Guide on postings and permanent places of employment abroad

Posting or permanent place of employment abroad

Initially, the management of the department/office must decide whether a posting/place of employment abroad is desirable. The assessment includes:

• A consideration of DTU’s interests, operations and finances
• The possibility of supporting the employee’s academic development for the benefit of DTU and society in general

Together with Corporate HR, the management decides whether it is a question of a posting or a permanent place of employment of a longer duration.

Posting abroad

A posting means that you have a temporary place of employment in another country for a longer period of time, after which you return to DTU in Denmark. At DTU, a posting is defined as an official journey of at least 28 days’ duration to a place abroad where the employee stays overnight at the place where he or she is working.

A posting is subject to the rules in the Agreement on Official Travel (Tjenesterejseaftalen).  PhD students are not covered by the rules in the collective agreement on the covering of expenses in connection with official journeys and removal allowances. However, in some cases, certain expenses may be covered.

Permanent place of employment abroad

A permanent place of employment abroad may be relevant in a number of situations. For example, if you need to work abroad and you are already abroad at the time of your employment.

If the case of a situation with a permanent place of employment abroad, the terms and conditions are agreed individually.

A posting or a permanent place of employment?

A concrete assessment must be made in each individual case to establish whether the arrangement is a posting or a permanent place of employment. Corporate HR assists the department/office in assessing this.

The assessment includes among other things:

• The employee’s affiliation to DTU prior to his or her stay abroad
• Duration of stay
• Whether the employee is expected to return to DTU after the stay abroad
• All relevant financial aspects
• Other relevant issues

Covering expenses in connection with a posting or permanent place of employment abroad

In connection with a posting or permanent place of employment abroad, a decision must be made as to whether DTU can and should cover your expenses. In addition, it is necessary to agree specifically which expenses DTU covers. It is therefore important that the management of the department/office involves the Office for Budget and Accounting (AØR) before reaching a final agreement.

In addition, a number of other issues, for example tax, social security, as well as residence and work permits, must be taken into consideration in connection with a posting and/or permanent place of employment abroad. Corporate HR assists the departments/offices in this respect.

It is recommended that the planning of a posting/permanent place of employment abroad starts no less than six months prior to departure, as a number of issues, as mentioned above, must be clarified.

Guidelines for permanent or part-time employment abroad

In the latest years there has been an increasing tendency for institutes and employees to agree on forms of employment where the employee works entirely or partly from the home country or another country, other than Denmark.

DTU management notes that it can be difficult for an employee who is never or extremely rarely physically present on campus to integrate DTU's research and teaching environment, get to know the DTU culture and colleagues, and acquire DTU's core values. Furthermore, DTU management notes the many practical and administrative challenges when an employee is to be employed abroad.

It has therefore been decided by the executive board that employment with permanent or part-time employment abroad can only be considered in special cases:

1. Permanent or part-time employment abroad is limited to cases where such employment is primarily in DTU's long-term interests, and is not solely due to the employee's personal circumstances/wishes.
2. There is a requirement that the employee has a minimum percentage of employment at DTU, as a starting point 20% of a full-time norm, just as there is a requirement for a certain degree of physical presence at DTU.
3. Permanent or partial employment abroad is reserved for key employees
4. Requests for employment of employees with permanent or part-time employment abroad must be justified in writing and sent to Group HR.