INTHEBLACK December - January 2022 - Magazine - Page 30
International recruitment
STRATEGIC CAREER MOVES
30
DEC 2022
JAN 2023
“It would be wise for anybody who’s
looking to hire people from abroad to check
the visa rights of that person. Do they have
an appropriate working visa? If they need
sponsorship, are they able to sponsor the
person? What is the criteria to be able to
sponsor that individual?” she says.
INTERNATIONAL REMOTE WORKING
Loss of local talent to international
opportunities works in tandem with
the resurgence of expat opportunities.
Gorton suggests there are ways for
employers to manage this kind of
movement to ensure they can retain people.
Rather than letting people go, offering
people the opportunity to keep their job
with some flexibility factored in can be a
good solution in a talent-short market.
“Companies need to get a little bit
creative on how they can retain someone
in the organisation. Rather than expecting
an employee to resign because they want
to go overseas, employers could be looking
at it differently and offering extended
leave, or the opportunity to perform
some of the role from a different location,
because they know how difficult it is for
that person to be replaced,” says Gorton.
While it might sound easy enough to
do, and the world has rapidly embraced
digital tools to keep the wheels of business
turning, there are some logistics to consider
with international remote working.
Firstly, when an employer announces
that all roles come with flexibility and
remote working can be done from
anywhere, does that mean literally
anywhere in the world, or are there
restrictions? Is it applicable only within a
given country due to compliance issues? Is
the arrangement temporary or permanent?
TAXING TIMES
The first thing to do is make sure you have
everything in place before switching from
resident to non-resident so that you can
manage what income is declared in the
Australian tax return, says Grant Keating
FCPA, senior accountant at Expat Taxes.
“A number of people are unaware of the
tax benefits from non-resident status and,
in fact, what they need to declare in their
Australian tax return.
“We have seen many people run into
trouble because they didn’t put a tax return
in while they were working elsewhere
and pay their HECS [Higher Education
INTHEBLACK CAREER, ELEVATED SPECIAL EDITION
“Companies need to get a little bit creative on
how they can retain someone in the organisation.
Rather than expecting an employee to resign
because they want to go overseas, employers
could be looking at it differently and offering
extended leave, or the opportunity to perform
some of the role from a different location,
because they know how difficult it is for that
person to be replaced.”
NICOLE GORTON, ROBERT HALF
SKILLS IN
DEMAND
Financial
management:
49%
Financial/
business
analysis:
48%
44%
39%
36%
Accounting:
Treasury:
Internal audit:
Source: Robert Half’s
survey of 100 CFOs on
skills they look for in
international talent
Contribution Scheme] or HELP [Higher
Education Loan Program] debt based
on the income they were earning, for
example,” says Keating.
For employers, Keating offers some
clear advice. Have a conversation with
an experienced accountant to understand
the compliance issues for you as an
employer, and, for your employee,
considering both Australia and the
overseas country’s requirements.
“It’s not as simple as allowing your
employee to move overseas and you
continue to withhold PAYG and pay
superannuation on their behalf. In some
cases, employers simply will not have the
same obligations for remote employees as
they do for local employees.
“There are also issues to consider
in the overseas country, for example
permanent establishment issues, local
payroll obligations and more. It’s therefore
important to seek advice from specialist
accountants beforehand, or risk making
costly mistakes,” says Keating.
“In recent years, we’ve been required to
amend a lot of clients’ tax returns and lodge
objections on their behalf, because their
Australian employers incorrectly withheld
tax from their salaries in Australia, the
result being that not only was tax paid
in Australia (incorrectly), but often the
overseas country will also demand payment
for the tax on a client’s income.”
