. It's, it's their brand, and it's your employment status.

Sarah Brooks: 17:53

Mm-hmm.

Carla Wilson: 17:54

So I think this obviously leads onto the next topic, which is all about payroll contracts and the regulatory side of the people. So Hugo, you know, you touched on a point, um, about making sure that they have the tax covered in an, in an employment contract and/or a secondment contract. And, you know, my- so my question to- is, uh, where does payroll sit in all of this? Because, you know, we talk about company tax, and you briefly mentioned that there could be, you know, specifically in South Africa, things like PAYE, which is obviously another form of tax that can also be triggered under certain circumstances. So if a company has an employee that is physically sitting in another country, how do they know what triggers things like withholding tax or employee tax from an organization? So if we kind of look at it from a different tax angle.

Hugo Van Zyl: 18:47

Yeah. So the … For, for any corporate, even a small company, the big question would then be look at the treaty, do, does the presence of the employee create a permanent establishment? If it does, address it. One of the examples could, for example, be, say, you can go and work remotely while on holiday or for your sabbatical or whatever, but during this period you will not be part of decision-making, contractually agreed, so that you do not trigger that point. Secondly, the, uh, um, next thing is that the employee must undertake not to claim on the social benefits o- or securities of that country. For example, do not arrive in England and register for med- uh, for any medical benefit because that triggers a presence for the company because they then have to register and contribute.

Carla Wilson: 19:37

So whose obligation, because it's obviously a payroll tax which is linked to an individual, in this circumstance, where would the obligation lie for that payroll tax to be paid? Would that be an obligation that the receiving entity, so the, the, the visiting country, would they expect that to be the obligation of the individual, so they should then pay their own tax? Or would we expect a company to go, "We need to withhold that"? And again, I'm not talking about let's restructure someone's payroll. I'm just talking about where does the actual obligation lie in terms of the actual payments to the country that's now implementing this tax.

Hugo Van Zyl: 20:15

All, all payroll deductions, whether it's, uh, social security, medical, is that of the employer. And the actual tax payment, whether there was a withholding on payroll level or not, is that of the employee. So the withholding is clearly that of the employer, and I suggest that contractually it be agreed that it's, uh, there is no reason to deduct, and the employee undertakes stating that, "Thank you for the benefit. I undertake to sort out my own tax." Tax.

Carla Wilson: 20:45

Okay. So Sarah, my question to you then comes, if we are now talking about somebody that's sitting in a remote space who's currently on a UAE employment contract, does that still hold up? And what happens to things like WPS and visas when they are currently sitting out of the country?

Sarah Brooks: 21:08

So things like WPS, which for those that are not familiar, is the wage protection scheme that we have here under mainland-governed, mainland licensed entities in the UAE. Um, and some of the free zones also have the same. And it's basically, um, a protection for payment of wages. Is the th- as the- that's what it says on the tin, it's wage protection. Um, so it enforces, it's a process that's enforced for companies to pay the payroll through. That has to continue. Um, unless the employee stops working for the company, unless the emp- which would entail cancellation of visa, cancellation of work permit, and cessation of employment in the whole part, then that's the, uh, that's one instance. The other is if they're on unpaid leave, um, for any reason, or, uh … They're the only two times where salary would not be paid through WPS. Um, there are cutoff limits on the number and, uh, the total value and the quantity of a head count that needs to be paid through the WPS system, um, which is currently at 85% of both the head count and the total value. So there is a little bit of, if you like, wiggle room in terms of that. But technically if somebody is on your trade license and on your labor card, uh, work permit and visa, then their salary still needs to go through WPS, and that is payable into a UAE bank account. Um, visas would be retained during that time because they're still technically, it's associated with the work permits. You can't have a work permit without a residency visa. Um, the two don't, don't, um, stand alone independent, if you see what I mean, unless you're, uh, an Emirati national. Um- So it's not sort of possible to press pause on the visa, uh, duration to say, "Right, they're gonna be out of the country, so we'll press pause on it," and then it'll continue when they come back in again. It continues running. Um, and it's an important point to note on that one is because one of the regulations with regards to the UAE visas is that if you are out of the country for six months, um, or your visa technically expires whilst you're out of the country, then the company- the visa is essentially canceled, but it still needs a formal cancellation process that needs to be carried out by the company. So even though your visa might expire, it still needs to be formally canceled. If you were to reenter, you would be stopped on entry, and likewise, if you're coming back in after six months and one day, your visa is essentially, um, canceled, uh, for want of a better word, and would need to be formally either reinstated or, um, canceled and reissued through the company. So it's a, it's a bit of a challenging situation.

Hugo Van Zyl: 23:41

Can I add to that also very important, Carlow, is that f- if looking at the UAE also for UK-based employees coming to the UKE, so, uh, UAE, it is important to remain on the formal payment system, whatever it is. Like in the UK on the tax code that issued. Mm-hmm. Because that keeps you contributing in the UK to Social Security. And the other benefit in the UAE, it keeps on counting for your end-of-service benefit. Because if you're removed off the WPS, so you're not paid to a UAE bank account, you are now paid to a foreign bank account. When it comes to end-of-service benefit, you are losing out. So if you are employed while working remotely, please try and protect. There's no additional cost to your employee- employer, but try and protect those long-term service benefits. So for those who don't know, end of service benefits in the UAE, for example, pension fund's another big thing. We have a end of service benefit calculated. Uh, Sarah, help me. It's a, it's a week per

Sarah Brooks: 24:41

year or- It's, um, it's 21 days for the first three years of service, and 30 days for ev- for … Sorry, first five years of service, and then 30 days for every year after that. Um, and it's, um, days of basic salary, um, for the tenure. So it's your … It, it's fairly straightforward, but somewhat complex to explain calculation.

Hugo Van Zyl: 25:03

But, but in short, it's not like the UK where they'll put you on gardening leave- No … and we're gonna pay you while you're not working, and the UAE is paid out as cash.

Sarah Brooks: 25:11

So it's two different things. You can have gardening leave in the UAE. So if you are given notice from your employment, there's three options. Um, you're paid in lieu of notice, you're asked to work your notice, or you're put on what is essentially gardening leave. Once you have completed a minimum of one year's employment in the UAE, you're eligible to receive this gratuity payment, which is what you're mentioning, which was set up, um, uh, many years ago as an alternative to a pension or social security fund, um, for expatriate workers. Uh, um, UA nationals don't have this. They have their own pension and social security. So, um, this gratuity fund is accumulated over time of your employment, and it's then calculated when you leave, and it is completely separate to, as a separate payment from, any of your notice period payments.

Hugo Van Zyl: 25:58

Thank you.

Carla Wilson: 25:59

So I think from what I understand is what we're saying is that regardless of your location, if you are sitting on a UAE employment contract, all those benefits follow you unless your contract is physically terminated. So we expect an individual who is sitting in a remote European island, enjoying their, um, summer break, to still be able to earn the benefits as per their employment contract. That includes being paid through WPS. That includes things like their medical insurance benefits, as well as their gratuity calculation.

Sarah Brooks: 26:32

Yeah. All right. And their accruals for their annual leave and things like this as well would all continue.

Carla Wilson: 26:37

Okay. Great. So it then takes me onto my next topic, which is very relevant. So obviously we've got all of this that we're talking about in terms of everything that is knowledge within the expertise themselves. So the experts are fully aware of everything that happens, but a lot of businesses, again, want to be flexible for their staff. They want to be able to allow people to enjoy these benefits that are becoming so popular globally. But a lot of this happens through a WhatsApp request, an email notification. Uh, we're changing our internal policy. We allow people to be able to go and do this. You'll get a sure, no problem. Um, Sarah, what should a proper approval process actually look like?

Sarah Brooks: 27:24

So my advice to companies is to have a proper policy in place with regards to what is remote working, what the boundaries are, the guidelines, framework, if you like, how many days it is applicable for in the circumstances. And that should also impr- include a process for the approvals, which it can be done through WhatsApp, it can be done through, um, emails, or it can be done through an HR system. It's entirely up to a company, but it just needs to be documented somewhere to ensure transparency and consistency of process and approvals. Um, and then the process should also in- and the policy document rather, should also include the details of that approval process and any considerations so that that is like a reference guide. So if somebody gets asked, "Can you go and work remotely?" Or, "I want to go and work remotely," they can check the rules and regulations that are there. Like for example, as Hugo said, a tax advisor will be provided to facilitate you during this time, for example. Um, or, you know, the company under- we're asking you, therefore the company will undertake to pay any income tax that you may be eligible to pay, um, whilst… Or liable rather than eligible, but to pay whilst you're on this secondment. Um, so all of that needs to be documented in the policy, um, with obviously not to be, um, completely exhaustive in the different countries and the specific tax regulations. But at a general level to say, this is what we'll look at, this is how we'll approve it, this is what we'll do in X, Y, Z case, um, so that the employee has the information to hand and can make an informed decision.

Hugo Van Zyl: 29:01

And can I add, which became very important now for South Africans and UK people, is that the, the clause that the company can unilaterally terminate that arrangement and give a period of notice. So for example, the, we saw when the, um, American-Iran wa- war broke out that some of the corporates said, "You'll have to come back on the first flight, and it is your duty to get the, um, uh, flight permissions and, and so on." Because that clearly indicates there's no intention to create a branch on the other side. Because in what we saw in the UAE, what you allu- alluded to, Carla, um, and, and, uh, also Sarah, is that some of these people would see their visas, um, visa days, um, exceeding 183 days, and the companies are just not prepared to incur that cost. Because remember, if that visa is canceled or deemed to be canceled, that renewal process is an obligation in the UAE on the employer, and that cost, um, you know, and the formal cancellation cost is that of the employer. So I would suggest to make sure that there's absolutely no risk of a permanent establishment created by events like war, COVID-19. So in our lifetime, we've now seen two of these events that triggers, that makes sure that that policy document also covers the negative. Yeah. Like in a divorce. Ah, in a marriage, arrange the divorce rules in the antenuptial.

Sarah Brooks: 30:25

Yeah.

Carla Wilson: 30:25

So what- so as an example, what happens if someone is on something called or s- or like maternity leave, right? So you're actually not showing up to work every single day. You're on maternity leave, but you then decide to take your maternity leave- In the UK or in Europe. Obviously, there is no intention to get approval from your employer because they have approved you to be on maternity leave. Does the location of where you enjoy that maternity leave have an implication on your tax status and/or the business tax status? And is this something that we would need to see specifically included in the likes of these policies

Hugo Van Zyl: 31:11

that we've been talking about? On, Carla, on the general guidance, no, it does not impact on the tax because you cannot make decisions. You're on maternity leave. Unless you're a very, very high senior person and they still keep you for, uh, board meetings or management meetings. The second important part is to take into account that most double tax treaties use the word present in the country and exercising employment. Whilst you're on maternity leave, um, or garden leave or a sabbatical, you are not exercising employment. So that is critical to take that into account. That's a very fine line. Not all countries emphas- or place enough emphasis on that words, and they sometimes ignore it. They just physically in the UK count the number of work days, whether you go into the office or not. But you're truly entitled to claim that maternity leave was not in the exercising of employment.

Sarah Brooks: 32:03

I think, um, to add onto that, because the maternity leave is still considered as employment and you're still paid during at some level for, um, for your time off of, off of work, it's paid leave, um- I think it's worth to note from- for companies to have that question to be asked to somebody who's presenting with maternity leave, are you gonna be staying in the UK, in the UAE, or are you intending to travel to have the birth, and have that conversation. And it will depend case by case. There are, um, with the multicultural society that we live in, there are many that would choose to return home because they'll get better maternity cover benefits.

Hugo Van Zyl: 32:42

Can I give you, can I give you a real example? Say- Oh,

Sarah Brooks: 32:44

please do.

Hugo Van Zyl: 32:45

Are you British or not? Um, and, and sorry if I now upset the Brits. The Brits has terrible rules about passports. If your mother and your father are British passport holders, but neither were born in the UK, you are not entitled to a UK birth certificate and a UK passport unless you are born in the UK. So therefore, and we have seen that, that some medical aides allow mothers from the UAE with British passports to fly out to the UK to have the birth there. They then call on the employer to sign the so-called no objection certificate. That's a letter of permission. Mm-hmm. And some of the medical aides actually contribute. They won't pay all the costs, but they will contribute to certain of that cost. Yeah. So that is also very important that you keep that document, that you can show to a tax man who would like to try and tax you, that the intention was not to exercise employment. There was another reason, which is not tax.

Sarah Brooks: 33:43

Mm-hmm. No, no, very true. This is- it's worth, um, uh, being aware of that. And I think I would say to any employer to be on your toes about that type of thing. Um, but also to any, um, anyone who's looking to start a family, start asking those questions before you make a choice about where you want to have the birth, if it's in the UK or South Africa or subcontinent or whatever, to understand the legal implications of that.

Carla Wilson: 34:09

So from what it sounds like, the recommendation would be that albeit it may not trigger a tax consequence, it's a question or a process whereby you should notify your employer as to where you will be based throughout that duration and if that location changes. So it's not necessarily about requiring approval, but I think approval follows equal importance around notification and staying in contact whilst you are on things like maternity leave with your employ- employer so that they can obviously make sure that they remain compliant, um, on your behalf as well. So I guess this comes down to now, Sarah, through all of this, where does the decision or the ownership of this lie? Would we expect this to be something that HR should own or are we expecting this as to something as that a business owner or a leadership team should be leaving, leading for their organization?

Sarah Brooks: 35:07

Sorry, just to clarify, in terms of the approvals for people taking maternity leave or the tax compliance?

Carla Wilson: 35:13

So the overall remote working process. Where would the ownership of that infrastructure, that policy development, the governance, the approval process, who would own that decision-making and that infrastructure creation? Would we say that that's something that HR should lead or would we think that it's more so for business owners or leadership teams to govern?

Sarah Brooks: 35:34

I think it's a, um… it needs to be an informed decision. So yes, HR plays a part, but I think, um, also, um, a general finance team, a legal team if there is one, compliance, um, get external legal and financial advice support on it. Because for the most part, um, from all the experiences that I've had at least with, um, compliance and legal teams in-house, unless they've had actual experience of it, they don't generally have enough knowledge of it to be able to then put it into a policy, if that makes sense. Because we tend to learn things by experience. I mean, even whilst we're having these conversations, there's elements of things where I'm like, "I don't do that. Okay." Because it's not something that's come up in conversation. So, um, I would be looking to gather information from a group of experts, and then propose it at a leadership level fo- so that everybody's on board and understands what the structure and format of that policy is and the approval matrix, and then disseminate that information down to the rest of the team once it's been decided upon.

Hugo Van Zyl: 36:34

Carlow, from an, a tax advisory point, we say to corporates it is a board level decision.

Sarah Brooks: 36:41

Uh-huh.

Hugo Van Zyl: 36:41

And HR is involved, as Sarah said, but often in the execution or just to find a policy. But the initial permission must be at board level- Mm-hmm … because it's that board that takes ownership of the risk of a permanent establishment.

Sarah Brooks: 36:57

Mm-hmm.

Hugo Van Zyl: 36:57

And that is why the legal and tax advisory side belongs on that level. So before a company, how small the company may be, make that decision to allow someone, they have to consider the tax treaty of the country where they- Yes

Sarah Brooks: 37:12

Yeah. Not all companies are big enough to have a board here. Majority are not. Um, so it is from a senior leadership level and ownership level that they would be making that decision. I 100% agree with you, Hugo.

Carla Wilson: 37:24

So it sounds like the recommendation would be the initiation or the trigger should come from HR surrounding the employee benefit of remote working, but we're looking for contribution from the leadership team, from the board, from the business owner to really drive bringing in the right experts and making sure that that structure has covered all the potential risks associated with remote working.

Sarah Brooks: 37:50

Yep.

Carla Wilson: 37:50

So if we have someone who's listening, and they're going, "I already have people working abroad. Um, I haven't done any checks. I haven't thought about this. This was not a policy or a process that we've had in the past." To both of you, what would you say are the first three things they should do within the next week?

Sarah Brooks: 38:15

Go on, Hugo. What's on your top three? I'll

Hugo Van Zyl: 38:17

follow. My, my first one is then to get the legal or corporate tax advice. The second one is risk management. Now, that's very wide, and I, example, um, have a company in South Africa, and I live six months a year in the UAE. Part of my risk management was asking my, um, professional indemnity insurer, "Will you cover me whilst I'm working in the UAE performing South African tax advisory and compliance services?" And funny enough, they were very friendly and said, "Yeah, yes, your certificate included, but totally excluded are three jurisdictions." And the one was the USA, and the other one was India, and the third one was any country currently involved in a war, which by definition, for a period of time now excludes, uh, Israel and, and, um, America. So and then the third one is getting the right permissions in place, whether that is from the employer or from the, um, uh, medical aid because there's also that cover. Because if you're obliged to provide your employees with medical aid, that is a, a risk management item.

Sarah Brooks: 39:26

Mm. So from, from… The top three things for me would be to make sure you have all the data. Who are they? Where are they? How long have they been there? You know, is it from their first day of joining? What, what is that timeframe looks like? Because that's obviously then leads into any tax implications, both from a corporate perspective and from a personal, um, perspective. So having all of that, looking at the data for visas as well. I mean, hopefully you'll be aware of when people's visas are coming up. That's one of the, the few things that, um, most HR departments are, um, pretty up to speed with. Um, and then looking at the policies in place and, and trying to work out what that tax, um, implication might be, um, using the payroll information that you've got to figure out, okay, this person's been in the UK, so this is maybe what we might be looking at to be able to then mitigate that risk. Um, and find out how you can, um, if necessary, call people back, um, to resolve that issue, um, or rearrange things and have that conversation, put them on a temporary m- suspension or, you know, whatever it might be just until it's resolved.

Carla Wilson: 40:33

So if we look at all of this and businesses are going, "Okay, I need to take action." Um, Hugo, to you, obviously, I think the first thing, the first response that an SME business owner would say, you know, hearing all of this is, "How much is this gonna cost me, and can I use AI to fill the gap?" What would your recommendation to them be in terms of what are the options? Um, everyone automatically wants to think or default to I can only go to the big four, or I'm going to use… So I'm going to use AI to reduce my costs. What would you say to them in terms of what options they have out there that could be a lower cost?

Hugo Van Zyl: 41:13

Well, first of all, um, not necessarily lower cost, but the reliable value for money is to go to professional bodies like the various chartered accountant institutions across the world. So, for example, I get a lot of work on the, from SAICA, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, or members of, uh, ICAEW. And, um, I don't get all the work. There's a rotational basis, but they have a list of who are the South Africans, uh, present in the UAE, and they go through the rotation list. Because it's also, you must understand your industry. So for example, if you are in the aviation industry, your employees by nature are going to be on your instruction outside. Now you have no, um, option, but to incur that cost and build into your system a renewal for visas because you cannot put that pilot or crew on a staff, uh, on a, on a flight when they are three weeks away from a renewal date. So there is certain software, even if you manage it through AI, but there are costs that are not necessarily advisory cost, but monitoring and compliance cost. So my first answer, short answer, is go and find an expert of that country. So where Sarah said that question, "Where, where are you going to?" is the first question, and follow that with if you do not know someone, and it need not be one of the big four. The IOM is very small. We're only five people. They are experts in the field that can assist.

Carla Wilson: 42:41

If the audi- audience member is listening to all of this can only take away one thing, what should it be? Hugo, you go first.

Hugo Van Zyl: 42:51

Communication. Inform your staff that if you are working remotely for whether it's a week, two weeks, three months, whatever your intention is, be transparent to us that we can manage our risk, and we will from our side try and, um, assist you in managing your risk. So absolute transparency, and secondly is get a fair policy. Yes or no.

Carla Wilson: 43:15

And Sarah, what would you say is the one thing that you hope people could take away from today?

Sarah Brooks: 43:20

Um, I en- I encourage remote work, but, and there is a but, um, don't treat it as a casual perk. Treat it as a governed exception that finance, HR, and leadership own together with simple rules and transparent communication to your teams.

Carla Wilson: 43:41

Thank you so much, Hugo and Sarah, for sharing your exper- your expertise and practical insights for today. Um, if we have a little bit more time, I wanted to ask, um, one or two more questions. Um, would you consider that there is any difference through these circumstances whether someone is employed under a mainland or free zone entity? Would there be a different consideration that a business should be taking into consideration if they are going, "But I am a free zone, and I have staff that sit remotely," or, "I'm a mainland entity, and I have staff that sit remotely"? Do we want to point out that there is anything that should be different, or do people think that they- there is something different and that we can then go, "Actually, there isn't anything different"?

Hugo Van Zyl: 44:32

I will be quick. From a UAE specific, specific, um, point of view, yes, a free zone. If you only have less than seven employees, rather be free zone because your turnover level, the trigger for tax, corporate tax, is t- uh, 3 million dirhams. Okay? Rand terms, about 15 million, um, rand. So it's a substantial level where in mainland there's not that availability, but then it must be a very small company, seven and less staff

Carla Wilson: 45:01

So I think it's important… Yes, please, go Sarah.

Sarah Brooks: 45:03

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I was just gonna say from an employee perspective, um, aside from the corporate tax, the difference between them, they're all, uh, with the exception of the two financial free zones being DIFC and ADGM, the rest of them are all governed under the same employment legislation as mainland. So some of the free zones also have a WPS, but all of the free zones have a legislation of some kind and employment laws. So irrespective of whether you are employed under a free zone or mainland and you're working remotely, you're still technically an employee of the UAE, and then everything that we've just said previously still applies. So there's no get out clause if you hire, if you're on a free zone that the, you know, the, the, the, um, South African rules won't apply because it's a free zone in the UAE. It doesn't work that way, unfortunately.

Carla Wilson: 45:50

And I think that was important, you know, to highlight, because as business owners, I think it's very difficult for them to understand the difference between a mainland entity and a free zone entity because they are governed slightly differently. But there is obviously alwa- always an overarching act that the UAE uses, um, to govern. And I just heard that that question would come in from, you know, people listening to this to go, "But I'm a free zone. Does that still apply to me?" And I think both of you have answered that very clearly, that free zone or mainland, everything that we have discussed today is very much relevant, um, and applies regardless. So thank you again, Sarah and Hugo, for sharing your expertise and practical insights with us today. What has become very clear from our discussions is that international remote working is no longer simply an HR or an employee wellbeing issue. It is a business-wide consideration that can have significant implications across tax, payroll, compliance, governance, and risk management. As organizations continue to embrace that flexibility, it is increasingly important that policies, processes, and decision-making frameworks evolve alongside changing ways of working. Today's conversation has certainly highlighted the value of taking a proactive approach, asking the right questions early, understanding the potential implications, and ensuring both businesses and employees are equipped to make informed decisions. On behalf of Chartered Accountants Worldwide, I'd like to thank Hugo and Sarah for their valuable contributions. And thank you all for joining us for this special edition of Difference Makers Discuss Live. We hope today's discussion has provided practical guidance and useful considerations that you can take back to your own organizations. Until next time, thank you for joining us and for continuing to make a difference