Working from Spain? Not without the
employer’s consent
The Court of Appeal of The Hague ruled that an employee who unilaterally decides to
perform his role permanently from Spain may, depending on the circumstances, give the
employer urgent cause for summary dismissal.*
The employee worked as a field sales account manager. His job involved visiting clients primarily in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. After moving to Spain, he wanted to continue his work permanently from Spain. The employer instructed him to resume his work from the Netherlands. When the employee failed to comply and definitively refused to return, he was summarily dismissed. The court of appeals confirmed that the employer was not required to accept this. (Case Law)
Relevant factors included the nature of the role, the customer-facing activities in the
Netherlands and neighbouring countries, and the employee’s structural decision not to work
from the Netherlands anymore. In this role, working from Spain was not a realistic option for
the employer.
Nassau comment
This ruling is a clear reminder that international remote work is not a unilateral employee
entitlement. A move abroad may affect not only the practical performance of the role, but also
payroll, wage tax, social security, employment law control, insurance coverage and potentially
permanent establishment exposure.
Employers should ensure that employment contracts, remote-working policies and expat
policies clearly state that structural work from abroad is only permitted with prior written
approval. Such approval should be subject to a tax, social security, employment law and
immigration review before the employee starts working from another country.
Practical take-away
Make sure you have a clear remote working policy. It should specify when working from
abroad is permitted, which prior approvals are required, and which tax, social security,
employment law and immigration aspects must be reviewed first.
Please contact your Nassau adviser at info@nassau.tax.
* Court of Appeal of The Hague, May 26, 2026, ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2026:1771
