Google asks staff remote working from abroad to return 

During the height of the pandemic, the firm allowed some of its staff to move abroad for personal reasons, such as returning to their home country, and continue working remotely

Google was one of the first major corporations to tell employees to work from home when the coronavirus began spreading in March. File picture: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Google advised workers companywide to return to the country where they are employed by the end of the year, according to a person familiar with the matter.

During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Google allowed some of its staff to move abroad for personal reasons, such as returning to their home country and continue working remotely. That policy is now coming to an end, but maybe open to review in high-risk areas, the source said. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.

Google was one of the first major corporations to tell employees to work from home when the coronavirus began spreading in March. It said in July that it will let employees do their jobs remotely for another year, pushing back plans to re-open offices. The company had previously said workers could stay home until the end of this year. However, In Ireland, Google’s European headquarters, many technology employees who temporarily left the country during the worst of the pandemic “have been asked to return by year-end, partly due to tax and legal reasons,” said Colin Grant, an analyst at Davy said.  

Mr Grant estimated as many as 30% of Google’s 7,000-strong Irish workforce had left during the pandemic. A person familiar with the matter said that figure is far too high. 

— Bloomberg