I have done this from 2015-2020 for two different US based startups. The most recent one got acquired by an entity that has a German HQ and I'm now attached to that.
Both startups were Bay area based, around 50-100 people in size. Comp was about five to ten percent below bay area standards but I was making north of $180k/yr in the end.
Setup was similar to yours. I was treated as a contractor. There were a few things I had to do to make this legal on the German side but not overly complicated.
Got to travel a lot (including a round the world trip in 2017 while working remotely) and frequent visits to the US were the norm.
Could you please point to how to make such an arrangement legal in Germany? I thought itβs only allowed for 18 months to work as a contractor only for one company?
Or please send me a brief email, I have been looking for quite a while for a solution to this.
Following this. I just started working remotely for a US based company while living in Germany. Thought this was perfectly fine as long as I register as a "freelancer" in Germany?
If you are a "freelancer" that in fact works full time for a single client, especially if the "service" you provide is to personally perform unspecified tasks for a certain number of hours per week, then this is known as "fake self-employment" and is illegal.
A true freelancer generally completes individual work packages for multiple clients, and is free to complete the work any way they like, for instance by subcontracting it to another suitably qualified person.
If it were legal, all employers would declare all their employees "freelancers" and therby evade all employment regulations regarding notice periods, dismissal, vacation, sick pay, parental leave etc.
Your "employer" needs to employ you according to German labor laws either via their own German subsidiary, or an employer of record.
Both startups were Bay area based, around 50-100 people in size. Comp was about five to ten percent below bay area standards but I was making north of $180k/yr in the end.
Setup was similar to yours. I was treated as a contractor. There were a few things I had to do to make this legal on the German side but not overly complicated.
Got to travel a lot (including a round the world trip in 2017 while working remotely) and frequent visits to the US were the norm.