UK-based companies with overseas employees have to manage talent across an average of SIX different countries

Everywhen today reveals research¹ which shows that the average UK-based company with overseas staff employs 167 people abroad, across six different countries. This figure may well be much higher than many people expect, and highlights challenges companies face in managing health and wellbeing on a global scale.

Sarah Dennis, head of international at Everywhen, says: “The large numbers of employees across a number of different countries represents a huge challenge for businesses. They have to provide each employee with the appropriate and legally required health and wellbeing support and employee benefits, and this will differ in each part of the world.”

When sending an employee abroad, planning their health and wellbeing support should be as high up the agenda as planning what their working role will be and where they are going to live. Businesses often want flexibility over where staff are based and may want to scale up quickly. This means that support needs to be flexible. But the support that is available, required and expected, may be different in every country, and these differences need to be understood. International specialists, who have access to local knowledge, can help with expert guidance.

The figures for large corporates² are even greater than the mean. Indeed, UK-based large corporate companies employing overseas staff have, on average, 565 people across six different countries, compared to SMEs3 which employ 13 people across six different countries.

SMEs, therefore, have employees in just as many countries as large corporate companies. They are likely, however, to have fewer resources and smaller budgets for managing this, making the challenge even greater for SMEs. The spread of countries means that it can be difficult to keep up to date with all the different regulations in each region, especially as the rules often change. Employers need to be sure that they offer the right benefits, and this highlights the need for companies of all sizes to have a global benefits plan to help them meet the demands of these challenges.

Sarah Dennis comments: “There are some great opportunities abroad for UK-based companies, and they will often start by sending just one or two employees to test the waters, which makes good business sense. But whether it is one, or hundreds of employees overseas, it is vital that the right support is in place.”