[ItsTooMuch]

No, your guess is wrong as I had no business license at the time and the local tax/insurance agency would come after me immediately (because nobody would've been paying my mandatory insurance).

I had 25 days of vacation (standard here, 5 days over minimum). The US company had to register with the local tax agency - there is a standard procedure for this situation. Applicable labor law is based on physical location specified in contract so my local law had to be followed.

You don't usually sue companies for violation of labor laws here - you go to the labor agency and complain, then they sort it out. I didn't have any problems though, so I don't know much about this.

[em-bee]

in germany/austria i don't need a business license to be a sole proprietor. i just need to report my income and pay the relevant income taxes.

suing was meant to be a stand in for any way to sort out complaints. how does your labor agency force a remote company to comply with your laws? in particular how would they deal with wrongful termination?

maybe we are talking about the same thing, and there is just a difference of what you or me consider a contract vs employment.

may i ask what is your country? the US company registering with your tax agency is interesting. that may make all the difference. i'd like to know more about that.

[ItsTooMuch]

I'm in Czechia.

I really don't know more about resolving complaints as I haven't had any problems. I guess at some point things would go to courts.

Employment is the thing that's defined as employment by the labor law, where the employer signs an employment contract with you and then pays you salary and sorts out your taxes/insurance... Contracting is having a business licence and sending invoices to a customer - with zero relation to labor law. In particular, no concept of vacation, and you pay your own taxes and insurance.

[em-bee]

employment for me is what gives me the right to holidays, employer contributions to insurance, overtime pay and protection against unlawful termination.

this is why i consider any remote employment a contract:

you have to pay all taxes yourself, there are no employer contributions (you just have to negotiate a higher salary).

you have no legal means to force the remote company to follow local employment laws, other than an international contract dispute.

it is possible that some countries make it easier to treat a remote job as employment by simplifying taxes or easier access to unemployment benefits, compared to a truly self-employed person.

it may be that czechia offers that. given that it is part of the EU it would actually be interesting to know if other countries offer that as well, or if it is even based on some EU wide regulation.

there may also be specific treaties between countries that support this.