An employer of record (EOR) offers a wide suite of services and solutions for managing global employment and payroll. Here are our picks for the best EOR services.
7 Best Employer of Record Services for 2024
This article is part of a larger series on Payroll Services.
Usually used for companies with international payroll, an effective EOR service can take a lot of stress and busywork off your plate so you can concentrate on expanding your business. We looked for the best employer of record services, compared their pricing and offerings, and selected those that operate in multiple countries, offer special plans for contractors, and can handle payroll and hiring.
The seven top employer of record companies for small businesses are:
- Remote: Best overall employer of record and for protecting your intellectual property (IP)
- Rippling: Best EOR for automated global compliance
- Deel: Best for payment flexibility and immigration services
- Papaya Global: Best for budget-minded businesses hiring international contractors
- Multiplier: Best low-cost EOR service
- OysterHR: Best for growing companies looking for a flexible EOR package
- Globalization Partners: Best for hiring internationally
Looking for an all-in-one HR & Payroll platform for your global team? Easily hire and pay employees and contractors in 140+ countries using Rippling. |
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Best Employer of Record Services Compared
Monthly pricing (per employee) | Setup Fee | Plan for Contract Employees ($/Month) | Number of Countries | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
None | $29 per worker | 180+ | 4.45 out of 5 | ||
None | 150+ | 4.85 out of 5 | |||
Starts at $599 | None | Starts at $49 per worker | 150+ | 4.65 out of 5 | |
Starts at $650 | ✓ | Starts at $30 per worker | 160+ | 4.45 out of 5 | |
Starts at $400 | None | $40 per worker | 150+ | 4.65 out of 5 | |
None | Starts at $29 per worker | 130+ | 4.45 out of 5 | ||
Call for quote | ✓ (added to price) | Call for quote | 187+ | 4.70 out of 5 | |
Do you only need to pay your global workforce? Check out our list of top international payroll services to find more suitable options. If you’re unsure which provider to select, read our guide to finding the right payroll solution for your business.
Remote: Best Overall EOR & for IP Protection
Pros
- Strong IP protection
- Offers a 90-day money-back guarantee to new customers; with discounts for refugee hiring and nonprofits
- Free HR information system (HRIS) for managing staff information, onboarding, expense claims, paid time off (PTO), and time tracking
- Available in 180+ countries
Cons
- Payroll and onboarding cutoff deadline of 11th each month (except for Bulgaria, Germany, and countries that have semi-monthly payroll)
- Doesn’t assign a dedicated customer service manager (CSM) to clients
- Email and chat support only
Plans & Pricing
- Free HRIS: $0
- Employer of Record: Starts at $699 per employee monthly ($599 per employee monthly if billed annually)
- Includes automated employee payments, hiring and legal compliance management, employee benefits, invention and IP rights protection, and access to local HR/legal experts
- Contractor Management: $29 per worker monthly
- Includes contractor payroll tools
- Global Payroll: $50 per employee monthly
- Includes payroll services, invention and IP rights protection, and legal compliance management
Remote is one of the top employer of record companies because of its excellent toolset, as well as its emphasis on protecting intellectual property and educating its clients on the challenges of managing employees internationally. As a bonus, it offers free services for any refugees you hire (up to 10 employees only)! We chose it as best for IP protection, but it’s a great choice even if you aren’t dealing with intellectual property.
This provider topped our list, earning an overall rating of 4.45 out of 5 in our evaluation. It earned excellent scores throughout, with perfect marks for HR tools. It lost a few points in support because it doesn’t provide dedicated account managers to all of its clients; otherwise, support is via email and chat. However, real-world users who left feedback on popular review sites, like G2 and Capterra, gave it an average score of 4.45 out of 5—not as high as most on our list, but still outstanding.
Remote Standout Features
- Special plans for nonprofits, startups, and companies hiring refugees: Similar to Oyster, Remote offers its EOR services for free (up to 10 employees) if you’re hiring refugees. Eligible startups and social purpose organizations also get 15% off the contractor management package and 15% off the EOR option (if on an annual plan).
- Payroll: Pay your employees in local currency and even crypto (something only Papaya, Rippling, Deel, and Multiplier do). Remote supports over 100 currencies in more than 180 nations—and it does not charge interchange fees, which can save you money. It can handle bonus and incentive payments for international staff and even supports the Dutch 30% ruling With this ruling, qualified highly skilled migrants who moved to the Netherlands for specific jobs get tax-free allowances equal to a maximum of 30% of their gross salary. . However, you need to get your payroll done by the 11th of each month for it to reflect (this doesn’t apply to countries that require a semimonthly payroll schedule).
- Benefits: As with any good EOR, Remote has a full spread of enterprise-level medical and health benefits. It can also help with stipends, allowances, stock options, and even one-time benefits like a moving bonus. Not every EOR on our list works beyond the required minimum for compliance. Remote offers a free 30-minute equity incentive planning consultation to learn more.
- IP protection: While some employer of record companies, like Rippling, include IP agreements in their contracts, Remote goes out of its way to emphasize the protection of any patents your foreign employees may come up with. It offers a three-stage approach to ownership protection and employs experienced counsel in top-tier law firms to ensure that your rights are protected each step of the way.
Rippling: Best EOR for Automated Global Compliance
Pros
- Excellent tools for onboarding software and hardware
- Excellent integration capabilities with over 500 options
- Can use for international and domestic payroll and HR
- Robust automation solutions for simplifying processes, including global compliance
Cons
- Pricing isn't all transparent
- Some solutions may cost extra (like IT tools to manage business apps)
- No dedicated support representative
Plans & Pricing
Rippling, like Globalization Partners, does not list its pricing online, so you need to call a sales representative. We were given a quote for the following services:
- EOR services: $599 per employee monthly
- Global payroll: $20 per employee monthly
- Global contractor payroll: $20 per worker monthly
Note that new users who sign up for a Rippling plan get the first month free.
Companies with a global distributed workforce will appreciate Rippling’s all-in-one HR, payroll, and IT platform. In addition to its EOR services, its feature-rich software can help you manage the entire employee lifecycle, including company devices and business software access, with ease. Rippling, which is one of our top-recommended HR payroll software for small businesses, also makes managing global compliances easy with its automation tools. It can help enforce country-specific minimum wages, apply overtime rules, and even enroll workers in required compliance training programs.
In our evaluation, Rippling earned an overall rating of 4.32 out of 5. It has an intuitive interface with solutions you can mix and match and comes with robust integration options. Tasks like approving payroll take as little as 90 seconds. Real-world users of Rippling services gave it an average of 4.85 out of 5, the highest score on our list. Users even praised its ease of use and robust integration options.
Rippling Standout Features
- IT support: If your employees need special software to do their job, Rippling is a good option for onboarding. In addition to the usual new hire tasks, it can assign computers and software licenses to employees, including providing computers with preloaded software, and helps with the return of hardware at termination (this service costs extra, but includes monitoring and offboarding).
- Integrations: Rippling blows away the competition when it comes to integrations. It can connect with over 500 apps, such as accounting, expense management, HR, sales, communication, and productivity tools. Most on our list integrate with finance and HRIS software.
- Payroll: Like all EORs on our list, Rippling pays in local currency, handles local taxes wherever your employee lives and works, and bills you when the work is done. Just like with its regular services, it takes only 90 seconds to pay your international employees as well. Everything populates to your general ledger, and Rippling offers pre-built reports or lets you create custom ones. It even has a job costing tool that lets you apply employee time to a client, task, and job location for billing or analysis.
- Easy onboarding: From offers to IP agreements, Rippling makes it easy to onboard your employees. It can handle everything from background checks to assigning and shipping a company credit card. As noted above, Rippling is one of the EORs on our list that can also handle sending your new employee a company computer and setting it up with access to the software they need to do the job. Multiplier has a similar service, as well as Deel (but via its partner, Hofy).
Deel: Best EOR for Payment Flexibility & Immigration Support
Pros
- Multiple payment options (bank transfer, crypto, bitcoin, digital payment processors, and Deel contractor card)
- Assigns a dedicated customer success manager (CSM) to its clients
- Built-in expense and time-off management tools with immigration services for more than 30 countries
- Offers a free HRIS plan (called Deel HR) for businesses with up to 200 workers
Cons
- Dedicated CSM is not provided to small businesses (only available to enterprises)
- Contractor misclassification protection services available only in higher tiers
- Deel will charge monthly fees for its Deel HR plan if you exceed 200 employees
Plans & Pricing
- Deel HR: $0 for companies with up to 200 employees
- Free HRIS for managing employee information, time off, bonuses, expense claims, and reports
- EOR: Starts at $599 per employee monthly
- Includes localized agreements, payroll, benefits, time-off tracking, expense management, and IP protection tools
- Contractors: Starts at $49 per worker monthly
- Includes localized agreements, payroll, hiring, time-off and expense management, and automated invoicing tools
- Immigration: Call for quote
- Immigration and visa assistance in 30+ countries plus support from local immigration experts
In our list of best employer of record services, Deel offers one of the reasonably priced packages for hiring and paying global employees. Like Rippling and Oyster, its EOR costs $599 per employee monthly (Remote also charges the same rate if you sign up for an annual plan). What sets Deel apart from the others on our list is its multiple payment options and immigration services, wherein it can sponsor visas in 25 countries.
In our evaluation, Deel earned 4.29 out of 5 with high ratings in nearly all criteria. It lost points because it requires a refundable deposit for EOR. However, many users still appreciate its efficient solutions and services. Real-world users gave it an average score of 4.65 out of 5.
Deel Standout Features
- Flexible payments: Deel can handle employee payments via bank transfers, through digital payment processors (like Payoneer and Wise), and as cryptocurrency. Your contractors can also use the Deel contractor card to receive payments and pay for personal purchases. If your employees need early access to earned wages, Deel has an on-demand payment option—a feature that none of the providers on our list offer. Note, however, that Deel will charge $29 per employee for this feature and, as of this writing, is only available for workers located in Brazil, Canada, India, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the US.
- Payroll: As an EOR, Deel will handle the complexities of paying employees, from keeping track of minimum wages and other pay-related laws to handling payroll tax administration. It will even handle local tax filings with authorities and remit tax payments to the applicable agencies.
- Dedicated customer success manager: Deel provides a dedicated representative to serve as your point of contact and help you with your queries, including system setup. However, this is only available to large businesses. Those without a CSM can still enjoy compliance assistance through its local legal hiring experts and expert support via Deel’s 24/7 in-app live help.
- Visa and immigration services: While the other EOR companies on our list offer immigration support, Deel takes it one step further by sponsoring the visas that your workers need, providing one-on-one assistance, and offering an online tool to track visa applications. The service is handled by its in-house team of immigration experts unlike Rippling, which offers this through a third-party partner.
Papaya Global: Best for Budget-minded Businesses Hiring International Contractors
Pros
- Transparent pricing
- Global payroll payments in as fast as 72 hours and supports cryptocurrency payouts
- Responsive local support
- Robust workforce analytics and payroll audit tools
Cons
- Expensive EOR services
- Lacks 24/7 customer support
- Uses a partner network instead of its own local entities
- Charges a setup fee and requires a refundable deposit
Plans & Pricing
- Employer of Record: Starts at $650 per employee monthly
- Employee payroll and hiring + advisory services and compliance tools
- Full-Service Payroll: $12 per employee monthly
- Includes access to the payroll platform, embedded payments, employee portal, and partner network
- Contractor Management: Starts at $2 per worker monthly
- Payroll + compliance and contractor management
- Global Expertise Services: Starts at $190 per employee monthly
- Supplemental benefits plans and immigration support
- Payroll Platform License: Starts at $3 per employee monthly
- Access to Papaya Global’s platform to consolidate and manage employee data (no payroll services)
- Payments-as-a-Service: Starts at $3 per employee monthly
- Facilitate ad hoc workforce payments (e.g., national insurance payments)
- Data and Insights Platform License: Starts at $150 per location monthly
- Access real-time headcount and payroll cost reports
Papaya Global’s extensive partner network provides EOR services in over 160 countries, with hiring, onboarding, management, and multicurrency payments and benefits management tools. With separate plans for pure global payroll and international contractor payroll, you can let it handle your payroll and basic HR duties for your entire company. The provider even has one of the lowest contractor payroll plans in this guide, with monthly fees that start at only $2 per worker. This makes Papaya Global a great option for businesses that primarily hire global contractors.
For EOR services, Papaya is one of the most expensive on our list. However, it still received high scores for nearly every HR and payroll feature we looked for. The biggest hits it took were for charging setup fees and a refundable deposit, and working through partner services rather than having its own entities. If this concerns you, look at the others on our list. In our evaluation, Papaya earned 4.26 out of 5. Meanwhile, real-world users over multiple review sites rated it 4.45 out of 5 on average, which is the fourth highest score on our list, tied with Remote.
Papaya Global Standout Features
- Family immigration help: While others on our list mention providing visa and work permit assistance for your expatriates and employees on international short-term assignments, Papaya takes it a step further with help for their spouses and family. This can definitely smooth the road for your employee or be used to attract better talent.
- Integrations: While Rippling is the best for integrations, Papaya is no slouch, integrating with HRIS, expense management, time and attendance, ERP, and financial software. Others on our list only work with other HRIS systems, while Multiplier doesn’t mention integrations at all. Plus, if you already have a payroll processor, Papaya will integrate it for you.
- Payroll: Like all on our list, Papaya provides full payroll services, including tax benefits. It does this through its partner network, while others on our list have direct control. Its system is also equipped with AI tools to ensure payroll data accuracy—although the provider also conducts payroll audits. Payroll payments are, of course, in the local currency and language and through local bank transfers, direct deposits, or cryptocurrency. With its acquisition of Azimo, a digital money transfer service, it can pay in hours instead of days to more than 150 countries.
- Benefits: Like all the employers of record on our list, Papaya Global analyzes your benefits plans by country to help you come up with attractive packages. It can also help you create incentives for executives or equity rewards for workers. We only saw this in a few of the EORs we considered.
Multiplier: Best Low-cost EOR Service
Pros
- Hires in 150+ countries, pays in 120 currencies
- Can handle assignment of laptops and software
- Pays in cryptocurrency if desired
- Can manage employee stock option plans (ESOP)
Cons
- Does not integrate with outside software
- Support not as robust/fewer online sources
- Some problems adding specific clauses to contracts
Plans & Pricing
- Hire Employees: Starts at $400 per employee monthly
- Includes contracts, payroll, benefits, expense and leave management, 24/7 support from local experts
- Pay Freelancers: $40 per worker monthly
- Includes hiring, payments benefits, 24/7 support
- Run Global Payroll: Call for quote
- Includes payroll, benefits, expense management, 24/7 support from local experts
- Immigration: Call for quote
- Support from local immigration experts and visa management in 140+ countries
Multiplier’s EOR service is the most affordable on our list, with monthly fees that start at $400 per employee (the other providers we reviewed charge $599 and more). Its services cover 150 countries and it can pay employees in 120 currencies (including cryptocurrency). Multiplier is also the only EOR aside from Rippling and Deel that can supply company laptops to your employees. While it can help manage immigration and visa processing, it doesn’t sponsor worker visas like Deel can.
Multiplier earned 4.20 out of 5 in our evaluation. It received high scores for payroll tools, HR features, and pricing. We didn’t see a lot in terms of report customizations, which brought down the score some, as did the lack of integration capability. However, real-world users rate it 4.65 out of 5, one of the highest user scores on this list.
Multiplier Standout Features
- Freelance administration tools: Multiplier’s freelance hiring solution includes an assessment tool to ensure you are properly classifying them as a contractor. It also comes with locally compliant contracts that you can instantly generate, as well as onboarding, expense claim management, and invoicing functionalities. Where Multiplier stands out, however, is that its plan includes benefits administration, which can be a big plus if you have full-time, dedicated contract workers.
- Laptop and software assignment: Like Rippling and Deel, Multiplier can also handle IT onboarding by providing your international employee with a company laptop loaded with the software they need. This is a relatively new service for Multiplier, while Rippling has been doing this for years.
- Benefits: Multiplier offers locally compliant insurance and benefits, which you can customize to ensure your workforce is getting similar compensation wherever they are. In addition, it offers Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) administration so your employees can be invested in your company’s success.
- 24/7 support: Multiplier boasts 24/7 local support for questions of compliance. However, it does not mention a dedicated support specialist, like you get with Oyster and Papaya.
Oyster: Best for Growing Companies Looking for a Flexible EOR Package
Pros
- Discounts for nonprofits and refugees
- Dedicated support for account and system setup
- Includes IP protection
- Offers online tools to calculate employment costs and analyze worker misclassification risk
Cons
- Health benefits are an add-on
- Does not pay in cryptocurrency
- Requires a refundable deposit
- Minimal reports
Plans & Pricing
- Employee: Starts at $599 per employee monthly ($499 per employee monthly, if billed annually)
- Includes EOR services, payroll, compliance support, and IP protection
- Contractor: Starts at $29 per worker monthly
- Includes hiring, payroll, onboarding, invoicing, and expense management tools
- Scale: Call for quote
- Designed for companies with five or more global employees
- Allows you to pre-purchase reusable user seats to cover your hiring needs for 12 months
- Includes custom global compliance assistance and access to a dedicated hiring success team
Note that new users who sign up for the Contractor plan get the first month free. This promo can end at any time. Visit the provider's website to view the latest promotions on offer.
Oyster is a global payroll and EOR that works in over 120 countries, plus another 60 for contractors. Its services are pretty much what you’d expect from an employer of record. However, it impressed us with its many discounts, plus its excellent customer support. If you’re constantly hiring to fill vacant positions or plan to grow your international workforce, Oyster’s Scale plan is the perfect option for you as it allows you to pre-purchase reusable employee seats for one year at negotiated and reduced rates. None of the providers on our list have a flexible EOR package.
Oyster earned a 4.18 out of 5 in our evaluation. It did very well for HR tools, payroll functionalities, and ease of use. Oyster lost points in pricing because it collects a refundable deposit. The reporting options also are limited—it only offers four reports: payroll, team member, invoice, and expense. However, users gave it an average score 4.45 out of 5, the same rating as Remote and Papaya Global.
Oyster Standout Features
- Free global employment tools: You can easily access Oyster’s global hiring guides (for more than 50 countries) through its website. It even has free online tools to help you calculate employment costs, check best-in-class benefits in top hiring locations, and assess the potential risks in converting a contractor into an employee. You can also download employment templates and checklists (like recruiting email and interview templates) that were created and reviewed by experts. None of the EOR companies we reviewed provide these expert-vetted templates for free.
- Discounts for nonprofits: Like Remote, Oyster has special discounts for certified nonprofits or B-Corporations. This includes your first employee free for 12 months, 30% off for up to 10 full-time hires, free enrollment in Oyster Academy, and free tickets to their annual conference, plus exclusive meetups with other Oyster users and experts.
- Excellent customer support: Oyster users generally had great praise for customer support’s responsiveness and helpfulness. Oyster is one of the few on our list that gives you a dedicated team. It also has a guided hiring process in-app, hiring guides, reports on global employment and employee expectations, a podcast, and the Oyster Academy with courses for HR professionals.
- Payroll & benefits: Oyster does fully compliant payroll that can pay out to 120 countries (180 for contractors). The platform can handle bonuses and expense reimbursements as well as salaries. Oyster integrates with ERP systems for your payroll data. You’ll pay a lump sum each month, and Oyster distributes it accordingly. One place Oyster falls short, however, is that its health benefits must be purchased as an add-on. This could hike up the price.
Globalization Partners: Best for Hiring Internationally
Pros
- Payroll processing in 187 countries
- Local compliance and tax support
- Visa support in 31 countries
- Built-in Wise payment services
Cons
- Pricing isn’t transparent
- Requires two-month advance payroll deposit
- For international employees only; does not handle domestic
Plans & Pricing
- G-P Meridian Core: Call for quote
- EOR services with onboarding/offboarding tools, benefits, time and expense management, 24/7 help center access, and a dedicated support team
- G-P Meridian Prime: Call for quote
- Core + white glove services, employment contract customization, benefits analysis, flexible payments, access to legal and HR experts, and a dedicated customer success manager
- G-P Meridian Contractor: Call for quote
- Includes tools for hiring, managing, and paying international contractors
Globalization Partners (G-P) is an international EOR that can handle your foreign employees in over 187 countries. We recommend it for its international hiring capabilities. It can recruit and hire for you, or if you have employees, provide contracts that adhere to local laws, onboard, manage, and pay your workers for you. It will not handle your domestic workforce, but it does partner with ADP TotalSource, a top-rated professional employer organization (PEO) service.
G-P earned a 4.07 out of 5 in our evaluation. Pricing is where it took a big hit; others on our list are more transparent and don’t have setup fees or refundable deposits. However, it earned high scores in HR and payroll features, including ease of use and reporting. In addition, real-world users rated it 4.7 out of 5, the second-highest user score on our list.
Globalization Partners Standout Features
- Partners with ADP: ADP is considered one of the market leaders in the US when it comes to managing HR and payroll. It even made it on our lists of the best payroll software, top HR platforms, and best PEO services. If you already work with the company and want to expand your services beyond the domestic market, working with Globalization Partners makes the process easy.
- Recruit and hire international employees: G-P can recruit and hire someone for you in any of its 187 countries (the most of any on our list). It provides visa assistance in 31 of those countries, taking a lot of paperwork off your hands. Plus, it automatically generates global employment contracts that comply with local labor laws and will recommend a country-specific compensation package. If you choose to recruit yourself, it can give you country-specific offer templates to start you out.
- Easy global payroll services: G-P’s payroll is similar to those on our list, paying employees in local currencies and taking care of your taxes according to each country’s schedule. It lets you fund your payroll either through bank transfer, Venmo, and cryptocurrency, but only pays employees by traditional direct deposits or manual checks. Multiplier, Papaya Global, Remote, and Deel can also pay employees in cryptocurrency.
- International benefits: Like other EORs, Globalization Partners provides enterprise-level benefits packages for employees at competitive prices that meet the country’s requirements. While it does not list the packages online, since it varies by country, it provides an online “Globalpedia” that explains the required and voluntary benefits expected in a country, including how much you should add to salaries to cover these benefits. When you call for a quote, your rep will help you determine what’s commonly offered so that you remain competitive.
Methodology: How We Evaluated the Top Employer of Record Companies
In our evaluation of the best employer of record services, we looked at more than a dozen EOR companies, narrowing them down to those that served small and midsize businesses and were priced reasonably (where we could get quotes). Then we dove deep to evaluate them for features and ease of use. Finally, we added feedback from real-world users to come up with the top seven.
Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria:
20% of Overall Score
We looked for transparency—can you find the pricing on a website or with a phone call, or do you need an in-depth assessment of your business? We also considered setup fees, separate (cheaper) plans for your contractors, and whether they have add-ons for additional tools.
20% of Overall Score
Your EOR should handle your employees from hiring to termination, including paperwork, benefits, and compliances. We also looked for any indication that they protect your intellectual property, like patents created by your employees.
10% of Overall Score
We not only considered what reports are available but also how customizable they are, and if they can be separated by country.
20% of Overall Score
In addition to the basics, like time tracking tools, we concentrated on global features like paying in local currency and having local entities as opposed to third-party partners.
15% of Overall Score
Here, we considered appropriateness for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), how good the software was, and what real-world users thought of the service.
15% of Overall Score
For this criterion, we looked at setup assistance, customer support, access to how-to guides, integration options, and whether the provider offers an intuitive user platform.
How to Choose the Best EOR
In selecting the best employer of record for your company, we recommend looking at the provider’s track record in handling global HR payroll processes. Next, look at the legal and compliance support offered, and if the provider has the expertise needed to handle complicated labor, payroll, and tax regulations in the countries you plan to expand to.
You should also consider the following factors:
- Software pricing and your budget: Finding a solution that meets your budget is important, but you should also check if the provider’s EOR package comes with annual payment-only requirements or user count limits.
- Ease of use: The EOR solution and its features should be simple to use. Having access to an online platform that can securely store employee information, track payments, and manage basic HR processes (such as time and PTO tracking) is also critical. If you use accounting solutions or have a separate HR system for your local employees, look for integration options with these business software.
- Payment options: In addition to secure payments, you should look at the payment timelines and options. Most providers remit payments to workers in three to five working days via international bank transfers. Some offer a longer processing time or have limited payment options (e.g., no cryptocurrency payouts).
- Reporting and analytics: Reports are important as these allow you to see headcount costs across countries. While you should look for the availability of basic reports (like payroll registers and employee lists), don’t forget to check for customization solutions for creating ad hoc reports.
- Customer support: Contacting the provider’s support team via phone is ideal, but if this isn’t available, check for live chat support. You may also want to consider looking at online user reviews to help you gauge whether or not its support team is responsive.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Employers of record (EORs) take on administrative responsibility and liability for your employees. They are listed as your worker’s legal employer; however, you have complete control over tasking, training, and other non-administrative or payroll functions.
EORs handle a variety of tasks, including:
- Hiring and terminating employees
- Onboarding
- Paying your international employees
- Complying with country-specific employment and payroll regulations
- Providing enterprise-level benefits
- Employee expense reimbursement
- Intellectual property (IP) protection
This, of course, is an individual choice. An EOR can get pricey, but also takes a lot of work off your company’s hands. Rather than hiring staff to handle HR and payroll and track legal and tax compliances across all the countries you have employees in—not to mention establishing a local entity in the country—you can have an EOR handle that for you. Since EORs have employees from many companies, they can qualify for less expensive, higher-end benefits packages that bigger companies can offer.
In return, however, you are giving up a level of control. Since they generally hire and onboard, you may see a shift in company culture. Also, if you have an existing HR department, you’ll need to make sure they adapt to the changes in responsibilities.
An EOR is most effective when:
- You are moving to a global workforce
- You are hiring in a new country and don’t have a local legal entity there
- Your HR department is small, or you don’t want to invest in a large HR department
- You prefer to let someone else handle the legal and tax issues involved in hiring employees
An EOR shows up as your employee’s official employer. A PEO simply replaces your HR department—responsibilities and liabilities are still on you. When dealing with global employment, if you want to use a PEO, you need to have a local entity in the country or region where you are hiring; you don’t need this with an EOR. PEOs, however, are generally more affordable than EORs while doing much the same work.
Bottom Line
An employer of record can take a lot of stress off a business, especially when hiring international employees. It takes the liability and administrative responsibility for hiring, paying, and terminating your employees so you can concentrate on training and tasking. As the official on-paper employer, it assumes liabilities for tax and workplace compliances.
Overall, Remote took the clear lead as the best EOR service. It works in over 180 countries for payroll and HR services; has a separate, cheaper plan for international contractors; and provides solid IP and invention rights protections. Check out Remote and get started on broadening your international reach.