Balancing flexibility and compliance: Pantheon's strategic approach to work from abroad

🔎 ABOUT PANTHEON

A need for structured flexibility in a post-pandemic workplace

During the pandemic, Pantheon, a leading private markets investor firm, achieved extraordinary business results over two years of largely remote operations, demonstrating that remarkable performance is possible even in a fully remote setup. This success highlighted the potential of flexible work arrangements. In response to the evolving workplace dynamics post-COVID, Pantheon sought to formalize its approach to hybrid home working and international remote work.

Headquartered in the UK and with a significant presence in the US and Asia, the firm wanted a solution that aligned with its hybrid working philosophy and effectively addressed the complexities of international remote work arrangements.

🔥 CHALLENGE

Balancing employee flexibility with regulatory compliance

Pantheon faced several key challenges in implementing their work from abroad program:

• Post-pandemic adaptation: A number of employees had been working from abroad during COVID, there was increasing demand for continued international work flexibility, particularly for family visits and extended stays in holiday destinations.
• Managing regulatory complexity: The company needed to address permanent establishment risks, payroll risk, tax implications, and compliance and regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
• Cost of legal consultation: Experience showed that obtaining individual legal, compliance and tax advice for each work from abroad request at scale would be financially unsustainable.

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🎉 SOLUTION

Implementing WorkFlex as a foundation for the work from abroad program

Pantheon took a proactive approach by identifying WorkFlex as their solution before launching their work from abroad program. The platform was chosen for its:

• Comprehensive risk assessment: The intuitive risk reports help identify potential issues across different jurisdictions.
• Cost-effective compliance management: The platform provides a scalable solution for managing the compliance of work from abroad arrangements without the need for case-by-case legal consultations.
• Streamlined processes: Integration of single sign-on capabilities and an intuitive user experience of the platform have created an efficient approval workflow between employees, managers, and HR.

The risk reports that we get from the system are really intuitive and easy to follow. It makes it easy to understand where the risk flags are. It just makes life easier for us on the HR side.

James Conradi, Head of HR, EMEA & APAC at Pantheon Ventures

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🎯 RESULTS

Enhanced employee experience and operational efficiency

The implementation of WorkFlex has delivered significant benefits for Pantheon:

• Improved work-life balance: Employees can extend stay in holiday destinations or spend more time with family abroad while maintaining their work responsibilities.
• Strong Employee Value Proposition (“EVP”) enhancement: The program has become a valuable addition to Pantheon's EVP of hybrid working in a sector that is typified by more rigorous requirements for increased office attendance .
• Risk mitigation: The platform provides peace of mind through comprehensive risk assessments and insurance coverage.

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WorkFlex has a relatively low cost for the kind of impact it can have. In the market, from an engagement and retention perspective, the work-from-abroad program, paired with our established hybrid working model, is a really valued benefit. It’s been really impactful at Pantheon.
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James Conradi, Head of HR, EMEA & APAC at Pantheon Ventures