Global Employment Outsourcing FAQs

An employer of record or EOR is a company that has a network of entities around the world to compliantly employ and pay workers on behalf of clients.

They provide client companies a way to quickly hire workers in new international markets without the cost and risk of establishing an entity in a foreign country.

Although they are similar, the key difference between an EOR and a PEO is the entity requirement and shared legal responsibility for employees.

Traditionally, global PEOs are co-employment arrangements, meaning both the PEO and the client company must have a registered entity in the country where the employees are located—and both organizations share legal responsibility for employees.

With an EOR, there is no shared legal responsibility for employees or entity requirement for client companies. An EOR, like Global Employment Outsourcing, is the preferred method for companies looking to onboard international employees quickly and compliantly.

If you’re involved with your organization’s global expansion planning, you know there’s a lot to consider. When a lack of speed or local HR expertise are among your organization’s top concerns, an EOR may be the best option for for international expansion strategies and achieving your global growth objectives.

When it comes time to evaluate EOR providers, there are some qualities to keep in mind to help protect your organization.

Of utmost importance is the extent of the provider’s knowledge in the countries you’re targeting for expansion. One way to gauge this is by finding out how long the provider has been in the country and whether it has a direct entity. Smaller and less experienced providers often rely on local partnerships to delivery their service and may pose risk of noncompliance, especially for clients with a complex range of needs.

Ensure the EOR provider has established entities and direct local service in your top countries of interest.

Contrary to employees, independent contractors do not work regularly for an employer but work as required and are typically paid on a freelance basis. Contractors will not rely on you as their sole source of income and they often work at their own pace, as defined by an agreement. Contractors vs. employees also retain a degree of control and independence in their work and are not eligible for employer-provided benefits.

Using independent contractors internationally can be a quick way to add talent in new markets. But it also comes with international staffing challenges and substantial compliance risk if you’re not familiar with the nuances of the local employment laws.

When governments evaluate worker misclassification, one of the areas they assess is how employees are supervised. If you're managing independent contractors under the same supervision and on the same job site as full-time employees, this may raise a red flag during any government audit, and your company could face consequences for employee misclassification.

If your contractor is performing in the same capacity as your employees, it’s a good idea to hire them as an employee to avoid misclassification.

We can onboard new employees with locally compliant contracts in as little as two weeks.

We provide Global Employment Outsourcing services in over 179 international markets. View
our Global Reach page for more details on the countries that Safeguard Global provides
services.

As your employer of record, we assume all legal responsibility for complying with local employment laws. Our local experts also play a critical role in guiding your team through different HR scenarios associated with global compliance. You can be rest assured that anything from employee bonuses to paid leave and severance will be managed in full compliance.

We have highly experienced Safeguard Global staff in the top countries for global expansion to fully manage your employees’ HR and payroll needs.

With over a decade of service, Safeguard Global is the longest-serving employer of record provider in the global market. We have helped over 900 clients across 15 global offices hire and pay workers around the world. Our track record of success speaks for itself.