Secondment
What is a secondment?
A secondment temporarily moves an employee from their usual role to work with a different team, department, or partner organization, while their original employer typically keeps them on payroll throughout. It's a defined, time-limited arrangement, not a permanent transfer, and everyone involved knows from the outset when it's expected to end.
Companies use a secondment to share knowledge across teams, support a joint venture, or give someone hands-on experience in a different part of the business without the complexity of a full, permanent international move.
Why secondment gets tricky across borders
A secondment sounds simple until the "different location" is a different country entirely. If a company wants to second an employee into an Indian team for six months, that employee still needs to be legally, compliantly employed and paid in a way that satisfies Indian labor law during that period, even though the arrangement is meant to be temporary.
Trying to keep someone on a home-country payroll while they're physically working in India for an extended stretch can create tax residency and compliance complications that most companies aren't set up to handle on their own.
How an EOR makes secondment actually workable
kaam.work can employ a seconded worker in India for the duration of their assignment, handling local payroll, tax, and compliance requirements while the original relationship with their home company stays intact for when the secondment ends. This turns an otherwise complicated cross-border secondment into something that's genuinely manageable, rather than a compliance risk the company is hoping nobody notices.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a secondment the same as a permanent international transfer?
- No. A secondment is time-limited by design, with an agreed end date, while a permanent transfer typically has no planned return to the original role or location.
- Who pays a seconded employee, the original employer or the host company?
- This varies by arrangement, but the employee generally needs to be compliantly employed wherever they're physically working during the secondment, regardless of who's ultimately funding the salary.
- Can a company second someone into India without a local entity?
- Yes, using an Employer of Record avoids the need to set up a local entity just to compliantly employ someone during a temporary secondment.
- How long does a typical secondment last?
- It varies considerably by purpose, ranging from a few months to a year or more, though the arrangement is understood as temporary from the start either way
