Policy Paper | Navigating the Digital Workforce Frontier

Since the pandemic, telework has been on the rise and is here to stay. In 2023, nearly 1 in 4 employees in the EU worked from home at least part of the time, and almost 75% want to continue teleworking at least several times a month. While teleworking within member states has become relatively easy, cross-border remote work remains fraught with administrative hurdles, costs, and uncertainties —especially for SMEs. In her latest Policy Paper, EUROPEUM Institute Research Fellow Silke Maes explores why remote work is still difficult, why regulating telework isn’t yet a priority, and how tax, social security, and labour law could be adjusted to the era of digital work.

One way to reduce complexities can be by introducing tolerance thresholds in bilateral double taxation treaties, allowing for a certain number of telework days without tax repercussions. Several member states have taken this approach. For example, the threshold in Luxemburg accounts for 19 days of remote work in Germany, 34 days in Belgium and 29 days in France, respectively. A recent agreement between France and Switzerland, signed in 2023, even set the threshold for telework at 40% (96 workdays full-time).

You can read the full Policy Paper in English under the PDF button.

Silke Maes
Research Fellow