Working with Professionals from Abroad: Which Rules Apply in the EU and the US
No. In the EU and the US, the rules on supplying workers, payroll tax and social security apply to work done in the client's own country. When a professional works from their own country, those rules do not apply to the work, and no payroll tax or social contributions are due in the client's country. Tunga's professionals work remotely from their own country, as independent contractors or employed there through an employer of record, and Tunga, a company based in the Netherlands, is the client's contracting party. The Dutch Wtta admission scheme for suppliers of workers, for example, does not apply to work done outside the Netherlands.
Which country's rules apply when someone works for you from abroad?
The rules around work are tied to the place where the work is physically done. Tunga has looked into this in depth, because it sits at the heart of how Tunga works, and the principle is the same across the EU and the US:
- Labour law is that of the country where the person habitually works (in the EU: Rome I Regulation, article 8).
- Income tax on pay for work is due in the country where the person lives, unless the work is done in another country (OECD Model Tax Convention, article 15). An independent contractor is taxed where their business is based (article 7).
- Social security follows the country where the work is done (in the EU: Regulation 883/2004).
- Rules for supplying workers, such as licences for staffing agencies, are national. They apply to agencies operating in that country and to work done there.
The EU's rules on posted workers follow the same logic. Posted workers are employees whom their employer sends to work in another member state for a period, such as an engineer from a Portuguese company working at a client's site in Belgium. The host country's rules on pay and working conditions apply to them because they physically work there.
What this means for a company in the EU
For a company in Ireland, Sweden or the Netherlands, a professional working from Kenya, Nigeria or Côte d'Ivoire is outside the scope of its national rules on hiring and supplying workers. The company does not register the person, withholds no payroll tax and pays no social contributions for them. Tunga contracts and pays the professional, directly or through an employer of record, and handles compliance in their country.
What this means for a company in the US
The US applies the same principle. Federal wage-and-hour law does not cover work done in a workplace in a foreign country (Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 213(f)). Pay for services performed outside the US is foreign-source income (26 U.S.C. 862(a)(3)), so no US payroll tax is withheld on it.
An example: the Netherlands, the Wtta and NEN 4400
The Netherlands has some of the strictest rules in the EU on supplying workers. The Waadi sets the rules for supplying workers, and the Wtta adds an admission scheme: suppliers need a licence before they can operate. Many Dutch companies also ask their suppliers for the NEN 4400 quality mark.
Both laws concern work done in the Netherlands. During the parliamentary process, the government told the Senate that the admission requirement depends on where the work is done: when the worker works outside the Netherlands, no Dutch admission is needed (Kamerstukken I 2024/25, 36446, F). This also holds when the client is Dutch and directs the work. For a Dutch company working with Tunga's professionals, the Wtta therefore does not apply.
Tunga also looked into NEN 4400 certification. The standard checks matters such as minimum wage, holiday entitlement and the right to work in the Netherlands for the people supplied. For professionals who work from abroad, those checks have nothing to apply to, so the certification does not fit how Tunga works.
How Tunga's professionals work with your team
- Contracted in their own country, as independent contractors or, where that suits the role better, employed there through an employer of record. Either way, they work remotely for your team from their own country.
- One contracting party. Tunga, based in the Netherlands, is your contracting party: one contract under Dutch law and one invoice a month.
- Compliance in the professional's country. Tunga handles contracts, payments and compliance there.
- You direct the work, as with anyone on your team.
When other rules apply
- Work on site. If someone comes to work at your premises, for some days or for a period, your country's rules apply to that work. Tunga's professionals work remotely.
- A procurement process that requires a local licence or quality mark from every supplier, with no room to assess a supplier whose people work entirely abroad.
Where Tunga fits
Tunga takes the staffing side off the plate of companies that need digital professionals: software engineers, AI operators, product managers and other digital roles, from across Africa. The client directs the work. Tunga handles finding and vetting, contracts, payments and compliance, onboarding, keeping people, and replacing them when someone leaves or it isn't working. The professionals are independent freelancers contracted by Tunga and work remotely from their own country; the client has one contract, with Tunga, and a delivery manager who checks in with both sides. In 2025, about 1 in 56 placements ended because the professional left for another job. Founded in 2015; 3,500 professionals across 38 African countries and 300+ client companies, as of September 2026.
Tunga is not the right fit when the role has to be on site, when the work means talking to your clients in a language other than English or French, or when saving on cost is the main reason you're looking.
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