There is some interesting data coming out of this BBC article. The number of people ‘house swapping’, allowing them to spend time in someone else's home in another location, is on the rise; a 50% increase since August 2019 according to Home Exchange. Facilitated in a large part by the growth in remote working, the proposition sounds fun. However, are these 'rockstars of mobility' (to coin a phrase used in the article) and/or their employers thinking about the consequences:
- What does this mean for income tax and social security contributions, i.e. in which country should they be paid?
- Does having a remote worker based overseas create any corporate tax issues for the employer?
- How about local employment rights?
- Dare I even mention data protection?
Lots to think about to ensure these arrangements work. That said, if anyone out there is looking to swap a beachfront apartment (in a warm climate!) for a terraced house on the outskirts of London, do let me know....
Job flexibility has also turbo-charged people’s desires to blend the boundaries between work and travel. With more than half of all global companies either fully remote or remote-first, according a recent survey from Buffer, it’s no wonder that Google searches for “home exchange” have grown substantially over the past year.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220825-the-remote-workers-swapping-homes
