Our cooperative member in Spain

When Mikel joined Tegonal, he lived and worked in Switzerland — just like the rest of the team. That was the case for several years. When he decided to move back to Spain, we needed to find an arrangement that works for both sides.

As we soon found out, employing someone from another country isn't as straightforward as we'd hoped. Beyond the paperwork, it also raises fundamental questions about equality and the spirit of the cooperative. Rather than set up a foreign subsidiary for one person, we found a simpler path: Mikel runs his own company in Spain and works with us as a subcontractor.

To make sure this arrangement is fair, we cover the equivalent of Swiss employer social contributions — the same he'd receive if he were working from our office in Bern. He carries the administrative overhead of running his own company, but he shouldn't carry the financial disadvantage.

Most importantly: Mikel remains a full cooperative member. Equal vote, equal share — regardless of which country he's in.