What is workation?
Workation, the combination of the words WORK and VACATION means, that you work remotely from a different place other than your home or the office of your company and you can do vacational activities like sightseeing or trips to the beach before you start to work or after you are done with your work. The pleasure nature of your trip prevails over the performed work itself. You might also recognize this concept as "WorkFlexing."
❗️The trip is NOT taking place on behalf of your company and has therefore no business purpose. The objective of your trip remains tourism ❗️
It’s important to note the key distinctions:
Workation is not a business trip or a permanent relocation to another country.
Your trip is exclusively for private reasons, with no business purpose involved.
During a workation, you continue to work for your employer based in your home country (referred to as your "country of employment"). This means:
You remain taxable and socially insured in your home country.
The labor laws of your home country continue to apply to your employment contract.
Workations are an excellent way to enjoy flexibility while ensuring compliance with labor, tax, and social security laws.
Please make sure to make this clear on any form you are required to fill out before entering the destination country, i.e. not ticking business as the trip’s purpose. In case you are being asked for the purpose of your trip (e.g. in countries which require a VISA and/or are having a customs check at the airport) always refer to "tourism".
That is why we strongly advise against visiting customers during a workation. Even if it's just for a coffee chat 😉
If you visit clients in your destination country, your trip will not be considered a personal trip anymore but a business trip. In this case, there are compliance risks that are not covered.
What is business travel?
Business travel occurs when your employer sends you abroad for work-related purposes, including:
Visiting a client
Performing work at your company’s location abroad
Working on-site for a client
Attending a congress, fair, workshop, or training
Joining an offsite event organized by your company
Whenever you travel for these reasons outside your country of employment, compliance risks may arise. WorkFlex helps manage these risks, ensuring your trips align with tax, labor, and immigration laws.