International employees and National Insurance

HMRC has updated its guidance on new employees coming to work from abroad in the UK – specifically it has clarified when employees are exempt from National Insurance contributions (NICs).

It confirmed that employees from a country outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland, or a country which does not have a Reciprocal Agreement (RA) or Double Contribution Convention (DCC) with the UK, are exempt from paying NICs for the first 52 weeks of their employment here provided that:

• they’re not ordinarily resident in the UK
• they normally work outside the UK for a foreign employer
• they’re sent to work in the UK for a time by that foreign employer
• when in the UK they continue to work for that employer.