Linx Team · 8/13/2026
So you want to hire someone in another country. Maybe you found the perfect developer in Lisbon, a brilliant marketer in Manila, or a customer support wizard in Buenos Aires. Great news, they said yes. Less great news, you now have to figure out how to actually put them on payroll without accidentally breaking a labour law you didn't know existed. This is usually the point where someone on your team says three magic letters: EOR. Short for Employer of Record, an EOR is a company that legally employs a worker on your behalf in a country where you don't have a local entity. They handle the contracts, the payroll, the taxes, and the compliance headaches, while the person works for you day to day just like any other member of your team. Sounds simple enough. But before you sign up with the first EOR company that shows up in your search results, it helps to slow down and think through the decisions that actually matter. Global hiring is not one big decision. It is ten smaller ones, and getting them right early saves you a lot of trouble later. Let's walk through them one at a time.
Before anything else, ask whether an EOR is the right tool for the job at all. If you plan to hire dozens of people in one country and stay there for years, setting up your own local entity might make more financial sense in the long run. If you are hiring one or two people in a country you are just testing out, an EOR is usually faster and cheaper. Think of it like renting versus buying a house. Renting (using an EOR) is quick and flexible. Buying (setting up your own entity) makes sense if you are putting down roots.
This decision trips up more companies than any other. Some businesses try to save money by hiring international workers as independent contractors instead of employees, even when the role clearly involves regular hours, ongoing work, and company oversight. Many countries have strict rules about this, and getting it wrong is called misclassification. It can lead to fines, back taxes, and in some cases, legal trouble for your company. An EOR helps you hire the person properly as a full employee, with the right contract type for that country, so you are not gambling on classification rules you may not fully understand.
Not every EOR company operates everywhere. Some cover 150-plus countries; others focus on a handful of regions where they have deep expertise. Before you compare providers, make a short list of the countries you actually plan to hire in over the next year or two. There is no point picking a provider with amazing coverage in Eastern Europe if your hiring plan is entirely focused on Southeast Asia.
The salary you offer is just one piece of the puzzle. Every country has its own employer costs on top of that, things like social security contributions, health insurance, pension contributions, and mandatory bonuses. This is often called the employer cost or employer burden, and it can add anywhere from 15 to 50 per cent on top of the base salary depending on the country. A good EOR company should give you a clear cost breakdown before you commit, not a vague number that turns into a surprise on your first invoice.
Speaking of invoices, pay attention to how the EOR charges for its services. Some charge a flat monthly fee per employee. Others charge a percentage of the employee's salary. Some sneak in extra charges for things like onboarding, offboarding, or benefits administration. Ask for a sample invoice before you sign anything. If a provider hesitates to show you one, that is worth noting.
Every country has its own idea of what counts as a fair employment package. In some places, health insurance is expected. In others, generous paid leave or a thirteenth month salary (an extra month's pay, common in several countries) is the norm. A good EOR should already know these local expectations and build them into the employment contract automatically, rather than leaving you to research labour codes at midnight. This is also where compliance matters most. Local labour law compliance is not just a nice bonus feature; it is the entire reason EORs exist. Ask potential providers how they stay updated when laws change, because they do change, often without much warning.
Speed matters, especially if you have already told your new hire a start date. Some EOR companies can onboard someone in a few days. Others take weeks, particularly in countries with more complex paperwork requirements. Ask for realistic onboarding timelines for the specific countries you care about, not just a generic "usually fast" answer.
Nobody likes to think about offboarding before they have even started hiring, but termination rules vary wildly from country to country. Some places require lengthy notice periods. Others require severance pay based on tenure. A few have process requirements that, if skipped, can lead to disputes or penalties. Ask your EOR how they handle terminations in your target countries, and whether they will guide you through the process or just hand you a document and wish you luck.
At some point, something will go wrong. A payslip will look off, a benefit won't activate, or your employee will have a question about their local tax situation. When that happens, you want a real human who responds quickly, not a support ticket that disappears into a void. Ask about response times, whether you get a dedicated point of contact, and whether support is available in a time zone that actually overlaps with your employee's working hours.
Your first hire in a new country probably won't be your last. As your team grows, you will want a system that can handle multiple countries, multiple currencies, and reporting that doesn't require a spreadsheet marathon every payroll cycle. Look at the EOR's technology platform, not just their sales pitch. Ask for a demo. See if it actually makes your life easier or just looks nice in a screenshot.
None of these ten decisions is complicated on their own. The tricky part is that most companies only think about two or three of them, usually pricing and country coverage, and skip the rest until something goes wrong. A little bit of upfront thinking saves a lot of cleanup later. Global hiring, remote team management, and international payroll do not have to feel like solving a puzzle with half the pieces missing. Once you know the questions to ask, choosing the right EOR partner becomes a lot less stressful, and a lot more like picking a good business partner instead of gambling on a vendor.
Hiring globally is exciting. It means your company is growing, your talent pool just got a lot bigger, and you are no longer limited by what's available within a fifty-mile radius of your office. But that excitement can turn into a headache fast if you pick an EOR based on a flashy website or the lowest price you can find. Take your time. Ask the awkward questions about pricing, compliance, and support before you sign anything. Talk to a few providers, not just one, and compare how they answer the same questions. The right EOR company won't just process payroll for you; it will act like a partner who actually knows the local rules and has your back when something unexpected comes up. Get these ten decisions right, and your global hiring journey will feel a lot less like a leap of faith and a lot more like a well-planned move.