Can I work from the UK for a Swiss company as a directly contracted employee?

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
Apologies if this has been covered before!

I work for a Swiss media group. I'm from London originally and considering moving home after a decade here in beautiful Zurich.

My employer doesn't have a legal entity in the UK.

Does anyone know how easy, or how complex, it is to enable me to work out of London, but still stay on the payroll (paid in sterling and taxed in the UK, of course)? I love my job and don't want to give it up or to work freelance.

Excuse my ignorance!

Stay well.

2
I can’t imagine the Swiss caring what a Swiss company does in the UK.

3
The HRMC will though. Having someone working permanently in London is likely to generate a case of permanent establishment, which will mean the company paying UK taxes.

4
I don't think it is the Swiss that would care, it is the UK side who will.

To the OP, there is a PE (permanent establishment) risk for the Swiss company.

What business situations lead to permanent establishment risk?

https://www.safeguardglobal.com/reso...0establishment .

so employing you in UK creates PE risk. They might ask you to go freelance.

5
Shooot, you are a minute earlier than me mate

6
Thanks so much, both of you. Great link. And I'll speak to HMRC!

7
This happened to me a few years ago. For family reasons an employee I didn't want to lose wanted to move back to the UK. The two solutions were to work freelance, which he didn't want to do, or set up a branch office and employ him that way.

On consideration the cost to set up the branch (subsidiary) office in itself was not expensive, but the ongoing cost of payroll, accounting, taxes, annual fees etc were the burden. Even though individually they would not amount to a lot, it all added up, as well as the extra administrative tasks involved. In addition was the complication of a pension scheme, opening a separate bank account and the question of paying him in CHF or GBP.

In the end I decided it wasn't worth it and reluctantly let him resign.