“I have been working in Brazil for more than a year and my boss in Italy does not know”

The pandemic has changed work culture, giving many employees the opportunity to work from home for the first time.

And for some, not being tied to an office means being able to move to a different city or even a new country.

Since 2020, at least 30 countries have started offering digital nomad visas, in the form called “office anywhere” (“office anywhere”, in free translation).

However, the problem begins to become more complex when employees fail to inform companies that they are traveling – or even that they have moved permanently to another country.

Such is the case of Diego*, who moved to Italy in 2019 and started working there in the customer service business, 100% face-to-face. With the pandemic, his position has begun to operate entirely in the home office.

He came back to Brazil in October 2021 – but as of today he hasn’t told anyone at the company.

He says the decision to keep his “office anywhere” hidden is due to the fact that there is a law in the European Union that he cannot have call center services outside of the group’s countries.

The issue of receiving in euros [daqui do Brasil] It was also a big factor for me. But the main reason for going backwards is that Europe was heading into a depression. I was not very happy, Italy has a large number of elderly people and I miss Brazil, “says the young man.

One of the tricks Diego uses to avoid mistrust of the company is having two cell phones: one with a Brazilian number and one with an Italian number. “Nobody at work also has my social media, and I didn’t pass it on to anyone, not even when I was working face-to-face.”

However, the greatest concern, he says, should be with regard to the working day, because it is always necessary to account for the time zone when meeting demands.

Does the workplace still matter?

A survey by HR consultancy Topia revealed that up to 40% of people management professionals in the UK and US found staff had moved on recently.

In the same survey, 66% of US employees admitted that they did not tell HR about all the periods they worked away from their home location, and 94% believed they should be able to work from anywhere if it did not affect handovers from work.

According to Tais Taiga, a job seeker (a professional who advises on career and career changes) and an outplacement specialist, many companies still have a very strong culture of professional micromanagement, and they want to know where the employee is working from.

“This face-to-face business issue often leads to companies losing great talent. Another point is that Brazil may lose professionals: many countries open their borders to foreign workers, countries with strong currencies and more flexible models.”

For Karen*, who, like Diego, works in Brazil without her European company’s knowledge, a big plus is the flexibility of working hours that her job allows.

Since she’s unregistered — operating on a model similar to freelancing — she didn’t feel like she owed enough satisfaction to letting the company know where she worked.

But he still takes precautions: He has two phone numbers and keeps social networks away from his co-workers.

Karen says she intends to stay with the company for a long time.

And although she has to work a lot at night because of the time difference, she doesn’t see that as a bad thing: “I have a lot of free time, so maybe if I wanted to go back to college or work part-shifts somewhere else it wouldn’t be a problem.”

The flow of a worker’s hours depends on the time of year, and even in months when demand is low, Karen says the salary is still worth it when compared to that of a Brazilian worker.

“Here in Brazil, I have been able to enjoy a better quality of life than living in Europe with the same salary.”

Diego and Karen think they won’t be fired if their bosses find out they’ve been in Brazil for over a year. But anyway, they didn’t want to risk it.

Am I required to tell my boss where I work?

For Juliana Inhasz, Professor of Macroeconomics and Macroeconomics at Insper, the above question depends on your current employment contract.

If the employment contract provides for a person to work face-to-face, even if the company at some point allows remote work, he remains a face-to-face worker.

Therefore, if there is a change in the form, the person must request an amendment to the contract, so that – if there is no personal obligation – he has the right to move to another city or even another country, the professor comments.

“The deeper we get really into the idea of ​​remote work and, above all, what is understood as being remote on both ends of the relationship, the greater that flexibility.”

Juliana points out that each state has its own current labor legislation, so you need to be aware.

Some companies may be subject to additional taxes if employees spend a certain amount of time—usually more than half the year—in another country.

In addition, they can also face fines if employees work outside without a proper work permit.

To avoid these risks, along with cybersecurity and security concerns, many companies prohibit employees from working outside.

“A person may cause labor errors in the company, but in fact it is due to a complete lack of knowledge,” explains the specialist.

“We talk about this issue when there is a contract, but it is very common to see more and more disdain [referência ao termo “PJ”, ou pessoa jurídica, quando trabalhadores que são terceirizados e emitem notas fiscais aos empregadores como empresas]. She will not have this obligation, she will be independent. In this case, you only need to file tax returns for the provision of services between the parties and understand how the declaration of the other country works.

*Sources for this story, Diego and Karen, spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their careers, but the BBC has verified their identities and jobs.