Expat, secondee or local hire: three very different deals
An expatriate is usually sent by a company in their home country to work in another country, with a support package attached. A seconded employee keeps a formal link with the original employer under specific rules. A local hire signs a contract with an entity in the host country, often without any of the extras that come with an expat assignment.
A job title alone never tells you which of the three you are being offered. Some adverts say “international position” when the contract will be purely local. Ask who you will be legally tied to, which country’s law will govern the contract and whether your home-country employer stays responsible for you. The answer shapes everything that follows. If it stays vague, push politely: a status you did not understand at the start tends to cost you later, in lost rights or unexpected bills.
Find out who signs the contract and where you will really work
The name of the entity that signs your contract matters more than the brand in the advert. A large group may hire through a local subsidiary, an employer-of-record company or an intermediary agency. Each has its own obligations, payroll rules and safeguards.
Note the usual place of work too. A job attached to a city but involving long spells at remote sites is not the same as an office job. Ask how often you will travel, how long you will be away from home and who arranges and pays for the journeys. These details affect family life and fatigue just as much as they affect the pay slip.
- Exact name of the employer that signs
- Law that governs the contract
- Main workplace and secondary sites
- Planned length of the assignment
What the job really asks of you, beyond the title
An expat post often exists for a specific mission: launching an activity, transferring know-how, managing a local team, running a project or turning a site around. Ask for the mission in one sentence, and for the results expected after twelve and twenty-four months.
Ask about the kind of authority you will hold as well: budget decisions, hiring, the relationship with head office. An advisory role and a line-management role demand very different energy. Find out whether a local successor is planned, because that reveals the true length of the mission and what may happen to you when it ends.
The annexes are the most important part of the contract
The substance of an expatriation offer usually sits in attached documents: the mobility policy, the allowance schedule, the expense rules and the return conditions. Ask for all of them, even if they look long, and read them with a pen in your hand.
Look for wording that signals a conditional or temporary benefit, such as “subject to”, “at the company’s discretion” or “during the first year”. Get the phrases that concern you clarified. A written commitment shows whether a perk is a one-off help or a benefit kept for the whole assignment, and that difference is what moves your real income up or down.
Housing, travel and support for your family
Expat policies sometimes include accommodation, help finding a home, home-leave flights, school fees or support for a partner’s job search. They may also include none of these. Ask for the exact list, the caps, the durations, who qualifies and which receipts you must provide.
If your family is joining you, ask the company about paperwork for them, health cover, how school places are arranged and what help exists if something goes wrong. Then estimate what you would still pay yourself. An allowance that looks generous on paper can fall short in a city where rent is high.
Social security, pension and tax: three things not to improvise
Your social security cover depends on the country where you work, the length of the assignment, agreements between states and the status you are offered. Ask the employer which scheme applies, which risks are covered for you and your dependants, and how your pension will be handled during the assignment.
Tax needs to be studied before you leave, because your tax residence may change and every country applies its own rules. Some employers pay for tax advice, others do not. Either way, ask for a written statement of who bears any extra tax and consult a qualified professional about your own situation.
When the assignment ends: what is written about your return
An assignment that ends without a return plan leaves the employee in a fragile position. Ask what is planned at the end: reinstatement in the original entity, a search for another role within the group, or simply the end of the contract. Check the notice period and who pays for the journey home.
Talk to colleagues who have already done an assignment at the company. Did they find an interesting job afterwards, how long did it take and at what salary level? Their experience is a useful complement to the official policy. A badly prepared return can cancel out the career benefits of an otherwise successful assignment.
Comparing two offers without being steered by the salary
Build a table with the same rows for each offer: status, employer, base pay, bonuses, housing, schooling, insurance, pension, tax, duration and return. Fill in the cells with what is written down, and leave empty the ones that are not. The blanks are your questions.
Weigh the non-financial factors as well: how interesting the job is, the quality of the team, safety, distance from family, climate and prospects. Specialist recruitment firms such as Michael Page or Hays publish international vacancies and can help you understand a market, but they do not replace reading the contract documents yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Does an expat always get a better package than a local hire?
No. Some expatriation packages are generous, others are modest or limited in time. A local contract can even pay better, depending on the country and the profession. Compare the written items line by line rather than judging by the announced status, and use a side-by-side table to see the real differences between the offers.
Who pays the taxes during an assignment abroad?
It depends on the country, your tax residence, the length of the assignment and agreements between states. Some employers compensate part of the extra tax, others do not. Ask for the rule in writing and speak to an international tax specialist before you sign. Have the point confirmed by email or in the contract.
Is my family automatically covered?
No, it all depends on the employer’s policy. It may cover travel, housing, schooling or insurance, or provide nothing at all. Ask for the list of beneficiaries and covered costs, and for the conditions under which these benefits continue if the assignment changes or stops. This deserves a precise answer before you decide.
What happens at the end of the assignment?
It depends on the contract and the group’s policy: return to the original entity, a post in another subsidiary, an extension or the end of employment. Ask for these rules in writing before you leave, together with the notice period and who pays for the journey home.