Policy on Global Mobility

Policy Number: 428

Human Resources

The permanent link for this policy is: https://policies.northeastern.edu/policy428/

I. Purpose and Scope

This policy provides a framework for mobility compliance across the university. It governs both international and domestic assignments for eligible staff and faculty and the hiring of international workers to comply with international and domestic labor standards, immigration, tax, and other regulations governed by country jurisdictions. This policy applies to all university staff and faculty globally.

II. Definitions

Domestic Assignment means an operational or academic project allotted to those working for Northeastern that involves changing locations within the same country as their System-assigned Work Location.

International Assignment means an operational or academic project allotted to those working for Northeastern that involves working in a country different than where they were originally hired or are currently assigned.

International Worker means an individual who is not a Northeastern employee but is an employee of a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) that Northeastern contracts with in a country where Northeastern does not have the legal presence required to employ the individual.

Professional Service Agreement (PSA) means a type of contract most often used for consulting or independent contracting work that is specialized or customized for Northeastern, typically involving the delivery of a final work product and/or the creation of intellectual property. PSAs usually involve work that occurs over a period of weeks or months and include one or more Statements of Work (SOWs).

Relocation means an employee (including a new-hire employee) who, after receiving university approval (e.g., assignment, appointment, or other university operational or academic need), physically moves near a Northeastern location that will become their System-assigned Work Location.

System-assigned Work Location means the address, city/municipality, county, state/province, and country designated in Northeastern’s Workday system as an individual’s work location.

Transfer means an employee who, for a short-term or long-term assignment, is asked by Northeastern to change both their physical and System-assigned Work Location to another Northeastern facility.

III. Policy

The Global Mobility Program Office (GMPO) in Human Resources oversees mobility needs for the Northeastern University network. The university recognizes the following three categories of employee-based mobility:

A. Transfer/Relocation of Employees

B. Engagement via a PEO

C. Temporary Remote Work Requests for Employees

A.  Transfer/Relocation of Employees

Full-time staff and faculty moving from their System-assigned Work Location to another work location are considered employee transfers or relocations.

1. Transfers are of two types:

a. Short-term assignments: six months or less.

b. Long-term assignments: longer than six months.

2. Transfers and relocations are for operational or academic needs required by the college or division. The GMPO accepts transfer or relocation
requests only from HR employees or managers/leaders of the college or division.

3. Work in a new location shall not commence until all requisite approvals have been secured. Transfer or relocation requests require review by the
GMPO and approval by the applicable division senior vice president or equivalent authority. Final authorization is contingent on confirmation of any
required right-to-work documentation and approval from the hosting location.

4. Note that staff and faculty who intend to conduct research in a new location may be subject to Northeastern’s Policy on External International
Engagements. These staff and faculty should consult with NU-RES Research Compliance per the policy prior to departing from their current
location.

B. Engagement via a PEO

Northeastern University partners with PEOs that administer employer services for international workers in roles that are required to fulfill specific university operational needs in countries where the university does not have the legal presence required to employ the individual.

1. PEOs administer the employment relationship according to local and applicable international labor standards and serve as the employer of record.
2. An individual working under a PEO arrangement is an employee of the PEO, not an employee of Northeastern University.
3. The university may support PEO hirings for up to 12 months. PEO arrangements that extend (or are renewed) beyond the initial 12-month period are
  subject to additional review and approval by the department/division head as well as the GMPO.

C.  Temporary Remote Work Requests for Employees

1. The university may grant temporary remote work requests for employees who seek to work outside their System-assigned Work Location. The
  length of these requests can be up to 45 days in a calendar year, subject to employment authorization requirements in the new location. Remote
  work requests often involve unique personal situations such as looking after a family member or emergencies.
2. The GMPO will work with legal, tax, and mobility teams to review the circumstances of each temporary remote work request. All such requests must
  be submitted by the employee’s direct management chain and are not granted unless approved by both the GMPO and the relevant division senior
  vice president or equivalent.
3. Requests to temporarily work remotely in a suspended or high-risk country are subject to further review and often denied.
4. If an employee is granted a temporary remote work request, and a host-country holiday does not align with the holidays in the employee’s primary
  country of employment, the employee must use Paid Time Off or Personal Days if they want to observe the host-country holiday.
5. Employees and their direct managers are responsible for consulting with the Office of Information Security prior to employee departure to discuss
  protecting the university from cybersecurity risks in the host countries. Requirements applicable to working in a host country will be outlined in
  detail in the approval letter.

Other global mobility requirements include:

- Northeastern faculty and staff must follow all laws of the countries in which they work, all policies of their employer if not a Northeastern employee (e.g., PEO), and all university policies, unless a policy conflicts with the law of a country where the employee is located. Any instance of a policy conflict like this should be raised to the Global Safety Operations Center (see Contact Information below).
- Fully remote, hybrid, or in-person employees who find they need to change their work location indefinitely for personal reasons must first receive approval from their department/division leaders. Managers who decide to initiate a request of this sort must start by obtaining the department head’s approval and then completing and submitting a Transfers and Relocations Request intake form. If the change of location is ultimately approved by the university, the employee is solely responsible (including costs) for completing all processes and obtaining all documentation necessary for working in the new location, including work permits or other immigration-related needs. The employee may not do any work outside their original work location until all required approvals have occurred and been documented.
- Regarding sabbaticals that involve international travel, faculty traveling outside the country in which they normally work should submit a Temporary Remote Work Request intake form to the GMPO for advice and consultation on work authorization requirements, taxation, and any other country-specific rules and regulations.
- Regarding PSAs, any Northeastern employee seeking to hire an international contractor must fulfill the requirements of the Policy on the Classification of Independent Contractors and then submit a PSA form to the GMPO.
- Northeastern is not a “remote anywhere” employer. Work location is determined by business needs and employees are expected to perform their work in their System-assigned Work Location and to reside in their System-assigned Primary Home location.

See the University Policies home page for important information on disciplinary and other actions that can result from violating this policy.

IV. Additional Information

N/A

V. Contact Information

Global Mobility Program Office (GMPO) for general questions regarding global mobility and the processes for requesting mobility, PEOs, PSAs for global mobility, etc. e-mail globalhires@northeastern.edu

Chief Information Security Officer for questions regarding IT device, systems access, and security while traveling outside the country in which the employee normally works e-mail ois@northeastern.edu

Global Safety Operations Center for traveler safety and travel registration-related matters e-mail mytravelplans@northeastern.edu; for conflicts between host-country laws and university policy e-mail NUGlobalOps@northeastern.edu or call +1-617-373-5000 (Canada/USA) or +44-20-3467-1773 (UK)

Export Control Officer (NU-RES) for questions regarding export control regulations e-mail exportcontrol@northeastern.edu

Office of General Counsel for questions regarding contracts e-mail OGCcontracts@northeastern.edu

Process for Engaging Independent Contractors

Supersedes

Policy on Global Mobility for Staff

Policy on Global Mobility for Faculty

Keywords

Transfer; Relocation; PEO; PSA; Work Remotely; Global; Mobility

Version History

Last Revision Date: October 15, 2025

Issued: December 20, 2023