81% of Employers Plan to Expand Overseas Workforces

Jan de Vries · 2026-05-19

A new study from employee benefits firm Everywhen shows that 81% of UK-based employers with overseas staff plan to increase their international workforce. A quarter of these businesses expect to do so within the next year, and 72% aim to expand within five years. On average, companies plan to boost their overseas employee count by 25%. Sarah Dennis, head of international at Everywhen, says: "It is great that businesses are expecting to further expand overseas. It is, however, vital that the right support is put in place before employees mobilise." She adds that support must be adaptable and scalable, especially with so many variables in play. ### The Challenge of Going Global Expanding overseas isn't just about hiring more people. You've got to deal with different legal requirements, manage varied employee expectations, and handle different types of risk. When you're adding employees quickly, your existing systems need to be able to keep up. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for trouble. One big issue? Scalability. Around 12% of large companies (250+ employees) say they're not sure if they'll increase their overseas workforce. That uncertainty means any support you put in place has to be flexible. A region might suddenly take off, and you'll need to hire fast. If your benefits aren't scalable, you'll struggle. ### Making Health and Wellbeing Work Health and wellbeing support doesn't have to be complicated to be scalable. For example, offering a global Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) lets any number of future employees get help when they need it. You also have to remember how fast things can change—for countries, for companies, and for individuals. ### Covering All the Risks When you're sending people overseas, you can't just think about health risks. Medical cover is essential, and global medical insurance is way better than travel insurance for employees based abroad. But there are other risks too, like kidnap, political unrest, and bad weather. International benefits experts can help you plan for these. ### Balancing Benefits for Different Employees Some companies hire overseas nationals instead of sending UK employees abroad. But you've got to balance their benefits with what you offer to employees posted from the UK. They don't have to be identical, but they do need to be appropriate for each group. ### Using Benefits for Recruitment and Retention Good benefits are a huge help when you're recruiting and keeping talent. Global employees expect to be taken care of, and that means a solid health and wellbeing package. If you have that in place before you start hiring, you'll stand out. In a competitive market, it can make all the difference. ### Planning Ahead Sarah Dennis says: "We're typically putting in three- to five-year plans to support global companies." She adds that companies need to project what support to offer—both to meet need and to be competitive—and the likely costs. "Employers who have plans to recruit overseas need to think about how they're going to support those employees. And the earlier they plan, the better." Bottom line: expanding overseas is exciting, but it takes real planning. Get your benefits and risk management right from the start, and you'll be set for growth.