Hi Gemma

I'm assuming it's a one-way move and consequently the person becomes an employee of the UK company and ceases to be an employee of the NL company (cleanest option). The alternative is an international secondment which will be much more complex, but places the onus on the dutch company to redeploy him at a future date.

Be sure his UK gross-to-net looks acceptable compared to his NL gross-to-net, particularly in the light of the pound hving lost 15-20% over recent months vs Euro. Convince him that it it is fair and equitable vs his new colleagues.

Payroll is relatively simple for people arriving foer the first time, see here

Take the time to help him understand how things work in the UK (it is a new world for him). Things like pensions, medical cover etc are handled very differently from the Netherlands.

In my experience the dutch are sticklers on fairness and understanding "why" things are as they are - although once a deal is done it is rare to see demands for renogotiationd. Be patient with him in this respect because he is likely to challenge the situation in order to develop his own "buy in".

Be sure that the NL company closes off his NL contract cleanly whilst recognising that he is not leaving the group, simply moving internally. Make sure they take him through things like what happens to his pension, bonus for current year, untaken holiday etc.

Hope this helps

Ray

In reply to Ray:

That's great, thanks so much for that advice Ray. I was hoping you would comment when I posted my query :)
We have been deliberating for a while about his package as, like you say, the Dutch set up is very different, and essentially he will be offered additional salary to make up for some of the benefits he will be giving up.
I'm sorry if I missed this point in your reply but would continuous service apply or have I got confused? As it turns out he has only been working for the NL side for less than a year, I don't think it would add much to his employment rights over here but it seems unfair for him to miss out.
Thanks,
Gemma

In reply to Gemma:

Hi Gemma,

My view is that this would be continuous service despite a change in location.

Other things to think about (albeit depending on budget);

- Relocation allowance; will you provide any support for the individual to find housing, transport of belongings to the UK, temporary housing etc.

- We also offering some degree of cultural training when doing moves of this type.

Neither may be possible but worth thinking about!

Beth

In reply to admin:

Thanks Beth.
I believe his wife is a UK national so hopefully he has a good understanding of cultural awareness. We are not offering him any relocation as he is moving due to his wife's job offer but this may be something to consider in future. Thanks for the agreement about continuous service, that's what I thought.
Gemma

In reply to Gemma:

Just to add that the prior NL employment would almost without a doubt count, as with an 'associated company' under UK employment law, which by precedent (eg Hancill v Marcon Engineering Ltd) doesn't have to be a UK or even an EU company if it's 'associated' (as defined by statute) with the UK-employing company

In reply to Gemma:

Sorry Gemma for not giving a clear reply on continuity of service. Legally, it all depends on the shareholding connections between the companies which will determine whether the NL company is an "associated company".

Put simply -this means one company has "effective control" of the other (majority voting rights) or they are both controlled by a third company or person (ERA 1996?)

Whatever the technical situation I have never refused to recognise group employment as counting for continuous - except for Brazilians. In their case leaving a Brazilian employer produces by law a (potentially significant) "severance" payment - so no point in paying for this twice .....

Pay particular attention to explaining how pensions work in the UK because the NL and UK company pension cultures are very different

good luck and have fun
Ray

Hi Gemma, good luck with this one, your approach is really excellent and you'll learn lots! One thing for me to add: if you intend to pay this individual through the UK payroll ensure they get an interview sorted out quickly to obtain an NI number (If they don't already have one). A pretty essential item for most things but particularly for any pension contributions made while they work in the UK. Unless the rules have changed since I was involved with similar issues I don't think any pension contributions from both the employee and the pension provider can be accumulated until there is an NI number to 'assign' them to.