OTS – review of hybrid and remote working

Last updated: 08/04/2024

A high-level evidential review of the extent to which hybrid and distance working is likely to increase in a post-pandemic world was launched on 31 August 2022.
Key issues covered include:
- Working across international borders, and what that means for tax, social security, tax residence, and permanent establishment;
- How accommodation, travel, and other expenses work in a hybrid world, including who will pay and whether permanent workplace rules make sense;
- Application of short-term business visitor rules, overseas workday relief, and modified payroll;
- The treatment and impact on pension contributions and share schemes;
- The risks or otherwise of creating permanent establishments or even changing corporate residence.
Timing: the review closed on 28 October 2022 and the OTS’s final report on this matter was released on 20 December 2022. In the Spring Budget 2023, the government announced it would be issuing a call for evidence in the summer of 2023. This is still awaited. The intention was to gather evidence to inform a better understanding of informal and ad hoc agreements on flexible working between employees and employers.