HACKER Q&A
📣 throw583029574

Negotiating remote start at big N company in times of Covid-19


I'm entering the workforce for the first time as a graduate, and am about to enter negotiations with one of the big tech companies. One of my goals for this negotiation is to agree that I will stay where I am for ~6 months and work remotely, and only relocate after it is clear that travel restrictions have disappeared for good. Specific questions:

* Is my goal of 6 months feasible or totally unrealistic?

* If you start working remotely, can the company force relocation in the future? Does this date have to be written into the contract or would there be an "advanced notice period"?

Context: I am located in Europe. The office is a few hours away from where I currently live, but across a country border. Starting remotely will have to happen at the moment because of travel restrictions, and this would require to have a contract of employment in my home country at the start. I do not want to relocate until travel restrictions are permanently lifted as I do not want to be cut off from my family here.

  👤 detaro Accepted Answer ✓
(I'm assuming we are talking about a company that is typically not remote, or at least not for entry-level employees. If a company has an established remote culture, it might very well be more flexible)

> this would require to have a contract of employment in my home country at the start

That could be a problem, or at least makes it more complicated. I would guess that if you intend to ultimately move to the office location, the company will prefer a contract for you there, with language allowing you to work remotely from elsewhere in the current situation.

> If you start working remotely, can the company force relocation in the future? Does this date have to be written into the contract or would there be an "advanced notice period"?

Same as above: I'd expect the contract to state that you're expected to work in the office unless granted permission otherwise, and the permission to be granted temporarily due to the current situation. The specific rule about how long this is will heavily depend on the company, but I would expect them to understand that you'd need time to organize a move etc which isn't possible currently. Presumably if they are talking to you now, they are in principle ok with onboarding someone who is remote, but it could be that they'd expect you to move within X weeks once the restrictions are cleared.