SD Worx allows colleagues in the entire organisation to work abroad
One third of the remote workers across Europe are allowed for workation
July 13, 2023
SD Worx provides its employees with increased flexibility and trust in managing their work-life balance. Starting from this Summer, the leading European HR solutions provider is introducing so-called “workation” opportunities across the entire organisation.
A workation is the possibility to combine combination of work and vacation. It is working from your vacation place so you can work remotely during the days and then enjoy your vacation place in the evening and on the weekends without taking holidays. The workation is, of course, based on voluntary participation when the employee wishes to combine their work with their vacation destination.
Bruce Fecheyr-Lippens, Chief People Officer at SD Worx: “We want to be the employer of reference and fully support the need for flexibility. SD Worx believes in empowering our employees to achieve their best potential while maintaining a healthy work-life integration. Workation is an innovative concept that allows our colleagues to work remotely from a different location, whether it's within their home country or in a different country where SD Worx has a legal entity. We understand that flexibility is crucial in today's fast-paced world, and offering this workation aligns with our commitment to providing a supportive and agile work environment. We trust our employees to maintain their productivity and professionalism while enjoying the benefits of a change in scenery and an opportunity to explore different cultures.”
According to recent SD Worx research of nearly 5,000 employers and about 16,000 employees in sixteen European countries, on average 34% of the remote workers can also work remotely abroad. Norway is leading with 51%, France ends up at 20%.
Guidelines to ensure compliancy
To ensure a fair and consistent implementation, SD Worx created a workation policy with a few guidelines to keep in mind. Workation should be discussed with the direct manager to see what the possibilities are and to get approval. Workation is limited to colleagues in compatible functions and the period doesn’t exceed four weeks per year (20 working days). It is only feasible in countries where SD Worx has a legal entity. These guidelines ensure compliancy with local legislation and regulations while providing a safe and secure working environment for the SD Worx employees. The policy helps to guarantee a smooth continuation of customer services and work operations while allowing employees in eligible roles to benefit from this opportunity.
It goes without saying that the chosen workplace must be arranged by the employee in such a way that it is suitable for the performance of the work. The necessary infrastructure such as internet connection, PC, printer, desk should be present and the employee must create a good workplace situation to work in a calm and undisturbed manner. Employees are responsible themself to check that the workplace meets health and safety requirements. The working time of a day's work at home or in a place chosen elsewhere doesn’t differ from a normal working day that the employee would perform according to the time zone of the country of origin.
Workation requires a declaration to the local social security services. For that reason, employees need to submit their request 20 working days before the workation start date. Next to the declaration, they also need to submit their workation request, including the workplace in which they will’ be staying. SD Worx colleagues are using Protime for that, a time and attendance tool available via the mysdworx app.