Employees of record
To bring on talent in countries where we don't have a local office, we often use an Employer of Record. These partners handle the official employment aspects for us, taking care of things like payroll, benefits, and local compliance. This means we can welcome global team members while still directing their work, managing their roles, and shaping our team culture. We partner with Remote to manage employees of record.
My new joiner is being hired via Remote - what does this mean for them?
They will be employed by Remote on behalf of Digital Science; this means their employment contract is issued by Remote and is compliant with employment legislation in that country.
Their salary is paid by Remote (funded by DS), in their local currency and subject to local taxes and social security contributions.
They will always receive the statutory benefits required in that country. Pre-existing countries have additional benefits packages (and additional charges), which vary by location. In selecting benefits across different entities/locations, our aim is always to prioritise health, wellbeing and saving for the future.
Expenses are claimed via the Remote portal and paid via payroll.
Their holiday allowance will be in accordance with the statutory minimum in that country. Holiday is requested, approved and tracked in the Remote portal (not currently integrated with Bob so holiday data is uploaded to Bob regularly).
The contract of employment is issued by a Remote Onboarding Specialist, who also collects their personal details and registers them locally for tax and social security purposes.
DS is responsible for issuing their equipment and their IT setup
They will receive a HR induction (tailored to their employment status)
What does this mean for me as a Manager?
Your new joiner is still part of the DS family, so it is important to welcome them to DS as you would with any other joiner - you can find more information in our Onboarding for Managers page on the wiki
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You will be added to the Remote platform in order to approve the following items which are tracked/paid via Remote:
Expenses - employees via Remote have their expenses paid via payroll, so claims must be submitted and approved via the Remote portal, not through Concur
Holiday - annual leave must be tracked via Remote therefore holidays are requested and approved via the Remote platform and not through Bob. Remote does not currently integrate with Bob for holiday data, so this will be manually uploaded to Bob on a monthly basis.
You can find instructions on how to do these actions on the next page
Employees via Remote are still included in DS headcount, Anaplan/budgeting and can receive a bonus or commission if required. They are also part of the annual salary review process (the monthly management fee of £525 is added to their total cost)
Different Policies and Risks
Travel Insurance:
Remote does not provide travel insurance and these employees are not covered by the DS company insurance (as we are not their employer).
This means Employees via Remote must obtain their own travel insurance (for business trips) and reclaim this through the Remote expense process.
Probation and Performance
Employees via Remote will have a probation period in line with the local legislation. Refer to this article for more information on how to manage probation period.
Should you have any performance concerns (either during probation or later on), please raise these with HR as soon as possible so we can support you. We will always try to address performance issues informally at first, but where there are significant concerns we must consult with Remote as the employer.
Notice and Termination
Notice periods will be in line with local legislation and outlined in the employment contract.
Should an issue arise that requires formal action (e.g.: performance, misconduct) we must consult with Remote as the intermediary and employer and any process would be in line with local employment legislation.
IP Ownership
Any work done by the employee containing IP would require the IP rights to transfer first to Remote as the employer, then transfer to Digital Science.
Please note that while there is a mechanism in the contract to do this, there is a risk of break in chain in title.
Approving holiday in Remote
To approve or reject a holiday request:
Go to Remote portal.
On the left hand side go to the Time off section.
Select ✔️ to approve or ❌ to decline.
Approving Expenses in Remote
To approve or reject pending expenses:
Go to Remote portal.
On the left hand side go to the Dashboard or Expenses section.
Click on the eye icon to view the claim.
Select ✔️ to approve or ❌ to decline.
Can’t find what you are looking for? Contact us via People Team Support ticket.