What is a temporary work from abroad agreement?
More employees now ask to work from abroad for a while: a month near family, a longer stay with a partner posted overseas, or a few weeks tacked onto a holiday. Saying yes is easier when both sides know what happens if the stay runs long, a laptop goes missing or the business needs them back.
This agreement records the destination, the first and last working days abroad and an optional work address. It confirms the employee keeps their existing contract and pay, sets the hours they must be available in your time zone, and says who checks the right to work there and whether tax and social security have been reviewed. It covers travel and health insurance, an emergency contact, rules for devices and connections, notice to come back early, and who pays the cost of an earlier flight home.
- Best for
- Short, approved stays working from another country
- Signed by
- The employer and the employee, initialled on every page
- Covers
- Dates, hours, visas, tax review, insurance, data security, recall
- Length
- About 2 pages
When to use a temporary work from abroad agreement
- An employee spending a month working near family overseas
- Extending a holiday with two weeks of remote work
- A team member accompanying a partner on a short posting
- A summer "workation" scheme run under a company policy
- Approving a one-off request while you write a fuller policy
What you fill in
18 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: employer, employee.
1 The parties
- Agreement date*
- Employer (company name)*
- Employee's full name*
- Job title
- Country the employee normally works in*
2 The stay
- Country (and city) they will work from*
- First working day abroad*
- Last working day abroad*
- Address they will work from
3 Working hours
- Hours they must be available*
- Meetings and response times
4 Tax, immigration and insurance
- Right to work in the destination* The Employee is responsible for checking and holding any visa or permit needed to work there. · The Employer has checked the position and will arrange any visa or permit needed.
- Tax and social security review* the Employer has reviewed the stay with its advisers · the Employee has taken their own advice and will share any concern with the Employer
- Travel and health insurance* The Employee will arrange their own travel and health insurance that covers the whole stay, including working there. · The Employer's business travel insurance covers the stay, and the Employee will follow its conditions.
5 Equipment and data
- Equipment the employee takes
6 Ending early
- Notice to return (days)*
- Travel and living costs* are paid by the Employee, unless the Employer recalls the Employee early for business reasons, when the Employer will pay the reasonable extra cost of the earlier journey home · are paid by the Employee in all cases
- Governing law*
7 Who signs
- Employer signature and date, job title, initials on every page · The manager or HR person approving the request.
- Employee signature and date, initials on every page
What the temporary work from abroad agreement covers
- Where and when
- Employment stays the same
- Working hours and time zone
- Tax, social security and immigration
- Insurance and wellbeing
- Equipment and data security
- Ending early and recall
- General
Using the temporary work from abroad agreement, step by step
1 Enter the stay
Add the employee, the country they normally work in, the destination, the dates and, if you want it recorded, the address they'll work from.
2 Agree hours and contact
Set the hours they must be available in your time zone and edit the meeting and response-time expectations to fit the team.
3 Settle tax, visas and insurance
Choose who is responsible for the right to work, record who reviewed tax and social security, and pick whose insurance covers the stay.
4 Set recall terms and send
Enter the notice period to come back, choose who pays travel costs, add the governing law and send. Both of you initial each page and sign.
Tips before you send it
- Get tax and social security advice before approving longer stays — a few weeks too many can create obligations for the employee or the company.
- Check whether the destination needs a work permit or digital nomad visa even for remote work for a foreign employer.
- Make sure your IT team knows the dates, so a login from abroad isn't blocked as suspicious.
- Keep the approval specific to these dates. A new request should get a fresh agreement.
Sign it online in minutes
- Fill in the blanks. Names, dates and amounts go straight into the agreement — the preview shows exactly where.
- Name who signs. Tick “This is me” for your own part. FileIt builds the PDF with every signature, date and initials box on the right line, and you can check or move anything before sending.
- Send it. Each signer gets a secure link and signs from any device — no account needed. The signed PDF, with an audit trail and a Certificate of Completion, is filed in your vault and emailed to everyone.
Temporary work from abroad agreement: frequently asked questions
Does the employee's contract change?
No. The agreement says this is a temporary change of location only, and the employee keeps their existing contract, role, pay, benefits and reporting line.
Who is responsible for visas?
You choose: either the employee checks and holds any visa or permit they need, or the employer has checked and will arrange it.
Can we ask the employee to come back early?
Yes. Either side can end the arrangement on the notice period you set, and the employer can ask for an earlier return for an urgent business need, a change in law or tax position, or a security concern.
Is this the same as a remote work agreement?
No. A remote work agreement covers working from home on an ongoing basis. This one is for a single, time-limited stay in another country.