Just 12% felt that the pandemic will trigger a fundamental rethink on mobility and 20% believed that the number of international moves will decrease in the future as a result of this crisis, according to PwC Global Mobility Pulse survey ran of more than 350 companies in 37 countries globally. So, 44% of respondents said they’ll return to business as usual as soon as possible with the same number of moves.

Although many relocations have been postponed, 58% of surveyed companies said they were allowing employees to start new roles from their home country. Two-thirds of companies who had employees on secondment or transfer at the outset of the pandemic had offered them the option of returning home.

”The coronavirus outbreak continues to evolve and influence how we do business and the way we work. As many countries now begin to review the travel restrictions that have been put in place, the impact on mobile employees and their employers continues to have an impact. But, according to the survey, despite the current disruption, strategic mobility projects remain a priority for the vast majority of companies that are optimistic about continuing mobility plans after the lockdown period”, said Daniel Anghel, Partner and Tax and Legal Services Leader of PwC Romania.

Learn more about relocations, back to office, and more at BR’s Realty Forum: register here to watch the event online, Thursday, June 25, live from the Suter Palace in Bucharest.

In this context, 40% of companies told the pandemic has had a moderate or significant impact on the ability of mobile employees to continue with business as usual. More than half (53%) of the companies surveyed said that mobile employees worked from home in the lockdown and 33% said that their presence was needed to the work site.

“Both the OECD and the European Commission have issued recommendations on establishing specific procedures for these workers so that there is a coordinated approach between states. Following the example of other states, Romania should have taken into account these recommendations and implemented special fiscal and social security measures for people who could no longer leave Romania due to travel restrictions and who continued to be present and / or work from our country. In the absence of these measures, these people risk owing in Romania income tax and social contributions that, perhaps, they wouldn’t have owed if it were not for this exceptional situation generated by the pandemic and could have left Romania”, said Irina Nistor, Director of Global Mobility Professionals PwC Romania.

PwC ran the pulse survey of more than 350 companies in 37 countries, from North America, Middle East, Latin America, UK, Central/Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Western Europe and Africa, to assess the impact of COVID-19 on global mobility.