Customer Success Story: Webrepublic & Vamoz

How Webrepublic made workation a living part of its culture

Webrepublic is a digital marketing agency with offices in Zurich and Cape Town. Around 200 employees from roughly 25 nations serve clients across many languages and markets. Many team members have family abroad – including those who grew up in Switzerland. Since 2022, Webrepublic has used Vamoz to offer workation: temporarily working from another country.

The starting point: an international team with roots all over the world

At Webrepublic, being international is part of everyday life. Teams work across languages for their clients, colleagues come from all over the world, and family often lives in another country.

Workation lets them spend more time with family or broaden their horizons without having to take vacation every time.

It simply gives flexibility in everyday life – to broaden your horizons, but also to be with your family without always having to request vacation straight away.

Julia Reuthe
Strategic Lead Recruiting / Sr People Partner, Webrepublic

For Webrepublic, the benefit pays off twice: in the satisfaction and retention of the existing team, and in employer branding when recruiting.

In recruiting, it's an absolute benefit. We can say: we know you're from Germany, from Austria or from somewhere else – and that it matters to be able to visit your family. We make that possible for you.

Julia Reuthe

The challenge: legal certainty without in-house lawyers

Julia knows the topic from the time before Vamoz, too. At her previous employer, a small startup with many international employees, she had to clarify every request herself – with no budget for external advice and no lawyers to turn to.

The key challenges were:

• Every case was different: a new country, a new visa situation, a new mix of social security, tax and employment law
• Knowledge went out of date quickly, because laws and agreements change constantly
• Even the HR network rarely had clear answers
• Each case took at least a full day of research and paperwork
• Despite all the effort, some uncertainty always remained

A day definitely went into it. In that time I could have run payroll twice, or supported another employee's case.

Julia Reuthe

On top of that, authorities are looking more closely than during the pandemic. Exceptions that were tolerated back then no longer apply.

Ignorance is no protection from penalties. You really have to make sure it's right in the end.

Julia Reuthe

The solution: Vamoz handles the assessment, the A1 certificate & follow-ups

At Webrepublic, employees submit their workation request directly in Vamoz. Managers approve it, Vamoz assesses the legal situation for the country in question and takes care of the A1 certificate – the form that proves someone remains covered by Swiss social security while abroad. HR just takes a quick final look and signs off.

Previously, the process ran through a Google Form. Today it's clear how it works, and most employees know exactly what to click.

By now it's genuinely the smallest task I have in a week. I take a quick look to see whether any cases have come in. You do the assessment, and then I just click – done.

Julia Reuthe

Julia especially values the support: competent answers that make sense to non-lawyers, and a team that follows up on cases proactively.

I rarely work with tools where support answers this directly, competently and to the point. That's not even fake bragging – it really is the case.

Julia Reuthe

When a destination is missing: the Faroe Islands

One employee wanted to travel to the Faroe Islands, but the destination couldn't be selected in the tool yet. After a short request, the Vamoz legal team reviewed the legal situation and activated the country within about three weeks. Julia was informed as soon as it went live, without having to chase it.

I was like: how great! And went straight to my colleague: you can enter it, you can travel, all good – you don't need to worry about a thing.

Julia Reuthe

Even a no can land well

Not every wish can be granted. One employee wanted to do a workation in South Africa together with a colleague from the Cape Town team. The assessment showed that, because she hadn't lived in Switzerland long enough, it wasn't legally possible.

HR and the Vamoz legal team looked for alternatives together. In the end, the answer was still no – but the employee fully understood.

She said: I've seen your effort on all sides. You can't change the law.

Julia Reuthe

For Webrepublic, this means: never just reject a request, but check the reasons, explain them transparently and look for alternatives. In cases like this, the limit is set by the countries, not by the company.

The benefits

1. More time for real HR work

Instead of a day of research per case, Julia now needs around five minutes per week. The time she saves goes into topics where her expertise is really needed.

It simply frees up capacity for where my expertise actually lies – supporting the team, and not as a lawyer.

Julia Reuthe

2. Peace of mind instead of a bad gut feeling

When it comes to workation, Julia no longer gives compliance a second thought, because she knows it's covered. She no longer has to memorize or document the knowledge herself.

3. A strong argument in recruiting

At Webrepublic, workation is a core part of employer branding and in high demand among candidates.

4. Happy employees

Since the launch, there hasn't been a single complaint. Many employees use the benefit several times, including long-standing team members and top performers.

Super happy. There are clear rules, a clear setup, and it's really fast. It's genuinely smooth sailing – for HR and for the team members.

Julia Reuthe

Best practices: what Webrepublic recommends to other companies

Workation and office culture aren't mutually exclusive. Webrepublic deliberately has a strong office culture, with an office people enjoy spending time in. Workation complements it as an additional benefit.

Clarify the framework upfront. Webrepublic extended its existing policies and set a workation budget in days. Travel outside the EU and EFTA is deliberately limited to stay legally compliant. That way, approval works much like approving vacation.

Over-communicate rather than under-communicate. Explain clearly once what the tool covers, and encourage employees to contact Vamoz support directly with questions.

Just try it. Once the framework is in place, the topic is less complicated than many people think.

Any company that still has a bad gut feeling about this topic should look for an external solution. Make your work easier and don't take on a risk you don't need to.

Julia Reuthe

Conclusion: flexibility that fits the culture

With Vamoz, Webrepublic offers an international team flexibility that is actually used – legally compliant, with minimal effort for HR, and with a support team that makes even unusual requests possible.

The story shows: workation is more than a benefit. For many employees, it means time with family. For the company, it's a part of the culture that attracts and retains talent.