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Comment by i_have_an_idea | Hacker News Reader

It's a half-truth. Yes, for you to be an employee, they must do all of that.

However, in practice, a remote worker can move anywhere, create a company (in the country where they live), send invoices and get paid. The catch is you need to take care of more taxes and admin work and there are none of the employee protections. You're essentially providing B2B services.

So, there are no legal issues for your old employer, as long as you're comfortable with that. It's mostly that employers would rather own you, as that gives them certain rights and benefits vs. just purchasing services from a contracting firm.

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> However, in practice, a remote worker can move anywhere, create a company (in the country where they live), send invoices and get paid.

Many countries will forbid that. Employment is characterized by more than the wording of a contract.

they can't enforce that if the employer is in another country, unless there are agreements between those countries.

the employer can't employ you in their country, and they can't be forced to set up a business entity in yours.

the only thing your country could do is to prevent you from doing business with foreign companies as an individual contractor, but that would be counterproductive as it would not get you the employment they want you to have

Plus you have a number of disadvantages - cost of complying with commercial laws, likely reduced credit score, no legal right to time off, your entire wealth might be on the line etc

in which situation do you have no legal right to time off? as an independent contractor you can take time off as much as you want. you just need to factor that into your fee. the rest is up to you to work out with your employer/client. sure, if you are desperate for work there is a potential for abuse, and then the only thing you can do is to look for other work. on the other hand, there is no penalty for you or them for cancelling the contract (other than the usual contractual stipulations, if legal and enforceable). cancelling a contract is not the same as quitting a job or being fired.

Thanks! In my case it would indeed be difficult to work as a service-provider, since some of the income streams I generate require that I have a permanent employment contract with my employer.

what does that mean? are you getting money from somewhere that you are only entitled to if you have a job?

I'm talking about research grants. I need a permanent employment contract with an academic institution in order to be eligible.

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