International HR Adviser Winter 2023/24

WINTER 2023/24

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International HR Adviser The Leading Magazine For International HR Professionals Worldwide

FEATURES INCLUDE: Crafting A Strategic Digital Recipe For Mobility Success The Tortoise And The Hare • Efficient Pay Reviews: From Weeks To Minutes C-Suite On The Move: Tax And Social Security Risks For Frequent Business Travellers Global Tax Update • Talent Mobility Management: Compensation Dilemmas Brand Changes And GM Policy Revisions: Do They Hold Any Common Lessons?

Global Business Travel Forecasts • The HR Side Of Artificial Intelligence Healthcare • Key Workplace Trends And Predictions For 2024 ADVISORY PANEL FOR THIS ISSUE:

CONTENTS

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Crafting A Strategic Digital Recipe For Mobility Success Sunny Sharma & Bradley Fenn, Deloitte UK

The Tortoise And The Hare Tom Crosby, TST International

Efficient Pay Reviews: From Weeks To Minutes Georgia Wilson, ECA International

C-Suite On The Move: Tax And Social Security Risks For Frequent Business Travellers Karen McGrory, BDO LLP

Global Tax Update Karen McGrory, BDO LLP

Talent Mobility Management: Compensation Dilemmas Olivier Meier, Mercer

Brand Changes And GM Policy Revisions: Do They Hold Any Common Lessons?

Kristin White, Sterling Lexicon

Healthcare Interview with Dr Shoba Subramanian, UnitedHealthcare Global

Business Travel: American Express Global Business Travel Forecasts American Express Global Business Travel

The HR Side Of Artificial Intelligence Mostafa Sayyadi, Change Leader Consulting Inc. & Michael Provitera, Organizational Behavior

Fujitsu HR Unveils Key Workplace Trends And Predictions For 2024 Fujitsu UK & Ireland

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Helen Elliott • Publisher • T: +44 (0) 20 8661 0186 • E: helen@internationalhradviser.com Ben Everson • T: +44 (0) 7921 694823 • E: ben@internationalhradviser.com International HR Adviser, PO Box 921, Sutton, SM1 2WB, UK Cover - Annca from Pixabay In Loving Memory of Assunta Mondello Origination by Fresh Designs - www.fresh-designs.co.uk and Printing by Gemini Group The International HR Adviser team work with a British planet positive printer, with a commitment to best practice environmental management including achieving the top score in Europe for the Green Leaf Awards, full FSC Certification, and ISO14001. Well managed sourcing of both virgin pulp and recycled papers, in addition to carbon balancing ensures that you can enjoy International HR Adviser with a clear eco conscience.

While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information contained in this issue of “International HR Adviser”, the publishers and Directors of Inkspell Ltd cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither the publishers of “International HR Adviser” nor any third parties who provide information for “Expatriate Adviser” magazine, shall have any responsibility for or be liable in respect of the content or the accuracy of the information so provided, or for any errors or omissions therein. “International HR Adviser” does not endorse any products, services or company listings featured in this issue.

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Crafting A Strategic Digital Recipe For Mobility Success In an era where the scope of mobility programmes is in a perpetual state of evolution and the geopolitical landscape witnesses the ascent of protectionist governments, organisations find themselves amidst an intricate web of unpredictable changes and regulatory complexities. At the same time, there is a pressing need to unlock organisational value through data-driven insights – Deloitte’s CFO survey found that most (54%) are optimistic that AI will deliver material improvements to their business performance. (1) Given these market dynamics, the question that looms large is whether your organisation possesses a digital strategy robust enough to navigate this ever-changing landscape.

The focus of this article is the role a digital strategy plays in enabling the Future of Work within the Global Mobility function. Are you equipped with a digital strategy that proactively supports this evolving landscape, or are you caught in the cycle of reactive and tactical technology adoption, responding only when change knocks at your door?

To assist companies that want to transform their global mobility function with digital technologies, this article explores the value of developing a forward-thinking digital strategy.

It's All In The Prep

Imagine you are preparing a gourmet meal for a dinner party, and you enter a supermarket without a list of ingredients. You wander the aisles aimlessly, picking up ingredients based on immediate needs or fleeting desires. You end up with a cart full of items, but when you get home, you realise that you don’t have everything you need and must make substitutes or run to the supermarket again.

This is like the approach that many organisations take when it comes to technology. Without a clear strategy or roadmap, they may invest in various tools and solutions that seem useful at the time, but without a cohesive plan, they may end up with a collection of disparate systems that don’t work together effectively. This can lead to inefficiencies, redundancies, and missed opportunities for innovation and growth.

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By contrast, a strategic approach to technology is like going shopping with a well-planned list of ingredients. You know exactly what you need, and you can focus your efforts on finding the best quality items that will work together to create a cohesive and delicious menu. Similarly, a strategic approach to technology allows organisations to invest in the tools and solutions that will work together seamlessly to support their goals and objectives.

It's more important than ever to look at advancements and trends holistically to shape the digital vision Why Is This So Important?

We’re all guilty of addressing the ‘here and now’ and coming up with a solution to a problem. When conducting project retrospectives after implementing a solution, you hear teams discuss what they would do differently. Typically, the responses you hear are, “we’d spend more time understanding the bigger picture” or “we’d spend more time planning and understanding the problem before choosing solution X”.

When time, budget and resourcing are constrained and the pressure to deliver is high, it’s no wonder teams jump straight to a solution.

As with the supermarket analogy and witnessed through many technology implementations, without the necessary planning, you can end up with a solution that you have to make work because you hadn’t conducted enough research or thoroughly thought through the design.

As the Future of Work continues to evolve and influence Global Mobility,

coupled with emerging technology trends, it’s becoming increasingly important for organisations to adopt a strategic digital transformation approach.

A digital strategy is more than just choosing the right technology platform. It involves understanding the changes that are required before, during, and after the transformation journey and determining what is relevant, feasible, and practical for your programme.

With advancements within the technology landscape and new emerging mobility trends, it's more important than ever to look at these advancements and trends holistically to shape the digital vision and strategy you create. By doing so, organisations can prioritise their investments to bring their vision to reality. Let's take a closer look at some of these trends:

Mobility Trends:

Borderless Skill-Based Movement To address talent shortages, organisations are exploring new ways to source talent without geographic limitations, promote diversity, promote employee choice and provide crossborder opportunities to enhance skillsets.

• 71% of CEOs have cited talent shortages as their top external challenge to meeting their business objectives. (2) Growing Distributed Workforce The shift towards distributed work has expanded the role and influence of Global Mobility. The success of hybrid/remote work programmes depends on Global Mobility's capacity to collaborate with a diverse range of stakeholders and manage increasing complexity.

• Worker sentiment has shifted, and workers are advocating for workplace models that best support their needs and well-being.

Many workers now consider the ability to work remotely as an inalienable right.

According to a recent study two-thirds of workers globally (64%) say they have already considered (or would consider) looking for a new job if their employer wanted them back in the office full time.(3) Expanded Risk Beyond the operational, financial and compliance risks that organisations are generally set up to mitigate, external disruptive risks such as environmental, social, and political conditions greatly impact how and where work is done and how supported employees feel within their roles.

INTERNATIONAL HR STRATEGY • 19% of organisations feel ready to anticipate and consider broader societal and environmental risks when making workforce decisions. (4)

Technology Trends:

Consumer Grade Experiences Employees expect the same experiences at work as they get from their everyday home-life applications. This means simplicity, integration, immediate responses, personalisation, and flexibility. Building employee experiences enabled via digital platforms requires careful design involving user experience experts.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) With new AI-powered services and applications being launched almost daily, organisations are recognising the potential for AI to supplement their workforce capabilities and are actively seeking ways to leverage it to achieve differentiation and operational efficiencies.

Have you looked at the different types of AI to support your needs around reducing administration, crafting new experiences or elevating your role through data insights?

• Generative AI is expected to increase Global GDP by $7 trillion (7% over 10-year period), with 1.5% growth in labour productivity. (5) Data Collection and Insights Organisations aggregate large data sets, many of which are underutilised because they span multiple systems or are difficult to analyse. By centralising data and enhancing data quality/reliability, it is possible to gain insights that drive policy development, enhance compliance, promote DEI outcomes, and measure ROI. • 83% of organisations believe that leveraging worker data to create benefits for both the organisation and its workers is important or very important to their organisations’ success. (6)

Digital Transformation Triggers

What's Driving Your Digital Roadmap

When thinking about what triggers digital transformation you might find it fits nicely within the quadrant shown below: Change is either:

(A) Mobility-Driven Change

For example: • Global Mobility are making changes to processes or vendors that may affect your existing digital platforms. You may be implementing new policies or processes and your existing platform or vendors technology can't support your new requirements and so you build, buy or integrate solutions to fit the new need.

• An organisational restructure or change in scope of the GM function could be the driving force behind your need for consolidation, separation or brand-new digital platform(s) to support your new environment.

Global Mobility are making changes to processes or vendors that may affect your existing digital platforms

(B) Organisational/Externally Driven Change

For example: • Enterprise or regulatory driven - as a result of wider changes within the organisation, for example, your organisation is transitioning to a new ERP system, within global mobility you will need react to this and review and replan how your existing mobility processes and platform plug and play with the new ERP. • Policy or regulatory change may require you to make updates to your digital landscape - for example, new AI regulation.

• With the proliferation of AI, you may be asked to adopt new solutions - these can bring value when you understand use cases for automation, and you understand the capabilities of AI. In reality, you are likely to be managing one or more of these changes in parallel whilst also responding to business-as-usual requirements.

This highlights the importance of having a roadmap, the right governance, and a clear strategy in place to utilise available resources and achieve desired outcomes. Just like not wanting to leave the supermarket without a crucial ingredient, you must ensure that you have the necessary components in place to successfully navigate digital transformation.

Recipe For A Digital Strategy

Similar to planning the dinner party we mentioned earlier, having a well-laid-out plan for digital transformation can help ensure that everything is delivered on time and as expected. So, what's the basic recipe for creating a digital strategy? Well, start with some of these fundamentals: • Vision: Define what an iconic digital mobility organisation looks and feels like, with a set of clearly defined and measurable goals • Roadmap: Prioritise initiatives (driven by mobility and externally) that will enable you to achieve your vision over a multi-year period, aligned with available budgets. Any strategic projects requiring additional funding or wider organisational support may require a business case to be drafted in advance • Governance and Operating Model: Establish a clear set of roles and responsibilities for who owns what part of the transformation and how to deal with changes to your roadmap. Defining a framework for executing digital transformation programmes will lead to ultimate success, including everything from discovery phases to design, development, testing, and change management • Mobility Technology/System Landscape: Understand the web of digital platforms at play within the world of HR and mobility. Having an inventory of these platforms, ownership, contracts, costs, and integrations will enable you to proactively manage any change that could affect one or more of these systems.

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Organisations need to plan for how to move from AI hype to reality

Landscape Of Systems

Landscape Of Systems

AI is the big topic on the horizon, and organisations need to plan for how to move from hype to reality. AI brings a huge opportunity to change the experience within the mobility function, leverage it to derive powerful insights, and reduce administrative burden. By having a clear understanding of your use cases for AI, you can start planning for where it can add value and augment the work you do.

Taking a proactive and strategic approach to AI and all digital transformation will enable you to integrate and harness its benefits in a way that delivers true value to you and your organisation. Remember, success is the result of preparation, so prepare to succeed by understanding your use cases, planning for integration, and taking a strategic approach.

For more information or to help you craft your digital strategy, our Digital Advisory & Transformation team are on hand.

References: (1) Deloitte CFO Survey https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/ finance/articles/deloitte-cfo-survey.html" (2) Deloitte CEO Survey (175 leading CEOs within 15 industries) – Winter 2022 https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/ Deloitte/us/Documents/about-deloitte/ us-ceo-survey-overview-winter-2022.pdf"2022 Fortune/ (3) 2023 Global human capital trends Deloitte Insights https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/ insights/focus/human-capital-trends.html" (4) Elevating the focus on Human Risk”, Deloitte Insights, Jan 9, 2023 https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/ focus/human-capital-trends/2023/ workforce-risk-management.html" (5)Goldman Sachs, Generative AI could raise global GDP by 7% h t t p s : / /w w w. g o l d m a n s a c h s . co m / intelligence/pages/generative-ai-couldraise-global-gdp-by-7-percent.html" (6)2023 Global human capital trends Deloitte Insights https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/ insights/focus/human-capital-trends.html"

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SUNNY SHARMA

Director - Digital Strategy & Transformation, Global Employer Services, Deloitte UK +44 20 7303 6795 sunnsharma@deloitte.co.uk

BRADLEY FENN

Manager - Global Workforce Consulting, Global Employer Services, Deloitte UK +44 20 8071 3621 bfenn@deloitte.co.uk

At Deloitte, we offer Digital Advisory & Transformation services that are tailored to your needs and desires. Our team of experts, including technology strategists, solution architects, user experience specialists, and compliance and human capital experts, work together to craft a vision, strategy, and roadmap to the needs of your organisation's digital transformation. We understand the unique challenges of managing a global workforce, and our platform-agnostic approach ensures that we can provide the best solutions for your organisation. With our help, you can create an iconic digitally enabled organisation that provides the perfect employee experience while also managing compliance needs and providing strategic insights to your stakeholders.

This communication contains general information only, and none of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), its global network of member firms or their related entities (collectively, the “Deloitte organisation”) is, by means of this communication, rendering professional advice or services. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your finances or your business, you should consult a qualified professional adviser.

No representations, warranties or undertakings (express or implied) are given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information in this communication, and none of DTTL, its member firms, related entities, employees or agents shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage whatsoever arising directly or indirectly in connection with any person relying on this communication. DTTL and each of its member firms, and their related entities, are legally separate and independent entities. © 2023. For information, contact Deloitte Global.

WE WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO OUR

2024 Global HR Conference Tuesday 30th April 2024

at The Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, London

Our annual event for Senior Global HR Professionals only will cover the following topics:

Sustainability Within Mobility – The Road Ahead

As global businesses become increasingly focused on sustainability measures in light of both government legislation and customer expectations, many departments are being asked to do their part – and mobility is no exception! In this session, we’ll explore the growing pressure for mobility to build and deliver upon science-based targets. How we can begin to review policy and process to promote greater sustainability and how engaging our entire value chain can support mobility in better contributing to overall corporate sustainability goals.

Presented by Andy Conduit-Turner, Director Sales & Technology Enablement at Cartus

The Importance Of Employee Day-Count Tracking When Travelling In The Modern Working Environment

With TST, explore the steps being taken by some of the world's largest companies to ensure their employees remain compliant while undertaking business trips and commuter-travel.

TST will pay particular attention to the importance of day-counting, and the methods used by companies to accurately gather this data to effectively mitigate risk exposure.

Presented by TST International

Navigating Tomorrow: Trends Driving Change In Global Mobility

Stay ahead in this rapidly-evolving global business and talent landscape as we take a look at some of the pivotal trends shaping the future of global mobility (GM). Offering actionable insights, we’ll highlight key developments to help you navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and confidently drive your GM programme’s success and transformation.

Presented by ECA International

Current Global Mobility Trends And Tax Update Presented by BDO LLP

The Power Of Human Connection In A Digital Age: Dr. Shoba Subramanian Explores The Future Of Healthcare

With her extensive experience in travel medicine and tropical medicine, Dr Subramanian will share insights on the future of healthcare delivery for globally mobile populations. Discover how technology is transforming care delivery and learn about the measures that can be put in place to help safeguard the health and wellbeing of employees on international assignments. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable knowledge from a renowned expert in the field. Register now for an enlightening and informative session.

Presented by Dr Shoba Subramanian, UnitedGlobal Healthcare.

To register for this free event, please email helen@internationalhradviser.com with the name and job titles of those who would like to attend.

We look forward to seeing you there!

SPONSORED BY:

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

The Tortoise And The Hare The world of Business Travel continues to bleed into the role of the Global Mobility and HR Professional.

Business Travellers weren’t on the agenda of Global Mobility, but as employee numbers on ‘traditional’ assignment types have reduced, our focus as an industry has switched more towards the Traveller. We’re seeing new job titles appear on LinkedIn; mentions of Travel and Mobility Management, or Business-Travel specialisms within Mobility/HR Teams and these new roles being supported by parallel roles in the vendor-space too.

Assignees can be compared to the Tortoise; a steady procession through a well-planned and managed series of tasks ensuring safety and compliance leading up to a ‘move date’ in 3- or 6-months’ time.

The Business Traveller is a different beast, requiring a looser framework, adapting to ‘moves’ in days and hours instead of weeks and months. The safety and compliance for this population is arguably more important than that of the Assignee, due to the much larger size of the travelling population and the regularity with which they travel – so how can we achieve an acceptable level of compliance for this transient group?

Assessing Every Travel Event Before It Is Booked Is The Obvious Thing To Do?

“Why would an organisation ever let its people book a travel event without checking that the employee is compliant to travel prior to travel?”

– is a common query that comes from the HR/Mobility space. In our experience, Company Culture is the biggest reason why this isn’t a possibility. The company may prioritise growth, completing a deal or customer satisfaction over travelling in a compliant fashion. The Corporate may be pro-compliance, but the nature of the work they do means last-minute travel to satisfy customer demands are critical and the company cannot entertain the idea of travel being denied or delayed for compliance purposes.

Approximately 25%-30% of organisations may have the Corporate Culture necessary to ask their employees to seek approval and complete compliance assessments prior to booking travel, but for the remaining 75% we must adapt to mitigate risk while still allowing the employee to meet business demands

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and finding the balance between business need and compliance.

Global Mobility needs the support of fellow Stakeholders, often from the Travel and Safety verticals who have extensive experience in this field and have for years been the holders of data that would improve a Mobility Team’s pursuit of compliance The ’Post-Booking’ Assessment Model

For Corporates that aren’t able to assess their employee’s prior to booking travel, the most popular way to mitigate travel-related compliance and safety risk is with a ‘postbooking’ model which utilises data gathered from the Corporate travel agent (or Travel Management Company) about the booked trip event. Here, Global Mobility needs the support of fellow Stakeholders, often

from the Travel and Safety verticals who have extensive experience in this field and have for years been the holders of data that would improve a Mobility Team’s pursuit of compliance. As Mobility professionals, we have a new set of travel jargon to learn, adding PNR (Passenger, Name, Record) data, GDS’ (Global Distribution Systems), OBTs (Online Booking Tools) and Cancellations, Refunds and Exchanges alongside the mobility world of PWD, A1, Cost Projection and ‘SPoC’.

We have all likely engaged with PNR data without knowing it; the 7-character, alphanumeric code that sits atop our holiday booking confirmation email. We can harness this data to assess the risks of employee travel without them having to engage in any activity other than booking their trip, provided you have a technology platform that’s able to interpret the data correctly.

The PNR contains the who, what, where and when of employee travel. A new departure within the travel vendors is a recognition that they need to support greater granularity and detail on the trip purpose, then passing this data to compliance providers to accurately gauge the impact of an individual’s travel. The most forwardthinking Travel Management Companies are now adding this detail to their client interface and support API transmission to compliance systems. This ensures a good ‘User Experience’ which is critical as we now expect systems to share data (appropriately) to avoid duplicate entry in multiple systems for the busy Traveller.

Data Collation And Interpretation

So, now we have the PNR data available to us, to pro-actively monitor Traveller activity for the first time. It’s critical to lean on technology to turn this into meaningful data to support a compliance process. The travel industry has almost all the content we need, but has never needed to track a Traveller’s accumulative time at host to date, or whether they already own a multi-state A1 certificate. This is where integration with compliance-specific platforms can make sense of the captured PNR data.

Historically, some Travel Management Companies have shared PNR data via weekly or monthly SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) data packets. This isn’t robust enough for quality compliance assessments due to the fast-paced nature of travel bookings, cancellations and changing itineraries. A compliance assessment on a

CASE STUDY 2-week-old trip booking may be null and void as the Traveller has travelled, or the trip had been cancelled, with that data showing in a subsequent data packet. The transfer of PNR data must be done ‘live’ (or as ‘live’ as Corporate policies allow) via API, allowing the tracking of data and location changes, and monitoring cancellations as closely as possible. This accuracy is integral to quality tracking as over- or under-reporting a Traveller’s time at host will either have a compliance-event, or down-stream vendor cost impact for the Corporate.

Human Behaviour Has An Effect On Travel Data

Booked travel data highlights interesting human scenarios, which can add complexity to the compliance assessment process.

Corporates with successful tracking programmes use this data and the lessons learned to improve relationships with Travel colleagues, improve Travel Policies, and generate cost savings across the travel programme. These scenarios tend to fall into two main areas: • Complex travel lanes and combinations of travel tickets • Unexpected booking practices .

Complex Travel Lanes And Combinations Of Travel Tickets

The simplest form of travel booking is a Return Trip, where tickets (and hotels) are purchased at the same time and issued under a single PNR. Some organisations have a high percentage of trip bookings made as Return Trips, particularly where there is a robust travel policy in place and the company performs activities that can be planned and booked in advance.

As travel is booked at shorter notice, or Travellers link multiple trips in a single travel period, PNR data typically tends to become more complex, and a multitude of booking possibilities can be evidenced. Trips where the outbound and inbound ‘legs’ are booked separately under different PNRs require algorithms to interpret – technology can sometimes reasonably assume the employee has spent ‘X’ number of days in country as it’s possible to link trips to and from the same travel hub.

‘Open-Jaws’ are a common travel pattern created by the Travel Industry to make travel between multiple host locations as simple and cost-effective as possible while minimising layovers and delays. This causes compliance complexities as it becomes harder to track the time spent in the host location by the Traveller as the trip becomes more complex than a simple return trip.

The greater percentage of Return Trip bookings a travelling population makes can be linked directly to better data accuracy from a post-booking data feed.

Unexpected Booking Practices

Regular Travellers can see trip booking as an artform. Post-booking data feeds have uncovered a host of clever booking practices and malpractices, which can be flagged to Travel Stakeholders and used to improve policies and reduce travel programme spend.

Regular Travellers can see trip booking as an artform Common Traveller behaviour can include booking multiple return flights from a meeting location to ensure the employee can jump on the first plane back if the meeting finishes early. This is not only costly in reservation fees to the Organisation, but it’s common for Travellers to forget to cancel the booked ‘contingency’ tickets. TST supports one Client with a group of Travellers doing this 7 or 8 times each, per trip to the USA for over 2 years! An Organisation is unlikely to know this was ever happening if it wasn’t for a post-booking travel compliance assessment, which is where Global Mobility can add value to the Travel function to develop cross-department collaboration.

that fits the Corporate Culture of the Organisation and secondly, highlighting the wins and pitfalls with the chosen approach.

This article has focused on travel-booking platform integration, which will never provide 100% accuracy on its own. Quality data also exists in other systems such as Expense Management platforms, private jet and armoured transport manifests and entry-card records, which can also be used to validate the booked trip data to enhance the accuracy of your programme. We will explore these data points further in a later article.

The Travel Industry can provide us with so much besides a rich source of data as we seek to improve the way our employees travel and mitigate compliance risk. As an industry, we can give back to our Travel colleagues, helping them to shape booking policies and reduce spending, which will in turn give us more accurate data about when and why employees are travelling.

Corporates and their Vendors continue to be better tackling this complex issue as a team, offering new ideas and data sources to keep Travellers meeting customer demands in a compliant fashion, without burdening the Traveller with additional steps, assessments and forms to complete. If you’re planning to pursue a Traveller tracking solution for compliance and duty of care purposes, make connections with your Travel colleagues to ensure your project gets off to the best possible start.

Why Should You Look At A ‘Post-Booking’ Model?

The post-booking model has been created to support Corporates in mitigating compliance risks where a pre-travel booking assessment is not possible due to the culture of the company. By virtue of automating the postbooking assessment, and avoiding the need to engage the Traveller, accuracy is harmed slightly at the beginning of a project. When teamed with a robust Travel Policy and after the data cleansing cycle described in this article, the post-booking model provides a chance for most companies to proactively manage their travel-related risk for the first time, while Global Mobility continues to facilitate travel and helps the business to reach its goals.

In Summary

This article has touched on some of the Consultancy-topics Tracker Software Technologies has regularly with Corporates who are starting to explore Business Traveller tracking for compliance and safety purposes; firstly, pursuing a method of travel tracking

TOM CROSBY

Tom leads the relationships Tracker Software Technologies (TST) has with our new and prospective Clients. There are many variables when implementing compliance processes, from customer experience and technology configuration to cross-functional collaboration and Tom helps compliance stakeholders navigate this environment to reach a solution that works for the company and their travellers. Tom can be found on LinkedIn, or contacted at Tom.Crosby@tst-international.com , if you wish to explore the contents of this article in greater detail.

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Efficient Pay Reviews: From Weeks To Minutes Time is a precious commodity in the world of Global Mobility. A common problem we hear from many clients is that they never have enough of it; it’s taken up by too many repetitive, manual administrative tasks.

One of those tasks is the salary review round, which comes around at least once, often twice, a year, and will take up weeks or even months of the team’s time. Many of our clients implement pay reviews in January, and most of those with a manual process will be up to their necks in updating and reviewing packages for weeks before, simply because there are so many components of a package that potentially need updating.

If we think about updating a typical longterm assignment package, common factors to consider include notional home salary pay rises, changes in tax and social security rules, shifts in cost of living indices and exchange rates, and possibly revised allowances. Updating all of these components manually, calculation by calculation, is very labour intensive; even more so if the ratio of global mobility professionals to assignees is high. Beyond the time lost, companies find that errors are easily made, and assignees are likely to be informed about their new packages at the last minute, giving them little to no time to understand the changes or ask questions before the new pay comes into effect. This doesn’t make for the smoothest experience, for either global mobility or assignees.

But, it doesn’t have to be like this.

Enter batch processing, a simple functionality that can be built into a global mobility management platform. It is a type of automation that enables users to run mass updates by instructing the system once to run a task over and over for multiple instances. It can be employed in a variety of ways, but for most, the pay review process is where batch processing has proved truly indispensable. In just a few clicks, all (or a specific part) of the assignee population will have updated salary packages. Review calculations are created, new data pulled through, new home salaries uploaded, and calculation reports downloaded en masse.

One of our clients cited an 85% reduction in the time it took to run their annual salary and bonus review after leveraging batch processing, and that human error dropped to less than 1%.

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This is a world away from the days when companies did these tasks step by step, assignee by assignee. Now, they find that several weeks or even months’ worth of work is completed accurately in just a few minutes. Costly errors are all but eliminated. And global mobility teams can inform assignees about the changes to their packages earlier, allowing plenty of time to reassure them and address any concerns before the changes take effect.

Not only does the global mobility team save time by automating the process, but your employees are updated as quickly and securely as possible, improving their experience

reputation at risk. Not only does the global mobility team save time by automating the process, but your employees are updated as quickly and securely as possible, improving their experience.

BEYOND PAY REVIEWS

There are many other transformative ways in which global mobility teams are leveraging batch processing. Here we’ll take a look at some more examples:

Managing Exchange Rate Fluctuations

One way that companies protect their assignees from exchange rate fluctuations is through reconciliation payments. When assignees are paid 100% in home or host currency, they remit some of their pay into the other country and currency each month. The global mobility team calculates whether currency shifts have caused assignees to lose out in any months and typically reimburse assignees for the total shortfall once or twice a year.

The major downside of this approach is how laborious it is to keep on top of fluctuations and run these calculations month by month for numerous assignees.

Unsurprisingly, we’ve seen companies struggle to keep up with their reconciliation calculations, leaving assignees out of pocket and unhappy for longer.

With batch processing, mobility teams can calculate the monthly shortfall using the latest exchange rates for all (or a specific section) of their assignee population in next to no time. Again, a typically time-consuming affair has been turned into a simple and timeefficient task, relieving the team to spend their time doing more value-added work.

Policy Reviews Companies with a portal or an app for their mobile employees can take this a step further. Distributing pay review letters and new calculations manually is a painfully slow process. Typically, files are emailed to each employee one at a time. This is, of course, both tedious and time-consuming, and employees can get frustrated waiting.

Moreover, emailing these sensitive documents is not good practice, as it is a very unsafe way of sharing information and risks exposing the data to wrong people and breaching GDPR, and putting your company’s

It can be a huge challenge to know what the impact of changing certain pay components would be on your population and global mobility programme. The vast number of calculations involved means companies have implemented policy changes, such as mobility allowances or cost of living index types, blindly, without knowing the consequences until the damage has been done. Companies that have adopted batch processing functionality to run the policy change scenarios found that they could calculate and analyse the impact of a policy change -

EFFICIENT PAY REVIEWS for overall cost implications and individual cases - during the policy review. This is a huge strategic advantage and means that you can make well-informed decisions and avoid costly mistakes.

Document Generation

Creating a high volume of documents and reports is another area where many mobility teams face time-consuming, error-prone work, but together with document generation functionality, batch processing is used by companies to create reports and documents for all of their employees (or for a specific subset of them) all at once. For example, we’ve seen cases where a company’s policy change results in changes to all employees’ packages under that policy type. Manually updating all of the necessary assignment letters would be a huge, painstaking task and that comes with the risk of errors in what are legally binding documents.

Fortunately, companies using batch processing and document generation only need to tweak the assignment letter template, and then simply batch generate all of the new assignment letters in one click. With advanced systems, those letters can be automatically distributed to the assignees directly.

With advanced systems, those letters can be automatically distributed to the assignees directly Long overlooked and underappreciated, batch processing - an unsung hero of automation - has proven its worth. Over the years, organisations have turned to this hidden gem, experiencing significant time savings and a remarkable reduction in errors, particularly in crucial processes like salary and policy reviews.

Embracing batch processing has empowered companies to redirect their focus from labourintensive tasks to more strategic and assigneecentric responsibilities, and the results speak for themselves.

GEORGIA WILSON

Key Account Manager, ECA International Georgia is part of ECA’s client services team. With over a decade of experience in the global mobility industry, Georgia advises major multinational companies on the latest mobility practices. She helps to ensure the effectiveness of clients’ global mobility programmes by closely supporting them with their day-to-day challenges, policies, and the use and development of software solutions.

Georgia regularly writes and speaks on a wide range of mobility topics, and you can reach her on: georgia.wilson@eca-international.com.

The 2024 Global HR Conference We are delighted that ECA are again sponsoring The 2024 Global HR Conference so please come and join ECA, BDO, Cartus, TST International and UnitedHealthcare Global and listen to advice on: Navigating Tomorrow: Trends Driving Change In Global Mobility Sustainability Within Mobility - The Road Ahead The Importance Of Employee Day-Count Tracking When Travelling In The Modern Working Environment Current Global Mobility Trends And Tax Update The Power Of Human Connection In A Digital Age: Dr Shoba Subramanian Explores The Future Of Healthcare

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C-Suite On The Move: Tax And Social Security Risks For Frequent Business Travellers Senior Executives and C-Suite individuals working in high profile, demanding roles in international organisations are often performing roles with an international dimension. The tax exposure of short-term (including frequent business travellers) and long-term assignments is both at an employee level and at corporate level.

Although there have been increased cross border initiatives by global revenue authorities in recent years and the ensuing legislation has made corporate and employment taxes more inter-related, the fundamental problem remains that the tax treatment of the employee in the host country will often not be consistent with the treatment available in their home country.

Therefore, it is important that the tax issues are identified early on, preferably in advance of substantive international travel, to avoid unnecessary exposure.

Income Tax Issues

When employees spend short periods of time, or travel to a country on an ad hoc basis for work, there is often a default assumption that trips of a short duration will not trigger any tax consequences. In many cases this is true, but we should consider the reasons behind that conclusion to understand when it is not.

In some cases, employees visiting a jurisdiction for short periods may be eligible for a domestic exemption under local tax rules, such as de minimis thresholds for earnings or number of days spent without any reporting requirement. By definition, these are local rules and must be considered on a country-by-country basis and may also require consideration of the employee’s personal circumstances for eligibility (e.g. based on nationality or entitlement to allowances).

Where employees travel for business on behalf of their employer they will typically be hoping – whether they realise it or not to rely on protection from a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) that that country has in place with the UK. These agreements are designed to protect taxpayers from double taxation where they may otherwise be in

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scope of more than one country’s tax system.

The first issue is that not every country has a DTA with the UK, although the vast majority do and the number has increased over time, including some newer ones such as UAE (since 2017) and Brazil (not in force, pending final agreement at time of writing).

If there is no DTA in place, then there can be no assumed protection or exemption from taxes in the host country. Even if there is a DTA, the specific terms of that agreement must be considered to determine if it results in exemption from income tax in the host location. This is not always a given for executive employees in particular. Again, we must explore in more detail the wording of the agreement to better understand this; although each agreement will vary, for the purposes of this article we will consider the fairly ‘standard’ wording found in the UK/US DTA:

If there is no DTA in place, then there can be no assumed protection or exemption from taxes in the host country Remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State (UK) in respect of an employment exercised in the other Contracting State (US) shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State (UK) if: (a) The recipient is present in the other State (US) for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any 12-month

period commencing or ending in the taxable year or year of assessment concerned (b)The remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of the other State (US); and (c) The remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment which the employer has in the other State (US).

In simplified terms, as long as the employee spends no more than 183 days in the other jurisdiction in any given 12-month period, the remuneration continues to be paid by the home employer in the UK, and none of the costs of the individual’s employment are recharged to a permanent establishment in the host country, then there should be no income tax liability triggered in the host country.

However, there is complexity to some of these terms, particularly where it comes to executive employees, that may require further consideration: • In addition to the legal employer, some countries will require that the individual’s ‘economic employer’ is also considered, i.e. the entity that bears the risks and rewards of the employee’s work, who controls or directs the employee’s activities, how integrated the employee is in the organisation etc. For executive employees, it is perhaps more likely that they may be undertaking activities in roles that entail risk in respect of multiple global entities, and if they have a senior (possibly Board level) role then it is also more likely that tax authorities will view them to be integrated into the host country organisation. If that is the case, then the second condition of the DTA article may be breached, and therefore no exemption from host country income taxes available • On condition (c) there is another potential risk, in that it is possible that by virtue of the employee’s activities in the host location they could trigger the creation of a permanent establishment of their home country employer in that jurisdiction for corporate tax purposes.

This risk is elevated for senior individuals who are more likely to have the right to negotiate commercial terms, bind the company, sign contracts, and act as an agent of the company. If a permanent establishment is created then that may also entail an obligation under Transfer

TAXATION Pricing requirements to recharge a portion of the employee’s costs to that overseas permanent establishment, on the basis that they are carrying out valuable duties there (which may, for example, correspond to increased revenues in that jurisdiction).

The OECD commentary on international Double Taxation Agreements provides various additional guidance and examples on the interpretation of the conditions for exemption from income tax in a host location as set out above. For example, one scenario relates to centralised functions where employees perform global roles with costs of those centralised functions allocated around the Group. Where the work that an employee performs is an activity that is typically centralised within a large multinational group of companies (eg corporate communication, finance, tax and treasury) it suggests that this should not preclude the income tax exemption, provided the other conditions are being met.

The guidance also states that if the fees charged by the employing entity correlates to the remuneration/benefits/other costs of that individual for the services provided to the other entity, either with no profit element or a fixed percentage profit element, that would be indicative that the remuneration of the individual is directly charged by the employer to the end user. However, this should not be considered to be the case if the fee charged for the services bears no relationship to the remuneration of that individual or if the remuneration is only one of many factors taken into account in the fee charged for what is really a contract for services.

Even if the conditions of the DTA for exemption from income tax in the host location are satisfied, that is not necessarily the end of the story. In many cases there are still compliance obligations that the employee and/or employer may need to satisfy.

Country Example - USA

There is a domestic exemption available for employees on short visits to the US, which applies if the individual: (i) performs personal services for a foreign employer not engaged in a US trade or business, (ii) is present in the US for less than 90 days in the tax year, and (iii) receives $3,000 or less for the services performed in the tax year.

No reporting or filing is required from either employee or employer if this domestic exemption applies. Point (iii) is often the most problematic as, taking an example of an individual who earns £150,000 per tax year, if they spent 10 days working in the US in a year this would equate to roughly £6,250 of earnings (10/240 days) so approximately $7,800 (fx rate 1.25 at time of writing). This exemption may be helpful in limited circumstances.

Alternatively, the employee can make use of Double Taxation Agreements, as set out above. If the above criteria (broadly) are satisfied, then the individual can be exempt from US income tax on the earnings in relation to their US workdays. Strictly speaking, the individual should file a US tax return to claim exemption under the DTA. In addition, the employer should file relevant forms for US payroll purposes in respect of the claim for exemption.

Importantly, the US State may not accept the exemption granted at Federal level by the DTA, a good example being California.

Importantly, the US State may not accept the exemption granted at Federal level by the DTA, a good example being California Directorships In Other Jurisdictions

Against the backdrop of a sharpened focus on tax governance of global businesses, compliance for non-resident directors is an important area to get right. With the details of board members public domain information in many territories, this can be a very visible area to local tax authorities.

Common misconceptions are that a board member cannot be subject to tax in a territory where they are non-resident, that directors are always treated in the same way as employees (for domestic tax purposes as well as DTA purposes) or that board members can only be subject to tax if they receive a directorship fee payable by the entity on whose board they sit and not if they are remunerated fully by a group company in a different jurisdiction.

It is important to review this position and any reporting requirements on a case-bycase basis to appropriately take account of local tax and social security rules and, in light of the home/host country combination, to determine the correct application of the

relevant DTA. Helpfully, in most cases, DTAs will have a specific article determining the tax treatment of directors’ fees, separate to the article determining the tax treatment of employment income.

Country Example – Singapore

Directors’ fees paid to non-residents of Singapore are subject to Singapore withholding tax at 24% (tax rate effective from Year of Assessment 2024), with payment to be settled via withholding tax filings. This is a different position than for employees in Singapore where withholding taxes are not usually payable. Generally speaking, social security contributions will not be applicable on the basis that only Singapore citizens and permanent residents are required to contribute. Names of statutory directors of Singapore companies are available on the Register of Directors with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), available for public access for a nominal fee.

Social Security

In general terms, the default rule for social security is that an employee should pay contributions where they work. Where someone is a frequent traveller for business purposes this answer may seem less clear cut.

The final answer will depend on where they are travelling to, as well as the nature of their working pattern. Similar to tax, the UK has social security agreements in place with many countries, although these are distinct from the tax agreements and the existence of a DTA does not necessarily imply the existence of a social security agreement. Conversely, there is no DTA with Bermuda, but there is a social security agreement. The UK also has agreements with the EU (collectively), the US, Canada, Jersey and Japan amongst others, but there are fewer of these agreements with many notable exceptions such as UAE, Brazil, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

All of the social security agreements provide for short-term postings to the other country, whereby it is confirmed that social security coverage in the home country should continue throughout the posting.

A certificate can be obtained from the UK tax authorities to evidence this position, which may need to be presented to the host country authorities as evidence of exemption. There is no de minimis number of days that these certificates should apply to, although for practical purposes a threshold of 4-6 weeks of work in the host location is often applied.

In Europe, there is another possible set of rules that may apply to frequent travellers around the EU, called ‘multi state worker’ rules. These apply to individuals who spend at least 5% of their working time in at least two of the UK or EU member states where they effectively simultaneously work

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across multiple (but at least two) countries.

Generally, the 5% is measured against working time, so assuming an annual average of 240 working days then approximately 12 working days in a 12-month period. These rules provide that as long as the employee works a substantial part of their duties (broadly defined as 25% of their working time) in their country of residence then they should continue to be covered for social security purposes in their home country. An A1 certificate should be obtained from the UK tax authorities to evidence this position where employees are spending time working in other EU countries regularly. New rules were also introduced from 1 July 2023 within the EU for teleworkers that slightly adapted these provisions and increased the amount of time that employees could spend working in their home country without triggering a social security liability. These rules only apply if both relevant EU states are signatories to the framework; some EU countries have not agreed to this, and the UK did not sign up.

Some countries more actively request evidence of A1 certificates and social security coverage in another country. In some cases, these are required before work permits will be issued by the authorities, so timely applications are advised to minimise possible delays to travel.

Summary

Cross-border employment situations for senior executives and directors can be more complicated than for a broader employee base. This is partly because of their remuneration levels, seniority and risk profile, and also because of specific rules that may apply to particular roles they engage in, like directorships of other group entities

overseas. Reviews of their circumstances may not be as clear-cut (e.g. on a days basis only) and would likely require deeper more detailed consideration. Failing to consider these situations on a case-by-case basis to ensure that relevant compliance obligations in all jurisdictions are identified and dealt with on a timely basis can quickly trigger additional costs.

KAREN MCGRORY

Karen McGrory is head of expatriate Tax Services at BDO LLP. She has over 30 years’ experience in the field of expatriate taxation. Karen is indebted to Steph Carr for her major contribution to this article. BDO is able to provide global assistance for all tax issues arising from an internationally mobile workforce.

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other expatriate matters, please do not hesitate to contact Karen McGrory on +44 (0) 20 7893 2460, email karen.mcgrory@bdo.co.uk

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GLOBAL TAXATION

Global Tax Update NETHERLANDS

Benefits of 30% ruling to be limited from 1 January 2024 The Dutch House of Representatives has voted to reduce the scope of the benefits provided by “the 30% ruling”, which offers tax advantages to highly skilled foreign workers in the Netherlands, effective 1 January 2024.

Currently, some foreign employees with specific expertise deemed scarce in the Netherlands can receive a tax benefit, known as the 30% ruling. If this arrangement is granted (upon application) by the tax authorities, those employees may receive a maximum of 30% of their remuneration free of tax, for a maximum of 60 months. The 30% portion of their salary remains untaxed based on the notion that it is meant to cover “extraterritorial expenses” (often referred to as ET costs) i.e. the additional costs expats incur by working (temporarily) outside their country of origin.

Under the new proposal the relief is phased down: 30% relief lasts for a maximum of 20 months, for the next 20 months, employees that qualify would receive 20% of their remuneration tax-free, then for a final period of 20 months the percentage would reduce to 10%.

The new rules would provide a transitional period for expats who have already been approved for the 30% ruling. Employees who, under the 30% ruling, received in December 2023 untaxed payments of part of their remuneration, would remain entitled to a 30% reimbursement for ET costs throughout the duration of the period for which he or she received the 30% ruling.

Since 1 January 2023, the employer can opt each year to either apply the 30% ruling or reimburse, on an expense claim basis, the actual extraterritorial expenses incurred by employees. This reduction in potential benefit of the 30% ruling does not affect the previously announced capping of the 30% ruling at the level of the public sector pay cap (EUR 233,000 in 2024).

Foreign employees who have been granted the 30% ruling are currently allowed (at their option) to declare their income in Box 2 and in Box 3 of the income tax return as if they were not resident in the Netherlands. This is the so-called ‘partial non-resident taxpayer status’. The House of Representatives also voted to abolish this provision from 1 January 2025. Again, there will be a transitional arrangement so that employees who, under the 30% ruling, received an untaxed payment of part of their remuneration in December 2023, may

continue to opt for the partial non-resident taxpayer status until 31 December 2026.

BDO Comment With the limitation on the tax relief provided by the 30% ruling, the cost of assigning foreign nationals may increase. Furthermore, it is worthwhile assessing the benefits of the 30% ruling compared to the option of reimbursement of actual expenses to determine which option is most appropriate for both the employee and employer. The administrative burden for the employer will also increase as the dates when the ruling percentage changes after 20 months will need to be monitored and the appropriate steps taken to ensure the changes are correctly captured for payroll processing.

Communicating the changes and the impact of these changes to the affected employees will also be important.

CANADA

New CRA tests: province of employment for remote workers The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) have introduced a new administrative policy regarding fully remote workers. The new policy, effective 1 January 2024, will provide more certainty in determining the province of employment of employees that enter into remote work arrangements in one province and are ‘attached’ to an establishment of the employer in a different province.

Under the new policy, an employee will be considered to report for work at an establishment of the employer (for purposes of determining the location the employer’s establishment) if: • The employee can be reasonably considered “attached to an establishment of the employer” (when a “full-time remote work agreement” is in place); or • The employee physically reports for work at the establishment, which can include a temporary establishment such as a construction site, but which does not generally include an employee’s home office. And there is now no minimum amount of time for this test to be engaged.

Full-Time Remote Work Agreement The new administrative policy applies only to “full-time remote work arrangements.”

Thus, the first step under the new analysis is to determine if a full-time remote work agreement exists. Generally, the CRA considers a full-time remote work agreement to exist between the employer and the employee when the following arrangements are made:

• The agreement is either temporary or permanent • The employer directs or allows employees to perform their employment duties fulltime (100%) remotely; and • The employment duties are to be performed at one or more locations that are not establishments of the employer.

Attached To An Establishment Of The Employer If there is a full-time remote work arrangement in place, the next step is to evaluate whether the employee can reasonably be considered “attached to an establishment of the employer.” The primary indicator of such an attachment is whether the employee would physically come to work to carry out the functions related to their employment duties at that establishment if it were not for the full-time remote work agreement.

For employees who physically reported to an establishment of the employer immediately before entering a full-time remote work agreement, that establishment is the one to which they would be reasonably considered to be attached, unless the employee's circumstances or the nature of their duties have changed.

Secondary Indicators The following secondary indicators can assist in determining the establishment of the employer where the employee, if it were not for the full-time remote work agreement, would physically come to work to carry out the functions related to their employment duties: • The establishment where the employee attends or would attend in-person meetings, through any type of communication • The establishment where the employee receives or would receive work-related material or equipment or associated instructions and assistance • The establishment where the employee comes or would come in-person to receive instructions from their employer regarding their duties, through any type of communication • The establishment that is responsible for or supervises the employee, as indicated in the contractual agreements between the employer and the employee; and • The establishment to which the employee would report based on the nature of the duties performed by the employee.

The above indicators should be considered collectively to assess whether the employee

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is reasonably considered to be “attached to an establishment of the employer.”

If an employee can reasonably be attached to more than one establishment of the employer, the same indicators can be used to determine which establishment the employee is more closely attached to.

BDO Comment The new policy provides welcome certainty and predictability in determining the province of employment for remote workers.

It is likely to be helpful for employees that previously reported for work at an establishment but have transitioned to a remote work arrangement.

Employers that hire new employees for remote work in another province or transition existing employees to a remote work arrangement - particularly when the employees are paid from another province should consider the impact of the new policy.

IRELAND

Irish tax authorities update guidance on employment performed predominantly outside Ireland Ireland’s Revenue has updated their online guidance on the payroll tax position for nonresident employees who perform duties both in Ireland and abroad under an Irish employment contract.

Previously, if a non-resident employee worked more than 30 workdays in Ireland, the employer was concessionally allowed to operate Irish payroll withholding for that employee based on the portion of income relating to Irish duties only. Furthermore, there was no obligation on the employer to obtain prior formal approval from Revenue to apply this treatment.

Revenue have now updated their position to require that the employer obtain prior authorisation in writing from Revenue before adopting this treatment. In the absence of such prior approval, Irish payroll withholding is required on the employee’s total remuneration. As a result of the new guidance, any Irish employer currently applying this treatment on a self-assessed basis will now need to obtain written approval to continue to avail itself of this treatment.

This change in Revenue practice will have no impact on employers with non-resident employees with less than 30 Irish workdays per year if the employer has obtained a PAYE Exclusion Order from Revenue. The position for foreign employers who have Irish nonresident employees operating in Ireland remains unchanged.

BDO Comment This is a significant change in Revenue practice as under these new rules if advance approval is not obtained, Irish withholding is required on 100% of the employee’s

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remuneration, notwithstanding that ultimately the non-resident employee will be claiming a refund on the non-Irish sourced income. Where approval is not obtained such that Irish withholding is required, this could result in cash flow issues for the employee if mandatory withholding is also required in the overseas location. Non-Irish employers with non-Irish resident employees spending less than 30 days working in Ireland must apply for a PAYE Exclusion Order otherwise withholding will be due in Ireland.

UNITED KINGDOM

HMRC issues guidance on nomad employees creating permanent establishments Recognising the increasing acceptance by employers of increased flexibility and mobility for their employees, the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have published guidance on when employees of foreign entities working temporarily in the UK may create a permanent establishment in the UK. The new guidance examines the impact of the fixed place of business permanent establishment rules by looking at five different examples. HMRC do caution that even if, under these rules a permanent establishment is not created, a business would still need to assess whether a dependent agent permanent establishment may be created.

The new guidance examines the impact of the fixed place of business permanent establishment rules by looking at five different examples Example 1: Juan, who works for a foreign entity in State D, comes to Brighton on holiday and stays on to work here for a total of 40 calendar days including his holiday, using the office of a UK affiliate company as a base. He enjoys the experience so much he decides to do the same thing six months later.

No fixed place of business permanent establishment arises because the permanence test would not be met. However, if Juan came to the UK on an annual basis, the business may have to consider whether the cumulative time spent in the UK could trigger a permanent establishment. This would also be required if Juan left the business and or other colleagues started to come to the UK on a regular basis.

Example 2: Francine, a French national with an English partner, joins a French company on a permanent contract which permits her to spend a fixed three-month period each year working in the UK. This arrangement would meet the permanence test for a fixed place of business permanent establishment. The cumulative time Francine will spend in the UK over the coming few years is significant and her presence in the UK is fixed, not random or sporadic. The French company would need to assess the nature of her role and the broader facts and circumstances to determine whether Francine’s presence in the UK creates a permanent establishment with resulting corporate tax reporting requirements in the UK. Example 3: Alexei, Luca and Sara all work for a foreign entity in State C. They come to the UK on holiday for the same part of the year with their families, staying at different addresses. They are all permitted to stay on an additional 30 days to work in the UK by their employer, using the office of a UK affiliate company as a base.

The employees’ presence would not create a fixed place of business permanent establishment because, irrespective of any other conditions, the permanence test would not be met.

Example 4: Company T has a team of staff in its Zurich office. Over the course of nine months, six staff are permitted to spend six weeks each, in turn, at an affiliate company’s office in London working on a project.

HMRC concludes that the changing identity of the visiting personnel does not affect the continuity of Company T’s presence in the UK. Therefore, HMRC’s view is that the permanence test for a fixed place of business permanent establishment is met.

Example 5: Jasmine, who works for a company based in the UK, is seconded to cover six months of maternity leave for a related foreign company in State E. She does this remotely from her UK office and her home in London.

HMRC conclude that the facts will have to be examined in detail to determine if a permanent establishment is triggered.

GLOBAL TAXATION BDO Comment HMRC’s guidance illustrates the focus and scrutiny on remote and cross border working.

Employers need to ensure they have the appropriate policies and processes in place to manage the increased risks arising from the demand for flexibility and mobility by employees. There is a global trend of increased interest in these working arrangements by tax authorities as demonstrated not just by the UK but also by the updates on Canada and Ireland above and the updates on Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland in our Autumn Global Tax Update.

IRELAND

Modifications to the tax collection system for gains realised on exercise of share options Ireland’s Finance Bill 2023, published 19 October 2023, sets out a proposal whereby the taxation of gains realised on the exercise, assignment, or release of a right to acquire shares or other assets will no longer be subject to self-assessment, but instead will be taxed through the PAYE system. Therefore, effective 1 January 2024, the collection of taxes on gains from the exercise of share options will occur through the payroll process.

Under the existing self-assessment system, known as the Relevant Tax on Share Options (RTSO)) system, employees were responsible

for settling the income tax, Universal Social Charge (USC), and employee Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) liabilities within 30 days of the exercise of an option. The employee was also obliged to file a personal tax return (Form 11) as a chargeable person in the year the share options were exercised.

The repeal of the RTSO system from 1 January 2024 has shifted the responsibility for collecting taxes on these share option gains to the employer, who will now be required to account for the relevant income taxes and PRSI through the PAYE system.

This is in addition to the employer’s current obligation to report the grant, exercise, assignment, or release of a share options on or before 31 March of the following tax year.

Gains arising on or before 31 December 2023 will remain subject to the RTSO selfassessment process.

BDO Comment Employers will be required to put in place a process to track all share option activity, so that they can calculate and report these gains through their real-time PAYE reporting submissions.

To ensure the employees have sufficient funds to cover the payroll taxes due on the gain, consideration will need to be given to introducing a “sell to cover” mechanism as

part of the share option exercise process.

If this is not done there could be cashflow issues for the employees.

KAREN MCGRORY

Prepared by BDO LLP. For further information please contact Karen McGrory on +44 (0) 207 893 2460 or at karen.mcgrory@bdo.co.uk

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TALENT MOBILITY MANAGEMENT

Talent Mobility Management: Compensation Dilemmas The rise of “local plus” approaches, increased personalisation, and flexible packages are some of the trends that have attracted attention over the past few years. These recent evolutions of compensation approaches for mobile employees are often attributed to efforts to contain mobility costs and the alleged preferences of employees.

However, these explanations fail to consider the more fundamental changes impacting businesses and HR practices. Compensation approaches currently in use were designed for employees who had long and stable careers in their companies, and on a hierarchical system composed of grades and positions. At the international level, they no longer reflect the growing complexity of mobility patterns and new forms of remote working.

HR professionals need to integrate into their thinking the ongoing dilemmas surrounding home- and host-based pay, the rise of pay for skills, the question of performance, pay equity, the question of relevance, and the broader concept of reward.

The Unresolved Home/ Host Dilemma

The home-based approach (balance sheet) has long been the most-used approach for international assignees. Two-thirds of companies report that they use a homebased compensation approach for their long-term assignees. (1) However, we are witnessing a renewed interest in host-based approaches (a pure host approach or a “local plus” approach including additional benefits), partly for cost, legal, and equity reasons. The rise in alternatives to long-term assignment, such as permanent moves and internationally hired foreigners, as well as the increase in employee-driven moves (i.e. non-business essential), also support the rising use of host approaches. Nevertheless, the problems linked to the limitations of the different assignee compensation options and the host approaches have not been solved.

A host approach does not work for all home/host combinations, it creates inequalities between destinations, and it can trigger cost and rigidity issues over the long-term (e.g. tempering with base salaries can inflate packages). However, talking about

“low-paying” and “high-paying” countries is a simplification. Emerging countries have steep salary curves – in other words, lowlevel employees earn very little but top-level managers have very high salaries. This opens up new possibilities to move people using a host compensation approach. But it also could create cost issues.

Successful implementation of a host approach requires a robust talent management approach to clarify the longterm intentions behind each move, as well as educating management and assignees about the choices they make. Oftentimes, a compensation approach that might look like a good solution in the short-term might be a costly one over the long-term.

The potential costs of a balance sheet approach and the limits to its application for some types of moves make it a useful but less-than-perfect solution. Equalisation of the purchasing power of the employees between locations is at the heart of the home approach. Although this concept of equalisation remains valid, it shouldn’t necessarily lead to designing expensive and standardised packages.

Companies are under pressure to create locationagnostic pay scales for talent with specific skillsets The rise of international remote working and the internationalisation of the skilled talent market increase the complexity of the debate and point in the direction of location-agnostic pay models. Addressing the complexities of these scenarios might

require a mix of home, host, and international approaches rather than one simple solution.

Paying For Skills

Traditional compensation approaches are based on the idea that employees are moving up the career ladder in the company and should receive pay based on a given grade in a fixed salary structure.

New ways of working are changing this logic. Furthermore, in the context of skills scarcity, companies need greater flexibility to pay according to skill relevance. Mercer’s Pay for Skills survey shows that more than half of companies are prioritising skills over education.

Leadership in half of the organisations surveyed view skills-based pay as an important, or even very important, way to ensure that the compensation plans are optimised. (2) This means that compensation packages are driven by different considerations: a traditional one regarding the value of a given job, a second one involving living costs linked to a location, and a third (growing) one about skills – driven by talent market pressure.

The never-ending demand for skilled talent and the potential portability of skills across industries and geographies are other factors pushing organisations to develop location-agnostic pay scales for talent with specific skill sets. It will not eliminate discussions about cost-of-living and tax/ social security differences, but it will force a reassessment of base pay calculation.

Paying For Performance

The absence of systematic linkage between individual goals and the company’s priorities is viewed as problematic for all employees, not just mobile ones. This means that many managers are setting individual goals in a vacuum without connecting the employee goals to the broader business unit’s goals or the company’s priorities. Ultimately, this is weakening the credibility of performancerelated compensation.

The lack of clear international assignment goals is a problem when trying to evaluate the performance of an internationally mobile workforce. Organisations that do have goals commonly use criteria such as “assignment completion”. However, these criteria remain vague. They also do not provide indications of the value of assignments for the receiving business units over the long-term.

Organisations need to differentiate three types of interrelated outcomes: business

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

outcomes (related to business growth and profitability and the acquisition of market share and new clients), mobility outcomes (related to the moves themselves and the impact on the receiving business unit), and talent management outcomes (the impact of skills transfer and personal development on the assignees and their local peers). (3) Precise KPIs related to these different outcomes are necessary to effectively measure and compensate for an assignee's performance.

Clear logic and principles are required to navigate the grey areas of mobile talent compensation Pay Equity

Mobility can help foster inclusion, pay, and career equity. The representation of women and minorities in the mobile workforce has a direct influence on their career perspectives and ultimately pay progression.

Mobility programs can indirectly increase pay gaps over the long-term in the absence of career equity. The objective is not just to achieve pay parity and increase the number of women and members of minority groups in the mobile workforce. It’s about providing the right opportunities over the long-term.

Not all assignments provide the same benefits in terms of career progression. In some cases, the overall diversity of the mobile population in an organisation is good, but women and minorities are underrepresented in key assignment locations. This could hinder their career opportunities and eventually affect their pay progression.

Being Relevant

Reward packages need to be flexible enough to address the needs of the different employee groups. Superficial input, assumptions based on past experiences, and even gut feelings often dominate the discussion about employees’ expectations. Capturing structured feedback

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is important to understand what package component and degree of flexibility are truly expected by each employee group.

Policy flexibility is a trending buzz term, but companies should check the facts before acting. What problems are they trying to solve with flexibility? What measurable benefits can flexibility bring to the business? Lump sums, benefits swaps, or cash conversion can help with complex assignment patterns but also lead to inconsistent experiences, tax inefficiencies, and hidden costs. Making sure that employees can make informed choices is a priority. Companies increasingly are going in the direction of more mindful flexibility and new “Care Flex” approaches that combine optional benefits with essential policy items designed to ensure duty of care for assignees and their families. (4) Policies also need to be monitored to accommodate the changing needs and expectations of assignees. New financial hurdles could renew an employee’s preference for higher base pay and cash allowances, while prioritising family life might lead to greater interest in practical support and wellbeingrelated benefits. Despite the current buzz, preferences are neither stable over time nor written in the DNA of a given generation.

management and packages to employees.

Clear logic and principles are required to navigate the meanders and grey areas of mobile talent compensation.

References: 1) Worldwide International Assignment Policies and Practices survey, Mercer, 2023 2) “Skills as the new currency of work”, Mercer whitepaper, 2023 3) “The value of mobility: measuring talent mobility outcomes”, Olivier Meier, Mercer MobilityExchange, 2022 4) “From core flex to care flex: a practical approach to mindful flexibility”, Whitepaper Mercer and Netexpat, 2023 5) “Talent mobility branding“, Olivier Meier, Mercer MobilityExchange, 2022

From Compensation To Total Reward

Organisations focus more and more on the overall Employee Value Propositions (EVP) covering the total reward, and not just on pay components or “compensation” in a narrow sense. An EVP includes the sum of the benefits the employees will derive from their employment with the company: pay, benefits but also career progressions, learning opportunities, and purpose. (5) Having your assignees argue about elements of their packages item by item provides a stark reminder that the individual components of the assignment package should not be discussed in isolation. All too often, employees are not even aware of the total costs (direct and indirect) covered by companies to facilitate their relocation.

Talent mobility also has a role to play in supporting career development and providing incentives for employees looking for learning experiences and a different lifestyle. The capacity to connect jobs with a bigger purpose and provide a differentiated mobility experience may relieve pressure on compensation as the main incentive to retain top talent. Experience shows that the reward concept is bound to remain an HR gimmick if its different components are not relevant, or if there is a gap between the promises and the realities of mobility.

The art of mobility compensation is less about finding the magic number than explaining the value of assignments to

OLIVIER MEIER

Olivier Meier, a principal at Mercer, brings over 20 years of experience in talent mobility and international talent management. Currently based in Munich, he is dedicated to developing tools and solutions for compensating globally mobile employees.

With a focus on emerging markets, Olivier has spearheaded mobility solutions in previous roles. He has successfully managed mobility consulting projects for multinational companies in the UK and played a pivotal role in business development efforts for Mercer's mobility products in Geneva.

His extensive research and consultancy work encompass all facets of global mobility, including international mobility strategy development, assignee compensation models, and mobile talent management. His recent projects have been focused on identifying emerging mobility management trends, cultivating international talent pools, and addressing practical challenges related to assignee compensation models and international remote working. Articles from Olivier about talent mobility can be found at https:// mobilityexchange.mercer.com/ T: (+49) 1727434696 E: Olivier.meier@mercer.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Brand Changes And GM Policy Revisions - Do They Hold Any Common Lessons?

Choices around why, when and how to make changes to their brands will look very different for every company, whether the exercise involves a relatively minor refresh or a substantial overhaul.

In some instances, adaptations may be prompted by internal business manoeuvres – a merger or acquisition, for example, or establishing operations in a new global location. Other brand alterations may be driven by mostly external factors, like major shifts in market conditions, significant transformations in buyer demands, lifestyles or behaviours; or fundamental evolutions in design and style trends.

Still other brand reworks are prompted by a convergence of several of these things happening at the same time. Regardless of how different the mix of incentives may be, however, there are some consistent, universal ingredients at play, too. All successful change endeavours call for: • Careful research and data points to inform optimal planning and decision making • Cross-functional stakeholder buy-in • Thoughtful communication to internal and external audiences.

In the second half of 2023, we announced a brand refresh that was several months in the making. Rooted in the fundamental concept of “Your People. Our Passion,” our brand refresh involved changes to our logo, brand elements and messaging. The primary goal was to bring greater clarity to the passion and care with which our people listen and deliver tailored solutions in a rapidly changing world of work and movement.

You can learn more about the refreshed brand details by scanning the code.

Overall, the brand refresh objectives were to:

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• Bring greater emphasis to what the global mobility industry is all about–people, including: - Corporate relocation clients and their people and family members embarking on new assignments - Network partners and internal associates, including highlighting their unique levels of expertise - Individuals and families looking for help when embarking on their own, selfinitiated moves • Better communicate a focus on building strong, authentic connections and lasting partnerships through a caring, friendly and supportive culture • Reinforce a reputation as a strong mobility partner with global, scalable capabilities, while highlighting the benefits of a personal approach.

While many of these elements were already deeply ingrained in our operational model and long-standing mission to deliver happy, productive people, the leadership team also acknowledged that there was room to bring greater clarity too, and some refreshed messages around, not just what services we offer around the globe, but who delivers them and how we do it – with deep conviction. The refresh helped us tell a better story about our tenured team members and the passion and care with which they respond to the needs of our clients and their people.

But this story is not solely about us.

Throughout the process, we observed many parallels between the work we were doing and what’s involved in knowing why, when and how to update or rewrite a global mobility policy, too. Here we explore some of those key learnings in greater detail in the hopes they bring value to you and your work.

1. RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Know Thyself, Know Thy Audience

Extensive investments of time and research go into a brand change. Before new options can even begin to be developed, it’s essential to identify, understand and gain collective agreement on: • The fundamental essence of the company and its culture. In other words, those “nonnegotiables” that must be retained. For us,

that was to build on our reputation for being a caring and collaborative partner who puts people first • What’s working well, and what could be improved • What current customers know and appreciate most about the company and its reputation today • What the competitive landscape looks like and what makes the company stand out from the crowd, including any internal experience, talent and tenure differentiators • What the most important trends are that are likely to significantly shape the industry over the next several years, and where customers are going to need the most support or innovative approaches to solving their problems • Whether there are any missed opportunities to raise more awareness or better communicate the company’s solutions, benefits and advantages to current and new customers.

Policy Parallels

Current employees and potential recruits are discerning consumers, too. The same key elements above are true when embarking on mobility policy revisions – you need to know how your current offerings reinforce – or detract from – your core culture and company values, as well as what support employees value most, or where there may be room for improvement. What are your industry competitors offering to attract and retain the best talent, and in what ways do you stand out? What housing, immigration, geopolitical or regional trends are most likely to impact your core talent population and business goals?

Do you have employee “champions” who are passionate about informing and supporting families on the move? Is your company doing enough to promote relocation opportunities and the understanding of the benefits across the entire organisation? Or are there missed chances to raise awareness that would help you tap into and move talent from within, while also recruiting effectively via external sources?

2. GAINING STAKEHOLDER BUY-IN

At the beginning stages of our brand refresh, we collected insights from current

CASE STUDY groups representing various job tiers and functions across all global locations; mobility industry intelligence and general marketing research. Spearheaded by the marketing, communications and creative services team, we held multiple sessions with key stakeholder groups for feedback on core value propositions, messaging and iconography.

That feedback was consolidated and prioritised, and various options were tested and ranked by preference before final decisions were made and shared. The result was a truly collaborative effort, respecting and validating the opinions, voices and inputs from many different people.

Policy Parallels

Mobility policy approaches require the contributions and approvals from a diverse group of stakeholders who wear many hats, juggle competing priorities and view the process through highly unique lenses: Business unit leaders focused on reaching their division goals, procurement teams looking at overall costs, HR teams eyeing DEI and talent development goals. Much like a successful brand revision, any changes to mobility policy – large or small – must have cross-functional understanding, inputs and support to be successful.

3. THOUGHTFUL COMMUNICATION

The best rebrand efforts are effectively communicated to and clearly understood by every segment of the audiences touched by them: internal employees, current and future customers, service or network partners and other external parties. It’s essential to keep in mind the various ways in which each audience segment prefers to absorb information: company intranet or news bulletins/leadership town halls, emails, personal phone calls, client portals, social media - the list is long, but it all goes back to the “knowing” as identified in step one.

When changes are based on careful research, data and empathy, reflect contributions from several unique perspectives that are clear and agreed upon, and mirror the values and culture of the organisation, the rest should easily fall into place.

Best practices indicate that any company changes are shared internally first, giving team members access to training tools and resources that help them fully understand and effectively communicate all the “why, what, how and when” details. We conducted several time-zone sensitive online overview and training sessions, shared internal emails and created a companywide intranet portal with rebrand resources,

including FAQs, a press release and links to a video announcing the brand refresh.

Policy Parallels

If, after conducting your research, gathering data and securing key stakeholder buy-in, you are ready to embark on your own policy “refresh or rebrand,” the next most important step is to communicate, communicate, communicate. Give your executive team, business unit leaders, managers and HR partners talking points and FAQs so they are ready to field questions. Offer to conduct training sessions on what’s different, and why. Educate your service partners on what’s new, and whether there are any parameters around who the changes apply to. Share highlights of the changes across your employee communication channels, keeping in mind that everyone absorbs information differently, so it may take infographics, slide shows or videos to fully take hold.

A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another CONCLUSION

Our brand's refresh exercise can be summed up in a single word: listening.

We listened to what our customers valued most, what they wanted more of, and where we and our fellow industry partners were already going – and how we could improve.

We listened to what their employees and

families on the move wanted and needed.

We listened to what our own team members were truly passionate about and what we could be doing better to deliver even more flexibility and share the message about the long tenure, experience and positivity they bring to everything they do.

"A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another". - Seth Godin, marketing and leadership expert, best-selling author and speaker.

At the end of the day, brand changes and policy revisions alike are not judged by what is written about them, but by how well they are embraced, the results they generate and how they make people feel and act. This Seth Godin quote resonates because it highlights memories, stories and relationships. The human elements that connect us. Like introducing a new or revised policy, the launch of the refresh was just the beginning.

We’ll continue to measure feedback, share updates and showcase examples of our brand, our people and what we stand for. For Sterling Lexicon, this is only the first chapter in our new brand story, and we look forward to continuing to write the rest of it together.

KRISTIN WHITE

Kristin is director, thought leadership and communications for Sterling Lexicon. She brings nearly 30 years of experience in global workforce mobility, PR, marketing and communications to her role. Before joining the company in 2020, she worked for many years at Worldwide ERC, the workforce mobility association, in collaboration with cross-departmental teams and industry representatives to develop event programming, research and advocacy content and serve as editor in chief of Mobility magazine.

Contact Kristin at kristin.white@sterlinglexicon.com.

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HEALTHCARE

Healthcare Ensuring that the quality of care globally mobile populations have access to and receive is critical to their overall health and wellbeing. In this interview, Dr Shoba Subramanian of UnitedHealthcare Global offers a unique, hands-on clinical insight into the value of global medical treatments and assistance as well as trends that are redefining the future of healthcare delivery.

Tell us about your background and training in the medical sector and how your career has progressed to its current stage

I initially chose family medicine because it provided me with a comprehensive knowledge base and the opportunity to serve the community. During my training, I had the privilege of treating patients from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Subsequently, I was honoured to receive a global health fellowship with the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation in Cambodia, where I implemented health programmes in rural areas.

Following this experience, I joined a prominent assistance company where I coordinated medical evacuations and repatriations while also serving as a flight doctor. Leveraging my skills and experience in rural healthcare, I then took on the role of a remote topside doctor for the oil and gas sector.

Aspiring to be part of a larger organisation, I joined UnitedHealthcare Global in 2017. My dedication to improving safety standards in medical transportation earned me a company award, leading to my promotion to medical director in 2019. Today, I provide support to the Global Insurance and Assistance sectors, contributing to the wellbeing of individuals worldwide.

What attracted you to the field of tropical medicine?

I was drawn to tropical medicine because I wanted to expand my understanding of managing diseases that affect globally mobile populations, particularly malaria. I had encountered numerous cases and found it particularly challenging to address in an offshore environment.

Motivated by this, I enrolled in the Global Health and Humanitarian Medicine course offered by Médecins Sans Frontières. This course provided me with comprehensive

knowledge of various diseases and healthcare issues, including the management of conditions like HIV and tuberculosis. It also equipped me with practical tools for microbial recognition and fundamental microscopy skills. Little did I know the modules on outbreak management and population health monitoring would prove invaluable during the pandemic. Overall, my training has prepared me to develop effective strategies for managing communicable diseases in challenging environments, which directly applies to my day-to-day work.

As medicine is closely intertwined with logistics, it is subject to the geopolitical landscape at any given time Travel health is a unique sector of the medical discipline; what makes it different from other specialties?

The unpredictable nature of medical decision-making is influenced by various factors worldwide, ranging from natural disasters like hurricanes to political events such as elections. As medicine is closely intertwined with logistics, it is subject to the geopolitical landscape at any given time.

In my practice of travel medicine, I integrate skills from various medical disciplines. This includes drawing knowledge from tropical medicine, occupational health, public health, and preventative medicine. The focus is on identifying and mitigating specific disease risks, optimising chronic conditions, and preparing for any acute deterioration.

What sets travel medicine apart is its recognition of the cultural influences on disease management, which helps drive better adherence to treatment plans.

Additionally, access to comprehensive and accurate healthcare intelligence is crucial in aiding clinical decisions.

Aviation medicine is another fascinating aspect that combines preventive, occupational, environmental, and clinical medicine with an understanding of the physiological and psychological effects of flying on humans. Many travellers are unaware that conditions in the air, such as altered cabin pressures, sound, vibration, and forces of acceleration and deceleration, can impact medical conditions. My training enables me to consider these factors when determining the safest mode of clinical transportation for our members.

International business travel is known to present increased risks to employees. What measures can be put in place to help safeguard the health and wellbeing of its globally mobile employees in light of the recognised increased risks associated with business travel?

Ensuring the appropriateness and safety of quality care is of utmost importance for all travellers. Trusting in a system of checks and balances, patients rely on healthcare providers to deliver services and perform procedures safely. However, consistency in quality care varies globally, leading to skewed perceptions of where it is available.

As a company, we prioritise the meticulous construction of our international provider network, placing a strong emphasis on due diligence, credentialing, and assessments.

• Due diligence involves conducting comprehensive assessments of known risks before engaging with third-party healthcare providers, particularly in unfamiliar and high-risk territories • Provider credentialing entails thoroughly vetting backgrounds and assessing current competency levels to ensure that providers are qualified to deliver services that meet international standards of care. This applies not only to hospitals and clinics but also to medical and emergency transport providers including air ambulances • Onsite clinical and logistics assessments involve either our team or one of our 30-plus in-market physician advisors physically visiting the provider to verify their capabilities.

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

When it comes to medications, making informed pharmacy decisions can be challenging even at home. Now imagine facing this challenge while stationed abroad with a language barrier and navigating a new healthcare system. That's why we collaborate with OptumRx to fill and deliver prescriptions, provide clinical management, and ensure the affordability of prescription medications where available globally.

Looking ahead to the future of health care, in what ways is technology transforming care delivery for international patients?

International travellers are on the go. They want a simplified and better experience that lets them the freedom to access care and support on their terms. We need to be where they are, using data and technology to deliver relevant services for their lifestyle.

To meet this need, we are leveraging data and technology to create a “digital front door” for healthcare that makes it easier for individuals and families to get care when they need it. This includes integrating international, local and appropriate in-person and virtual care technology solutions into consumer-facing apps and websites. We also leverage another UnitedHealth Group company, Optum, to expand our healthcare and security technology offerings. Optum’s advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) help us find the right care for the right person.

Mental health is an area where an increasing number of health insurers are recognising the link between behavioural and physical health, particularly in relation to employees who have been placed overseas for work or are suffering from an increase in work-related stress. From an employer’s perspective, the adoption of mental health technology solutions within an international benefit plan may help address the complex and multifaceted needs of employees wherever they are in their personal health care journeys. To serve our members, we offer a series of tools to help support employees in their professional and personal lives including: • My Wellbeing is an online tool that focuses on seven key areas to help individuals create and sustain positive change right from the palm of their hand • LiveWell provides members with resources designed to help improve their wellbeing and create the life they want. On-demand articles and tools, like self-assessments and mental health screeners, are available 24/7 in multiple languages • Mindful Matters is an evidence-based mindfulness programme that helps improve health, productivity, and engagement. Participants can attend live,

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interactive sessions with certified experts, access hundreds of hours of on-demand content and receive personalised strategies to integrate into their daily life • With financial stress on the rise, our Financial Wellbeing programme helps individuals build a budget, reach their savings goals, reduce debt, or plan for retirement. It also includes a financial stress assessment, calculators, and articles.

Within the context of travel, employers have a duty of care obligation to assess and mitigate the risks involved for employees travelling for business

Within the context of travel, employers have a duty of care obligation to assess and mitigate the risks involved for employees travelling for business. To help our clients fulfil this obligation, we use security technology to make it easier for an organisation to prepare, plan and respond to risk. WorldWatch Monitor, our traveller and asset tracking tool, is a digital safety and security platform that keeps assets close, even when they are miles away. With destination-specific, interactive maps that populate with real-time intelligence alerts, travellers receive detailed advisories, itineraries and more.

How has technology transformed your interactions with patients as a physician?

In our remote medical services division, we have been utilising telephonic and video consultations for several years to support

various industries, making me well-versed in healthcare technology for this purpose.

One notable advancement in this field is the development of sophisticated monitoring kits capable of transmitting data such as blood pressure and electrocardiographs via satellite links, necessitating stringent data security measures.

As a GP in the UK, I have observed that the shift towards telephonic consultations, as opposed to face-to-face visits, has improved access to care, particularly for working-age patients who may have faced difficulties reaching the clinic. Additionally, the widespread adoption of secure, two-way text communication during consultations has significantly enhanced our ability to exchange information with patients.

While the ongoing evolution of technology in medicine continues to impress and astonish, there are situations where it can never replace the expertise and support of a human professional, especially when someone is in distress or simply in need of assistance. As humans, we are inherently wired for connection, making community interaction an essential component of health and overall wellbeing.

DR SHOBA SUBRAMANIAN

Dr Shoba Subramanian is UnitedHealthcare Global Medical Director for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. She leads clinical teams in the UK, Europe and U.S. to help deliver safe medical transportation for assistance and insurance members.

Shoba holds Diplomas in Tropical Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and has considerable knowledge of global healthcare systems – with expertise in travel health, aviation medicine and occupational health. She is a GP and Advanced Life Support-certified doctor, providing clinical care remotely, and has coordinated hundreds of medical evacuations across the world to date.

The 2024 Expatriate’s Guide to Living in the UK Pre-order your copies to pass on to your expatriate employees 20th Annual Edition

The 2024 Expatriate's Guide to Living in the UK

Topics include: Banking, Conversion Charts, Driving, Education & Schooling, Embassies & High Commissions, Family Law, Healthcare, Property, Serviced Apartments, Taxation, Travel and Wealth Management

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The 2024 Guide will contain content covering: Banking & Wealth • Expatriate Clubs • Embassies & High Commissions Driving & Transport • Education - Schools & Universities Healthcare • Immigration & Residency • Legal Issues Moving & Relocation • Residential Lettings Serviced Apartments • Taxation The Guide has been published for 20 years, and each year we share over 25,000 copies with expatriates relocating to the UK. To pre-register for your FREE copy please email: helen@expatsguidetotheuk.com, providing the mailing address you would like it sent to.

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Please share the website with friends, family, colleagues or employees relocating to the UK.

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BUSINESS TRAVEL

Air Monitor 2024: American Express Global Business Travel Forecasts Flattening Air Fares Amex GBT Consulting’s annual report finds modest price rises and falls likely on key business routes.

Airfares look set to stabilise across key routes around the world during 2024, according to new forecasts from the consulting team at American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT). Air Monitor 2024, expects marginal price rises, and some falls, on regional and international business travel routes.

Across all regions, airfare fluctuations reveal mixed trends – with a broad outlook of increased price stability in 2024. North America is expected to see minor changes in fares within the region (less than 1%) and to Europe (+0.3% business class, -2.5% economy), while airfares to Asia are projected to decline in 2024. Flights within Europe are projected to rise around 1%, with declines in prices between Europe and the Middle East (-3.5% business class, -2.8% economy) and South America (-3.9% business class, -10.4% economy). All price movements are versus 2023 prices. These trends take account of a range of influencing factors, including airline capacity, local inflation, foreign exchange, and fuel surcharges.

The 2024 Landscape

Airlines reported record earnings in 2023, resulting from robust demand, high fares, and a drop in the price of jet fuel. However, leisure travel, which boosted 2023 revenues thanks to ‘revenge tourism,’ is expected to

slow down in specific areas as consumer preferences fall prey to high interest rates.

Simultaneously, rising oil and jet fuel prices since June 2023, are exerting pressure on carriers, and adding to the cost burden.

Despite strides in rebuilding balance sheets through 2023, the aviation industry continues to grapple with substantial debt burdens.

Increasing labour expenses worldwide are coupled with a scarcity of talent in specific areas. Ongoing supply chain issues are anticipated to persist, potentially delaying new aircraft production and impacting expansion plans.

Rates And Retailing

Air Monitor 2024, offers advice on airline negotiations and programme strategies.

Negotiated corporate discounts are likely to come under pressure as airlines continue to prioritise yield management. During 2024, further adoption of New Distribution Capability (NDC) could impact corporate travel programmes as airlines’ pricing strategies evolve and become increasingly dynamic.

Environmental Impact

“While the expected softening of fare rises is good news for our customers, sourcing for corporate travel programmes remains a challenging environment,” said Dan Beauchamp, Head of Consulting at Amex GBT. “We are helping customers deploy smarter strategies as they navigate the changes and drive value for their organisations. Meanwhile, I believe the Air Monitor 2024 report is a useful industry resource for gaining better understanding of many factors influencing the air pricing landscape”.

Methodology

Amex GBT used Prophet time series modelling to generate the price forecasts in Air Monitor 2024. The data for the analysis came from Amex GBT’s vast data lake, International Air Transport Association (IATA) passenger data and airline capacity data, including number of seats and Available Seat Mile (ASM) data, from Cirium Diio. We have used Inflation and GDP forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in our predictive model. Prices are in local currency.

Sustainability is expected to be a growing priority for corporations and travellers, urging swift integration of sustainability metrics in air sourcing. Air Monitor 2024, underscores the impact of making modal shift from air to rail where feasible on competitive routes.

Customers are reporting significant carbon emissions reductions where their travellers are switching from trains to planes.

Forecasts on key routes

Business class

Economy

Flights within North America

+0.8%

+0.3%

North America <> Europe

+0.3%

-2.5%

North America <> Asia

-3.6%

-6.5%

N. America <> South America

-1.1%

+0.2%

Flights within Europe

+1.1%

+1.0%

Europe <> Asia

-4.0%

-3.4%

Europe <> Middle East

-3.5%

-2.8%

Europe <> South America

-3.9%

-10.4%

Flights within Asia

+3.0%

+3.1%

Australia <> Asia

-5.1%

-3.4%

AMERICAN EXPRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is the world’s leading B2B travel platform, providing software and services to manage travel, expenses, and meetings and events for companies of all sizes. We have built the most valuable marketplace in B2B travel to deliver unrivaled choice, value and experiences.

With travel professionals in more than 140 countries, our customers and travelers enjoy the powerful backing of American Express Global Business Travel.

Visit amexglobalbusinesstravel.com for more information about Amex GBT

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

The HR Side Of Artificial Intelligence Today, we face countless opportunities and threats from artificial intelligence. Taking advantage of these opportunities and avoiding the growing threats of artificial intelligence requires adopting a new approach to HR. This new approach considers "people" as one of the pillars of success and increases effectiveness in the era of artificial intelligence.

We call this new HR approach the AI-powered HR approach.

Introduction

As organisations enter the age of artificial intelligence there are a plethora of unique opportunities. One opportunity is to create an AI-powered HR approach. Developing a technological infrastructure is one important component, but there is another that will likely make or break the traditional organisation. Success in the era of artificial intelligence does not only require money and investment in technology infrastructure, but it also requires a change in the way leaders think about human resources. In this article, we call this effective approach the AI-powered HR approach and provide leaders with the best practices for the development and design of this effective approach.

The best practices for the development and design of an AI-powered HR approach depend on how senior managers can create a "rapid technology change programme".

There needs to be a strong emphasis on maximising the performance of the artificial intelligence development and implementing a human resources development project to begin designing and developing a new form of HR approach, what we call an AI-powered HR approach.

The Increasing Role Of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the form of business all over the world. Decisionmaking is focused on gaining insights from data from a more decentralised organisational structure. Organisational processes are becoming increasingly automated to bring benefits to companies around the world transforming their relationships with their customers to be quicker and more responsive. Google is the crème de la

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crème of high-tech AI built on algorithms with minimised error rates. This technology gives organisations the power to break free from the limitations of traditional processes offering unique market opportunities. AI coupled with continuous learning allows organisations better performance.

Alibaba, another successful company that has developed AI is now ranked among the most valuable companies in the world.

Algorithms are their main criterion for decision-making reducing error rates similar to Six Sigma. Most executives and senior executives are not considering AI initiatives in their corporate strategies. Leaving them left at a station that is not only moving at extenuating speed, but also leaving them less competitive product-wise. Some CEOs have been considered for immediate replacement due to AI. Thus, the key is for CEOs to develop an effective AI-powered strategy.

AI coupled with data analysis and digital core is going to be the strategic advantage of the future. Here is how to do it: • Assess organisational capabilities and needs • Effectively evaluate human capabilities and technological infrastructure • Implementing an effective knowledge management system • Develop strong human resources infrastructure.

The lack of an effective knowledge management system causes insights such as these to create bottlenecks in communication channels. Chatbots, the way of the future, can also lead to the development of a data-oriented approach in companies and eventually strengthen the data analysis side in AI-powered strategy.

Digital core knowledge refers to the software on which algorithms are derived from data analysis. Here, decision-making is redefined in the most scientific way, and algorithms are fully automated processes. CEOs Should not be influenced by vendors who seek to only sell their software. The lack of accurate evaluation and the implementation of inefficient software can delay the effective implementation of an AI-powered strategy. Organisations still need to redesign many processes and effectively divide work between humans and robots.

Furthermore, effective implementation of an AI-powered strategy requires the extensive participation of human resources and the strong support of CEOs. CEOs must highlight that AI does not mean eliminating

the role of human resources, but rather enhancing their role more effectively. The key is to reduce resistance and better align human resources.

Designing An AI-Powered HR Approach

Human resources are usually managed around participation in centralised meetings, teamwork, trust, and learning: • Participation of organisational members through cohesive collaboration in which the entire organisation is rowing in the same direction • Team building and better sharing of organisational knowledge through greater collaboration improves data quality • Trust is basically a framework of satisfaction coupled with safety. People need to know that when they wake up in the morning that they will have a job waiting for them • Organisational learning is a given mantra throughout the organisation with professional development by vendors and experts in the field that add the glue that creates an ambiance of growing and developing.

After the human resources are set upon these four tenets, there needs to be expansive advertising of activities and milestones.

A newsletter or means of communication includes accomplishments, not only within the organisation, but also for those who have left for better positions based on their knowledge gained, training and development, and tenure at the organisation. The intention to keep all employees is a good one, but we must consider natural attrition levels and movement up the organisational ladder or the risk of people leaving for better positions. Thus, while a culture must be the glue that keeps the organisation together, it must be elastic and realistic too. Trust is a double-edged sword, one in which leaders must trust their subordinates the same way that they trust themselves.

Putting people first, and then offering the technology employees need to stay up to date in artificial intelligence encourages them to keep up with rapid technological changes.

Team leaders encourage risk-taking for their teams, and they attempt to be optimistic about innovation. This new mind-set offers greater flexibility and agility.

MOSTAFA SAYYADI AND MICHAEL J. PROVITERA

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Fujitsu HR Unveils Key Workplace Trends And Predictions For 2024 Changes to the world of work haven’t slowed in the wake of the pandemic, with digital transformation remaining at the top of business leaders’ agendas.

to equity and inclusion is the best way to achieve the diversity they need”.

- Kelly Metcalf, Head of People Experience

Heading into 2024, Fujitsu UK&I reveals the trends it expects to shape the coming year and its predictions for the near-future of work.

Attitudes towards the HR function have changed rapidly over the years

1. As the flexible work debates rage on, businesses will respond with data-driven, agile policies

“While some elements of pre-pandemic working patterns have returned, when and where people work will continue to fuel debate next year. This is compounded by one of the widest generational spreads the workforce has ever seen, with each generation having different experiences, preferences and priorities. Not only are Gen Z coming to the fore, but cost-of-living pressures will in turn make people retire later to let their nest eggs fill up. With this, organisations will need to take a data-led approach to grapple with these changes and structure roles and processes accordingly.

Having flexible and agile policies that cater for the employees’ different demands will be crucial in enabling people from all walks of life to do their best work. In 2024, persisting with one-size-fits-all approaches and policies (like so many have in the past) will only result in compromises that suit no-one”.

- Sarah Wadsworth, HR Director

2. The need for better pay transparency becomes crystal clear

“Upcoming European Union regulations, namely the Pay Transparency Directive and Corporate Social Responsibility Directive 2024 (CSRD), will put wage disparities in the spotlight for businesses across the continent. We can expect organisations to respond by conducting more voluntary pay audits and putting measures in place like publishing salaries in job adverts in an effort to identify where pay gaps are and level the playing field for diverse candidates.

Companies that can draw on a range of voices from different backgrounds will stand the best chance at succeeding in the coming years - not least because businesses are increasingly scrutinising partners and vendors - and taking a proactive approach

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3. Business leaders will increasingly see HR as a strategic hub

“Attitudes towards the HR function have changed rapidly over the years, and I expect that to continue as more and more of the C-suite begin to see the strategic value it can bring. Teams that take a data-led approach will be best positioned to change outdated perceptions that HR is an administrative unit and prove the immense value they can bring.

Areas like employee satisfaction, retention and demands can all be measured and analysed to inform future people policies and ensure they are effective in their aims. As younger, digitally-native employees progress through the ranks we can expect their unique perspectives to influence the HR function’s role and the use of technology will be a big part of that”.

- Kelly Metcalf, Head of People Experience

4. Businesses to regulate AI with newfound urgency

“The significant impact artificial intelligence (AI) can have on peoples’ workflows has not escaped the attention of employees, many of whom have already begun using it to boost their own efficiency and productivity.

While there may not be regional or national regulations yet, companies cannot wait for them to arrive before setting out their own rules for how AI can be used. Many still

don’t fully understand the risks associated with the new technology, like the potential for platforms to be inherently biassed for instance, and the onus will be on HR and other leaders to communicate the risks and lay out guidelines for how AI can be leveraged by individuals and the wider business. For HR functions, there is great potential for AI to support more personalised rewards packages, assist in the onboarding process and upskill staff - if its use is controlled and considered, that is”.

- Amanda Chinnery, Head of Digital HR, Europe Services

5. Skills gaps will be addressed through upskilling and training - not outside hires

“UK job vacancies, which plummeted during the pandemic and then soared during 'the great resignation', have fallen back to a more normal level. Combined with cost of living pressures, this has resulted in a significant drop in employee turnover. In response, HR must look at existing employees to address skills gaps, re- and upskilling current employees rather than relying on external hires. Creating frameworks and opportunities to support this internal development of people’s career growth will be a key feature among HR units in the year ahead”.

- Amanda Chinnery, Head of Digital HR, Europe Services

6. Organisations will unlock the potential of Gen Z

“Gen Z are often unfairly portrayed as entitled and lacking many of the traditional skills considered ideal for employees.

However, Gen Z are digital natives and their skills will prove invaluable, with 79% of British teenagers already using generative AI, according to Ofcom’s ‘Online Nation’ report. They have great potential to coach and support their Baby Boomer and Gen X colleagues to mitigate the effect of digital skills gaps going forward. By the same token, older generations have much to offer Gen Z colleagues, by teaching them more traditional workplace skills like collaboration and resiliency. HR will have an important role to play in facilitating this inter-generational learning and ensuring all can benefit from the collective expertise of the workforce”.

- Amanda Chinnery, Head of Digital HR, Europe Services Read the Fujitsu blog: www.blog.uk.fujitsu.com

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DIRECTORY

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

INTERNATIONAL HR CONSULTANTS

SCHOOLS

DELOITTE LLP

ACS International School Cobham Heywood, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 1BL, England ACS International School Egham London Road (A30) Egham, Surrey, TW20 0HS, England

Stonecutter Court, 1 Stonecutter Street, London, EC4A 4TR Contact: Danny Taggart Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7007 1832 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7007 1060 E-mail: dtaggart@deloitte.co.uk Website: www.deloitte.co.uk Whether you are creating your first international mobility programme for employees or addressing fundamental changes to an existing programme, our International Human Resources team can help. Deloitte provides consulting support that has an appreciation for each company’s size, background and unique cultural environment, aligning your international programme goals with corporate business strategies. Our consultants have developed deep expertise in many fields based on first hand experience with many of the world’s leading organisations: international assignment policy and process design, benchmarking, service delivery modelling, improving vendor management and helping our clients become more compliant and their administration more cost-effective.

RELOCATION ASSOCIATIONS

ASSOCIATION OF RELOCATION PROFESSIONALS (ARP)

9&10 Diss Business Centre, Dark Lane, Diss, Norfolk, IP21 4ND Contact: Tad Zurlinden Telephone: +44 (0)1379 651 671 Fax: +44 (0)1379 641 940 Email: enquiries@arp-relocation.com Website: www.arp-relocation.com The ARP is the professional association for the relocation industry in the UK. The ARP’s activities include seminars throughout the year, an annual conference, the publication of an annual Directory of Members and a website, which is updated regularly.

THE EUROPEAN RELOCATION ASSOCIATION (EuRA)

9&10 Diss Business Centre, Dark Lane, Diss, Norfolk, IP21 4ND Telephone +44 (0)1379 651 671 Fax: +44(0)1379 641 940 E-mail: enquiries@eura-relocation.com Website: www.eura-relocation.com EuRA is an industry body for Relocation Professionals in both Europe and Worldwide.

EuRa have launched The EuRA Quality Seal, the world’s first accreditation programme for relocation providers. This pioneering initiative provides a straight forward, cost effective audit to reflect your company’s excellence in providing relocation services.

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ACS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS

ACS International School Hillingdon Hillingdon Court, 108 Vine Lane Hillingdon, Middlesex UB10 0BE, England ACS International School Doha Al Oyoun Street, Al Gharrafa PO Box 200568, Doha, Qatar Telephone: 01932 869 744 Email: cobhamadmissions@acs-schools.com Website: www.acs-schools.com Contact: Dean of Admissions ACS International Schools were founded in 1967 to serve international and local communities. The schools are non-sectarian and co-educational (day and boarding), enrolling students aged 2 to 18 years. The UK based schools have over 30 years’ experience of teaching the International Baccalaureate, and ACS Doha offers an international and American curriculum.

TASIS THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN ENGLAND

Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe, Surrey TW20 8TE Contact: Sarah Travis Telephone: 01932 582316 Email: ukadmissions@tasisengland.org Website www.tasisengland.org TASIS England's diverse student body includes over 50 nationalities and many in the school community have experienced the challenges of relocation. Along with well-established welcoming programs, families receive ongoing support as they cope with the practical and emotional aspects of their transition to life in the UK. Taught in small classes, students (ages 3–18) benefit from a balance of academics, arts, athletics, activities, and service leadership. Excellent exam results and oneto-one college counselling enable 97% of TASIS graduates to gain acceptance to their first- or second-choice university in the UK, the US, and worldwide.

SERVICED APARTMENTS THE ASSOCIATION OF SERVICED APARTMENT PROVIDERS (ASAP)

Suite 3, The Business Centre, Innsworth Tech Park, Innsworth Lane, Gloucestershire GL3 1DL Contact: ASAP Office Telephone: +44 (0)1452 730452 Email: admin@theasap.org.uk Website: www.theasap.org.uk Twitter: @ASAPThe LinkedIn: The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers

ASAP is in the industry association representing, promoting and improving the serviced apartment sector. Our 124 members including serviced apartment operators and agents represent in excess of 25,000 serviced apartments in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada.

When booking your serviced apartment, look for our Quality Accreditation kitemark which confirms the operator is fully compliant with all the core legal, health and safety practices and means you can book with confidence.

TAXATION BDO LLP

55 Baker Street, London, W1U 7EU Contact: Andrew Bailey Telephone: 020 7893 2946 Fax: 020 7893 2418 E-mail: andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk Website: www.bdo.co.uk BDO LLP is the award-winning, UK Member Firm of BDO International, the world’s fifth largest accountancy network with more than 1500 offices in 162 countries.

We have a partner-led approach, which delivers the highest quality of service by using short, functional chains of communication to aid decision-making. Clients benefit from our fresh thinking, constructive challenge and practical understanding of the issues they face. Developing strong, personal relationships with our clients is at the forefront of our service approach.

Tax advice is just one of our award-winning services and our expatriate team give practical and direct advice, delivering solutions which suit your needs.

GLOBAL TAX NETWORK LTD

1st Floor, Andrews House, College Road, Guildford, GU1 4QB Contact: Richard Watts-Joyce CTA, ATT Telephone: +44(0) 207 100 2126 Email: rwattsjoyce@gtn.uk Website: www.gtn.uk Twitter: @GTN_Tax LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/globaltax-network Global Tax Network Ltd is the UK member of Global Tax Network (GTN), an international affiliation of professional firms in over 100 countries specialising in global mobility tax consulting. We provide assistance to employers with the tax administration of international assignment programs and private client services to high net worth individuals, non-domiciles, professional sportspersons and entertainers. Our consultants include members of the Association of Taxation Technicians, Chartered Institute of Taxation, and US Enrolled Agents.

To advertise your services to our Global HR readers in this Directory please email helen@internationalhradviser.com for further information.