Working across borders: questions to settle with your employer

Start with the actual working arrangement

Before accepting a cross-border job, describe the arrangement in one sentence: who employs you, where you live, where you physically work, and how often you cross a border. A permanent move, a temporary posting, a daily commute and remote work from another country can lead to different administrative questions. The company’s headquarters alone does not answer them.

Use the EU work-rights guide for the legal starting point. This checklist is for the conversation that follows. Send your employer the proposed location and start date, then ask who will check payroll, social insurance and any local registration before the arrangement begins.

Ask for written answers before you move

Get the offer and working arrangement in writing. Confirm gross pay, pay frequency, working hours, overtime, probation, leave, equipment and notice terms. Ask which language governs the contract and who answers questions once you arrive. A friendly recruiter is useful; a named payroll or HR contact is more useful when the first payment is wrong.

Check whether your occupation is regulated in the destination and whether a qualification must be recognised before you start. Put that deadline beside the employment start date. Separately ask the relevant tax and insurance authorities about your circumstances. Do not assume that an employer’s permission to work remotely settles every national obligation.

Prepare the first month

Build a first-month plan with your actual commute, housing deposit, temporary accommodation, transport pass and healthcare arrangements. Keep copies of the contract and correspondence somewhere you can access if a work account is unavailable. Agree how expenses are reimbursed and when you will receive your first payslip.

A useful final email contains five confirmed items: workplace, employment terms, administrative contacts, documents still needed and the date of the first review. For job information and national living-and-working guidance, use EURES. Return to the official country guidance whenever the arrangement changes.