4 ms·

Not being based in the US, I can't help but wonder how this sort of thing fits in with labor laws in Europe.

byoung2 16y ago
Look at it this way...in the US, lets say a good job in an office pays $50,000 per year, and a doctor in the US makes $100,000. Now imagine there is a wealthy nation in Europe with a few entrepreneurs who have more money than time, and they need people familiar with American business practices and fluent in American English to complete some basic tasks. Of course they could find these workers locally, but let's say that because of a strong economy and high cost of living, the average salary is $250,000 per year in that country. The entrepreneurs go online and find a few Americans who would otherwise have been working the aforementioned "good jobs" that pay $50,000, except that the economy is so bad that those jobs are unavailable. The entrepreneurs hire the Americans at a rate of $100,000 to perform the job remotely. The Americans get a better salary they would have otherwise gotten, and they get to work from home. The Europeans get a much cheaper worker ($100k vs $250k). Everybody's happy. I don't see what labor laws would be violated, and I don't see who would be hurt by such a scenario.
- patio11 16y ago
  I don't see what labor laws would be violated The easiest one to violate is accidentally turning your contractor into an employee, and if that happens, may God have mercy on your soul, because the local tax agency will not.
  - byoung2 16y ago
    Keep in mind that the contractor/employee dilemma exists whether your worker is offshore or local. It may actually be better if the employee/contractor is offshore (from a US perspective), because you would not be liable for most of the taxes/deductions required of an American employee.
  - joeag 16y ago
    It's going to be awfully hard for any taxing authority (at least in the US) to characterize a contractor hired through a service (in the manner described in the article)as an employee: 1. The contractor presumably has other clients/customers 2. The contractor is not in your facility 3. The contractor is using his/her own tools and equipment There are a number of other tests, but this is actually probably one of the "safer" ways to hire contractors.

Look at it this way...in the US, lets say a good job in an office pays $50,000 per year, and a doctor in the US makes $100,000. Now imagine there is a wealthy nation in Europe with a few entrepreneurs who have more money than time, and they need people familiar with American business practices and fluent in American English to complete some basic tasks. Of course they could find these workers locally, but let's say that because of a strong economy and high cost of living, the average salary is $250,000 per year in that country. The entrepreneurs go online and find a few Americans who would otherwise have been working the aforementioned "good jobs" that pay $50,000, except that the economy is so bad that those jobs are unavailable. The entrepreneurs hire the Americans at a rate of $100,000 to perform the job remotely. The Americans get a better salary they would have otherwise gotten, and they get to work from home. The Europeans get a much cheaper worker ($100k vs $250k). Everybody's happy. I don't see what labor laws would be violated, and I don't see who would be hurt by such a scenario.

patio11 16y ago
I don't see what labor laws would be violated The easiest one to violate is accidentally turning your contractor into an employee, and if that happens, may God have mercy on your soul, because the local tax agency will not.
- byoung2 16y ago
  Keep in mind that the contractor/employee dilemma exists whether your worker is offshore or local. It may actually be better if the employee/contractor is offshore (from a US perspective), because you would not be liable for most of the taxes/deductions required of an American employee.
- joeag 16y ago
  It's going to be awfully hard for any taxing authority (at least in the US) to characterize a contractor hired through a service (in the manner described in the article)as an employee: 1. The contractor presumably has other clients/customers 2. The contractor is not in your facility 3. The contractor is using his/her own tools and equipment There are a number of other tests, but this is actually probably one of the "safer" ways to hire contractors.