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15 October 2020 / Juliet Carp
Issue: 7906 / Categories: Features , Covid-19 , Employment , Profession
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Home (working) & Away

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Working at home from abroad—what should employers, employees & their lawyers know? Juliet Carp identifies some of the legal pitfalls & offers some practical suggestions

In brief

  • Challenges of homeworking abroad: first stop immigration.
  • What should a diligent employer do? Global mobility compliance.
  • Where do lawyers come in? Recognising limits.

A lot has been written about homeworking and most of it applies equally to people working ‘virtually’ from abroad. After all, if you are working from home via the internet does it really make a difference if your home happens to be somewhere sunnier or closer to family overseas? The short answer is ‘Yes, it does!’. Extra compliance challenges and costs can be very substantial indeed. While it may make sense to address these when making a strategic decision to move into new markets, it rarely makes commercial sense for one individual who would simply prefer to be somewhere different.

Challenges

So, what are these challenges? First stop immigration, because without immigration compliance, both employee and employer (and sometimes

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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