A step-by-step plan to hire your first employee abroad: pick the route, check local rules, price it, contract it, and onboard. Country examples included.
Your first international employee is where most founders either overspend (open an entity too early) or under-protect (pay a full-time contractor and hope). Follow these steps in order. Each one has a decision rule and a country example drawn from our data files.
Step 1: Confirm the person should be an employee
If the person works set hours under your direction, uses your tools, and works mainly for you, treat them as an employee. The IRS describes three evidence groups for the same question in the US: behavioural control, financial control and type of relationship (IRS). Other countries apply their own tests, and several are stricter. The Philippines uses a four-fold test where control is decisive; Germany polices "false self-employment" through a formal status procedure. See the country-by-country misclassification table.
Rule of thumb: full-time, long-term, integrated in your team means employee.
Step 2: Pick the route
| Route |
Use when |
Start time (claims) |
| EOR |
First hire in a country, no entity |
Days to ~2 weeks |
| Own entity |
4-5+ hires in one country or a long-term presence |
Weeks to 6 months |
| Contractor |
Genuinely independent, low-risk country |
Days |
Poland shows the gap: providers advertise EOR onboarding in days to about two weeks, while our estimate for a Polish sp. z o.o. is roughly 1-3 months (an unverified estimate). For Mexico, Deel claims 1-2 business days to start via EOR versus 4-5 months for an own entity (Deel). The full framework is in EOR vs PEO vs own entity.
Step 3: Choose the country on facts, not vibes
Four things move your first-hire plan: employer cost, time zone overlap, termination difficulty and contractor risk. From our files:
| Country |
Employer cost on base |
Time zone vs US Eastern |
Termination note |
| Poland |
19.5-22.1% |
6 hours ahead |
Genuine reason required for indefinite contracts |
| Mexico |
27-36% |
Mostly UTC-6, 1-3 hours from US coasts |
Unjustified dismissal: 3 months' salary plus 20 days per year (Deel) |
| Philippines |
14-22% |
12-13 hours ahead |
Security of tenure; illegal dismissal means reinstatement with back wages |
| United Kingdom |
14-18% |
4-5 hours ahead |
Unfair dismissal needs 2 years' service today; check current rule |
Sources: country pages built from Deel, Remote, Boundless, GOV.UK.
Step 4: Price it with arithmetic, not a vendor's headline
Use a hypothetical $60,000 base salary and the cost ranges in our files. Add the EOR fee (a 12-month figure).
Poland. $60,000 x 19.5% = $11,700; x 22.1% = $13,260. Loaded: $71,700-$73,260. With Deel at $599 x 12 = $7,188: $78,888-$80,448 in year one.
Mexico. $60,000 x 27% = $16,200; x 36% = $21,600. Loaded: $76,200-$81,600. With Remote at $699 x 12 = $8,388: $84,588-$89,988.
Philippines. $60,000 x 14% = $8,400; x 22% = $13,200. Loaded: $68,400-$73,200. With Playroll at $399 x 12 = $4,788: $73,188-$77,988. Playroll's price is "starting at" and says it never charges onboarding or offboarding fees (Playroll).
Caveats: the percentages are our ranges and apply to a USD-equivalent base without FX effects. Mexico's range is a derived estimate, not a published figure. Salaries in the Philippines are rarely $60,000 for a first hire, so scale the base but keep the percentages. Compare more on EOR pricing explained.
Step 5: Check the legal floor before you write an offer
Look up the five items that most affect a first offer:
- Minimum wage. Poland: PLN 4,806 per month from 1 January 2026 (secondary source, confirm via gov.pl). Mexico: MXN 315.04 per day in 2026 (Remote). Philippines (Metro Manila): PHP 755 per day from 26 September 2026 (Wage Order NCR-28, press reports; confirm with NWPC).
- Mandatory extra pay. Mexico requires an aguinaldo of at least 15 days' pay by 20 December. The Philippines requires 13th-month pay by 24 December. Brazil requires a 13th salary in two instalments.
- Leave. Poland: 20 days under 10 years' service. Brazil: 30 calendar days plus a one-third bonus. UK: 5.6 weeks including bank holidays.
- Probation. Poland up to 3 months; Philippines maximum 6 months with standards given at hire; Brazil experience contract up to 90 days.
- Notice and severance. Look at it now, not at termination. Brazil: 30 days plus 3 days per full year up to 90, plus a 40% fine on the FGTS balance. Poland: 2 weeks under 6 months' tenure, 1 month for 6 months to 3 years, 3 months at 3+ years.
Anything marked secondary source in our files should be checked against the official page before you quote it to a candidate.
Step 6: Select a provider
Shortlist two, ask both for a written quote for your specific country and role, and compare the following. Do not assume a "from" price is your price.
- Fee model and extras. RemoFirst lists "starting at $199" and says country-specific rates are not shown; Oyster requires a refundable deposit; benefits, visas and equipment can be priced separately.
- Coverage. Vendor claims: Remote 90+ countries for EOR, Oyster 120+, Atlas over 160, RemoFirst 185+, G-P 180+. Confirm your country by name and ask whether it runs on an owned entity or a partner.
- Contract flexibility. Deel says no long-term commitments; G-P says no minimum contract length; Multiplier's pricing rewards annual terms ($459 annual vs $499 monthly, third-party). Verify with provider.
- Exit terms. Ask what happens when you open your own entity.
Pricing sources: Deel, Remote, Oyster, RemoFirst, G-P.
Step 7: Get the paperwork in order
Typical sequence once you have chosen an EOR:
- Send the candidate's details, title, salary and start date to the provider.
- The provider drafts a local-law employment contract (do not reuse your US template).
- The candidate signs, and the provider runs right-to-work or ID checks. Remote notes a 3-day right-to-work check for non-nationals in Spain.
- The provider registers the employee with local tax and social security.
- You confirm IP assignment, confidentiality and equipment terms are covered by the contract. Ask the provider; do not assume.
- First payroll cycle runs, with cut-off dates (Remote's Spain cut-off is the 10th of the month).
Timing for the first payroll depends on each country's rhythm: Philippines pays semi-monthly, Mexico often biweekly, Poland monthly (typically by the 10th of the following month).
Step 8: Onboard for the local reality
- Share a local holiday calendar before you assign deadlines. Colombia has 18 national public holidays and Romania has 17 in our data.
- Agree overlapping hours in writing. A Philippines hire is 12-13 hours ahead of US Eastern; a Poland hire is 6 hours ahead, giving a morning overlap with US East Coast.
- Set review checkpoints against probation limits: a 3-month cap in Poland leaves you a short window to decide.
- Keep a record of performance conversations. Where the law demands a genuine reason (Poland) or a documented process (Philippines two-notice rule), notes protect you.
Common mistakes
- Starting on a contractor agreement "until we see it works", then keeping the same person for years under your direction.
- Quoting a candidate in your home currency and ignoring mandatory extras such as a 13th salary.
- Choosing the cheapest "from" price without a written, country-specific quote.
- Skipping the termination read-through. The cost of leaving varies enormously (see EOR termination and offboarding).
Bottom line
For a first international hire with no local presence, hire through an EOR in a country where you have confirmed the legal floor, model the year-one cost as base salary plus the country's employer percentage plus 12 months of the EOR fee, and set a reassessment point at your fourth or fifth hire in the same country. The arithmetic above is illustrative and uses a hypothetical $60,000 salary; real quotes will differ. This is general information, not legal or tax advice, so have a qualified local adviser confirm contract terms, wages and termination rules before you sign.