The Covid pandemic has accelerated the decline of the office, as lockdown forced thousands of UK employees to work from home.
In fact, a survey by Redfield and Wilton Strategies on behalf of i, found that 44 per cent of people who would normally work in the office were still working remotely in September – and nearly six in 10 of those currently working at home believe they will be doing so at least until 2021.
But while some of us reconfigured our living rooms to allow for makeshift home offices and scoured stores for desks, a growing number of nomadic workers chose to pack their bags and set work from abroad.
‘I forgot there was a pandemic’
Software engineer Peter Peter Johnstone, 26, was told that the start-up he works for will not reopen its office until next year.
“I didn’t have to argue with work at all, we had been told we could go and do our job from wherever we wanted. They were very chilled about it.”
He took advantage of a deal on Airbnb, which gave a 50 per cent discount on rent to those who book a property for a month, and moved to Portugal with a friend from mid-August to mid-September.
They rented out a three-bedroom converted windmill surrounded by vineyards in the countryside, 40 minutes north of Lisbon, which cost them £600 each for the month.
Although he continued to pay his rent in London, Peter said the experience was “utterly delightful” and he would recommend it to anyone whose job allows to do it.
He told i: “It felt pretty amazing to get a change of scenery and to be somewhere really rural in the middle of nowhere, I forgot there was a pandemic.”
Carlene, a 49-year-old technology consultant is another fan of remote working and is now considering making a habit out of it. For five weeks in July she traded her four-bedroom house in Brighton for a smaller property in Annecy, France, with direct access to a lake for £850 a week.
Her husband, a pilot, and her three children aged seven, 16 and 17 as well as the family’s two dogs travelled with her.
She said: “My kids enjoyed the freedom of outdoor life, swimming in the warm lake every day, while I was able to continue to do my work.”
“I am lucky in running a Cloud-based Microsoft consultancy – it’s easy to work from anywhere with good WiFi. The kind of trip we took was also a great chance to think about a future strategy for the business while I wasn’t working day-to-day in it.”
Saving money
Tessa Laws, 55, from Liverpool didn’t waste any time and moved to Israel in March for three months, before travelling to Greece where she spent another four weeks in July. Sunshine and increased flexibility in working hours were the key factors behind her decision to take her job abroad.
Her husband, who is originally from Israel, joined her there but couldn’t follow her to Greece because of work commitments.
As a lawyer and CEO of her own firm, she didn’t require anyone’s approval to make the move. She told i: “I thought, if am going to be trapped at home, I’d rather be in a place where the sun shines. Once all my face-to-face meetings were cancelled, I knew that it would not matter where I was. There was also a lockdown but I had freedom to go to the beach and breathe the sea air.”
The two-hour time difference with the UK also made her job easier as it meant she had already caught up with her emails by the time colleagues and clients were waking up.
Tessa, who owns a house in London, also reckons she saved money by spending July in Greece where she rented a two bed apartment for £30 a night: “I must have saved about £1,500 in a month because the cost of life was so cheap – from restaurants to buying my groceries”
Although, she’s now back in London she is thinking of working from abroad again next year – if Brexit allows – adding that she would have considered a permanent move if she were younger.
“I was only able to embrace this lifestyle for that long because we’re still in the EU. We would need to see what the regulations are next year. If I was younger I would absolutely consider moving to Greece permanently. If you’re looking to buy, the entry point is so much more affordable there than in London.”
What you need to know before moving
As dreamy as working by the beach sounds, there are plenty of things to consider before booking your flight – from taxes, to healthcare and, of course, Brexit.
Talking to your employer
As an employee the first thing you’ll need to do is get approval from your employer.
Andrew Oury, partner at legal firm Oury Clark, said: “Workers need to go back and look at the terms of their employment contracts. Most, if not all, of these will state ‘place of work’ as the office.
So, the answer to the question ‘can’t I work remotely from Spain, Rio, or wherever’ can, legally, be a firm no.”
If you’ve argued your case successfully there are still some legal considerations that both you and your employer need to be wary of.
Taxes, visa and Brexit
Laws vary from country to country, but after a period of time spent abroad there is a chance you might need to pay tax there. Mr Oury said: “Technically wherever you are in the world, you have to comply with local tax and employment law, meaning wages have to be localised and a local payroll will be needed.”
Next year, UK citizens might also be hit by new visa restrictions. The UK is currently still bound to the EU’s rules. This means that until the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December, UK nationals still have the right to live and work anywhere in the European Economic Area (EEA). However, according to Mr Oury, Brexit might affect your rights to work and visa obligations in each country.
While those who made the move before the end of the transition period should be able to stay afterwards, rules are not yet known for those planning to relocate from 2021.
Healthcare
Another thing to consider is your healthcare and who will be paying for it. Although there are some exceptions, most travel insurance cover customers only for short trips abroad.
While those lucky enough to have private medical insurance as part of their job contract will need to make sure they are covered if they work outside the UK.
James Berry, director of the UCL MBA, said: “From an employer’s perspective, if there is no state provided healthcare on offer locally – where do the employer’s responsibilities start and finish with this distributed working model? This may become more of an issue after Brexit given that we don’t yet know what the negotiated settlements will deliver in terms of state healthcare.”
Bank account
Those planning to stay abroad for longer periods should also consider setting up a bank account with a local lender to avoid being charged for cash withdrawals. Some online providers, such as Monzo, also don’t charge for withdrawals in the EEA.
Despite the complications, it is unlikely that the number of “digital nomads” will decline in the short term.
A 2018 study by research firm MBO Partners found that about 4.8 million US citizens identified as digital nomads. While in the UK, the number of remote workers rose by almost 250,000 between 2005 and 2015, according to the TUC.
Mr Berry added: “There is no doubt though that the new environment presents some interesting opportunities and companies that want the best staff have to realise that talent is a global resource.
“The ability to work remotely gives employees the choice of taking new jobs at a distance as well as opening up the recruitment pool for employers… and none of these issues is insurmountable.”
And with the UK Government announcing that the latest Covid-19 restrictions could last up to six months, who could blame workers for being tempted to escape the British winter?