Finishing up my year internship as a Unity developer at the end of August. My boss and I were talking about keeping me on the project afterwards as a remote developer (though his company wouldn't be able to register me as an employee so it would be more like contract work). While he said he would need to talk to his boss about it (to sort out pay etc.). I was wondering how I would even go about setting it up from my end. I'll still be at University when I finish the internship in August, so it would be more like part-time work. The issue is that I normally live in the UK while the company is based in Switzerland so I have no idea how it works when it comes to taxes etc. Is it technically possible to work remotely this way, and if so, what would I need to find out in advance (in regards to taxes, working regulations and insurance)?

Cheers

You need to look into your country's tax laws. That's where you'll get your tax answers. You will have to pay UK taxes on your income. Since you're not an employee of the Swiss company, I imagine you don't have to pay any Swiss taxes but I'm not a lawyer or tax specialist. 

You need a contracting agreement (a contract) with the company who's paying you. They'll write it. You can try to negotiate its terms. Don't sign it if you don't like it (don't take the job if you don't like the terms).

What is your insurance question?

Thanks for the reply Tom. My question in regard to insurance was that my boss mentioned what would happen in the event of me becoming ill and being unable to work, and how I would be insured against that. But I guess that would be outlined in the contracting agreement.

They may be asking you to get business insurance, or to otherwise provide a way to get your work done if something happens. You'll need to talk to your boss and get more info about that. In my opinion, you should prioritize finishing your degree. It's possible the contract will turn into full-time employment with the company, so you have to weigh that possibility against the degree. 

Hey @Altadsa I am a developer and I have done some contract work previously so I would like to give you my 2 cents.

You say you are in the UK, if they are not going to 'register' you as an employee then you might very well be considered as 'self-employed''. There will still have to be some form of contractual agreement between you and the company  - but essentially if you are sick, you want to take holiday, you want the benefits of being a employee etc; then you will not get them, or at least you won't be paid a penny for them anyway.

If you are due to work but you are really sick and have to stay in bed, you will not be getting paid. You will also never get any paid holiday.

All of this can be GIVEN to you by the company if outlined in your contract, but just know that they have 0 legal obligation to provide those things for you and therefore it is highly likely of a games company (who scrimp every penny then can) that they will not provide.

Some instances in the UK however, you are considered a 'worker' - what this means is that they have to provide you with at least the minimum holiday entitlement, and pay you for it. But they do still do NOT have to pay you sick pay, pension, etc; it all depends on the circumstance of you work, how long you are working, etc; so might be worth asking for more money to cover these expenses. Unless you never want holiday and you are never sick ?

Hope that helps!

On 5/10/2019 at 12:06 PM, Tom Sloper said:

In my opinion, you should prioritize finishing your degree. It's possible the contract will turn into full-time employment with the company, so you have to weigh that possibility against the degree. 

A job is temporary, in this industry jobs typically last less than two years.

Your education is permanent, and will last for your entire career. That's 40+ years.

An incomplete degree doesn't really count when it comes to negotiating. Every few years you will be hunting for a job again, and renegotiating your salary.  EVERY SINGLE TIME you go for an interview or negotiate your salary, your completion or lack of degree will be a factor. Many times you won't even realize it,you simply won't get a call back because you didn't have the requisite education. When salary is discussed, employer's won't expressly tell you they are basing the numbers on your lack of degree, they will simply negotiate in a lower wage for those without degrees, and a higher wage for those with degrees.

Focus on the degree.  If you happen to also work in your field while getting the degree, that's nice but not essential.

On 5/10/2019 at 3:05 AM, Altadsa said:

Is it technically possible to work remotely this way

Yes, but as mentioned, EVERYTHING is up to you to work out. 

You need to work out the contract, which means talking with qualified legal professionals to review the agreements before committing.  I don't know about that specific pairing of nations, but there are nations that require both parties be registered with government organizations or professional organizations.

You need to work out insurance implications, liability implications, how and what and when and where payment will be made, how disputes will be resolved, and many other tiny little details. Some of them are tiny details that won't matter to anyone. Some of them are important details only for you, because they are there to protect you.  Some of them are important details for your continued livelihood, such as the tax rules. (Nations often jail people when it comes to tax violations.)

Again, you need to hire your own qualified legal professionals who are familiar both with software development and with international contracting.   Consider the expense of hiring a lawyer as a part of contracting.  These are good reasons why established contractors have hourly rates that are many times higher than the regular wages of standard employees. 

28 minutes ago, frob said:

Focus on the degree.  If you happen to also work in your field while getting the degree, that's nice but not essential.

I mean at the minute, my project lead would view my role as part time, fewer than 24 hours a week. When I go back to university after finishing my internship I'll still need a part time job to survive, and in my opinion it would be better to work part time in an area that will benefit my career instead of distracting me from it e.g retail assistant. More importantly, if I understand it correctly, it would be up to me to decide when I would do work (with the exception of scheduled calls etc.) So it would be much more flexible to fit around my studies in comparison to fixed rotas in regular part time work.