In this episode of Growth Spotlight, we spoke with Tomm Adams, Global Mobility Expert and Partner at Blick Rothenberg, about one of the most overlooked challenges in startup expansion: international hiring and employee benefits. While many founders focus on sales, funding, and go-to-market plans when entering a new country, few consider the operational risks and compliance pitfalls that come with hiring across borders.
With cross-border hiring and remote work on the rise, startups face more than just operational complexity—they also face reputational and financial risks if they get it wrong. Drawing on his experience advising both startups and global enterprises, Tomm shares what founders need to know early—from tax exposure and immigration to benefit parity and employee wellbeing.
Startups expanding internationally often focus on commercial viability but overlook the people-side infrastructure required to support growth. We asked Tomm to share where companies typically go wrong when it comes to structuring employee benefits across borders.
What are the biggest mistakes you see companies make when structuring employee benefits for international hires?
As Tomm points out, it’s not just about setting up payroll or filing taxes. It’s about knowing what’s required by law and what’s expected by market practice.
For instance, countries like the UK and Switzerland mandate employer contributions to pensions, and other countries may require employers to facilitate or fund health insurance. But even where benefits aren't mandatory, failing to meet market norms can deter top talent. And if a benefit is introduced prematurely, it’s often difficult to reverse without harming morale or even creating labour law issues.
Tomm also highlighted a compliance blind spot: many startups consult legal advisors who list minimum requirements but miss local customs and expectations or fail to address interaction with social security schemes. This gap can leave early hires under-supported or expose the company to risk.
Relocating an employee may seem like the fast track to establishing presence in a new country, but Tomm cautions that it often triggers unintended liabilities.
What key challenges do startups face when relocating employees internationally, and how can they address them effectively?
From immigration compliance and right-to-work documentation to host-country payroll tax and the creation of a corporate taxable entity, the process is riddled with complexity. Even paying an employee remotely in Turkish lira while they work from the UK could generate tax exposure and reporting obligations.
Tomm strongly advises startups to consult advisors with an international lens—ideally, those who can collaborate across jurisdictions to help balance home and host country requirements. Without this, founders risk falling foul of local regulations and creating more problems than solutions.
Two decades ago, international assignments typically meant home-based expat contracts—employers kept the worker on their original payroll and offered allowances to offset foreign costs, including housing, tax equalisation, and living expenses. These packages were 4 to 7 times more expensive than hiring locally.
Today, that’s changed. Most companies, especially startups, are shifting to host-based assignments, hiring employees on local contracts with local terms. This approach is leaner and reduces the risk of compliance errors.
Given your background in global mobility, how has the landscape of expat assignments changed with the rise of remote work and digital nomad visas?
Tomm Adams 3.mp4
Tomm also highlighted the surge in remote work and digital nomadism, giving employees greater freedom over where they live and work. However, that doesn’t remove employer responsibility. Companies still need to track locations, assess their duty of care, and prepare for repatriation if emergencies occur. Remote doesn’t mean hands-off.
According to Tomm, startups should build a global benefits strategy from the outset. That doesn’t necessarily mean standardisation; it means intention.
Early on, startups can adopt a compliance-first approach: meet local requirements, but hold off on excessive perks. As the company expands into multiple countries, discrepancies in benefit structures become harder to ignore.
At what stage should a startup or scaleup start thinking about formalising international employee benefits programs?
Employees will naturally compare, and if there's no consistency or rationale, trust can erode.
Some solutions Tomm suggests:
Startups don’t need to offer everything upfront, but they do need a structure that scales.
Modern employees, especially younger, global teams, value autonomy and personalisation over one-size-fits-all perks. Traditional benefits like pensions still matter, but they don’t carry the same emotional weight they once did.
What innovative approaches have you seen startups take in offering benefits that appeal to globally distributed teams?
Tomm shared examples of what forward-thinking startups are offering:
Rather than investing in costly infrastructure or blanket benefits that only serve some, companies are empowering employees to choose what matters to them.
Tomm’s parting message focused on building the right foundations early. For startups hiring internationally, that means developing a global mindset from the beginning, even if the initial focus is simply staying compliant in each country. Early planning allows for more flexibility and fewer surprises as the business scales.
Compliance, tax, and benefits are not side tasks, they’re strategic levers for growth. Startups can’t afford to treat them as afterthoughts. A solid foundation in these areas builds investor confidence, employee trust, and organisational resilience.
With careful planning and global-minded advisors, startups can grow internationally without losing control. Culture, clarity, and compliance go hand in hand.
Stay tuned for our next Growth Spotlight episode, where we continue sharing grounded, real-world insights from founders and advisors across the startup ecosystem.
