What services do Employer of Record providers offer?
Working with an EOR isn’t a one-time transaction, but an ongoing relationship where you’re handing over a big part of administrative responsibilities for the long run. The best EOR providers cover a wide range of service offerings, and the most crucial ones include:
- Local labour law compliance and legal employment contract solutions
An EOR drafts and issues employment contracts that comply with the local jurisdiction, covering working-hour limits, probation terms, statutory notice periods and other such obligations.
- Payroll processing services
Your EOR handles end-to-end payroll processing, statutory benefits and tax withholding. They disburse salaries in local currency, remit income tax and social security contributions, and administer benefits like paid leave, sick pay and pension.
- Onboarding, offboarding, and compliance management solutions
A good EOR manages the full employee lifecycle and not just the hiring. They help with structured onboarding, ongoing monitoring of changing labour laws and compliant offboarding.
Factors to consider while choosing the right EOR service providers
1. Knowledge of local compliance
Every country enforces some labour laws that all employers must follow, and these affect hiring practices for businesses expanding internationally. The EOR service providers in Singapore must have in-depth knowledge of local compliance such as:
- CPF rates by age band
- MOM’s work pass sponsorship rules
- SDL
- IR21 tax clearance for dismissing or departing foreign staff
2. Ownership of the entity
Ask whether the EOR owns its entity in the target country, or works through a partner. Owned entities have end-to-end control over employment attributes and help with faster onboarding.
Partner-based models add a middleman to the process, which at times slows the onboarding and complicates terminations. Ask which model applies to your specific target countries, as it often varies by provider.
3. Pricing structure
Request a full fee breakdown, which must consist of the total cost of hiring an employee in your target country. The estimate should also have all the statutory employer costs, including workplace pensions, public insurance, and a percentage for termination fees, payroll fees, FX markups, and management fees.
4. Country coverage and onboarding timeline
Most leading Employer of Record providers in Singapore claim coverage of over 150 countries. However, you must ask for proof of compliance track record in your specific target countries, not just the presence. Also, ask for their typical onboarding timeline and compare it with the shortlisted providers.
5. Security deposit, cancellation and refund policies
Most EORs take security deposits for protecting themselves against unpaid invoices or certain statutory liabilities. Such a deposit isn’t unreasonable, but the terms that govern it might be.
Check the contract for a clear refund timeline after your last payroll. 30 days is the reasonable benchmark to look for. Also, you must take note of cancellation fees of the EOR to ensure you are not caught off guard if you decide to end the agreement.
6. Review their tech solutions
Request a live demo of their dashboards, payroll summaries, invoices, reporting tools and support systems within the digital platforms. You must also check their security credentials such as ISO 27001, PDPA, and SOC 2 Type II compliance.
Also, you must confirm their IP assignment and confidentiality clauses, ensuring your work product or sensitive business information stays protected. These are the minimum standards worth verifying before you can hand over your employee data.
7. Employee experience
Ask for references from current international employees, or check the reviews specifically about salary punctuality, support responsiveness, and onboarding speed. Your EOR will be the legal employer of your employees, and a poor experience for them will reflect on your brand, not the provider’s.
8. Payroll convenience and ongoing support
Ask how they handle monthly payroll in local currency, benefits and statutory contributions. Confirm if they support terminations, leave accrual and bonuses. Ask them directly about how they handle on-demand audits or employee disputes.
Common pitfalls to avoid while choosing the best EOR provider in Singapore
Alongside consideration of the important choosing factors, you must also be aware of the mistakes you must avoid that might lead to picking an inefficient EOR. Here are the pitfalls you must avoid:
- Prioritising only the pricing
A lot of founders might rely on the cheapest EOR as it aligns with their budget. However, a cheaper monthly fee doesn’t always imply the total cost of global hiring. For instance, an EOR provider charging SGD $200 with a 5% FX markup, requiring a 3-month security deposit, is more expensive than the provider charging a unified SGD $500 per month, with no markup or deposit criteria.
- Skimming through the service agreement
Remember, the service agreement will bind you to the EOR provider. It means your obligations to payment and the services you get in return will be enforced through one signature. So, read every clause, especially the sections such as termination fees, refund conditions, indemnification and liabilities.
- Ignoring employee experience
A lot of founders miss out on assessing employee experience, which at times adversely affects the brand reputation. A cluttered portal, slow support and confusing payslips might hinder the employee experience, and it is your company that will be blamed, not the legal employer.
- Assuming global coverage implies global quality
The EOR service providers offering coverage across 200 countries might have their own entities in 20, and partners across the rest. So, performance of the EOR for your business expansion will depend on the model applicable for the country you are targeting.
Top Employer of Record providers in Singapore
1. Aspire EOR
Built on Deel’s employment infrastructure, Aspire enables founders to manage international hiring, business banking and payroll, all from a single unified dashboard instead of juggling between multiple tools. It is a good fit if you are already using Aspire for your business account and would like to avoid reconciling data across platforms.
The plan starts from SGD $510/employee/month.
2. Remote
It operates through owned entities rather than local partners, and is popularly known for FX handling and a unified payroll system. This reduces the time it takes for the money to reach the employee after it leaves your account. It is a solid pick if you want IP protection and payroll reliability.
The plan starts from SGD $760/employee/month.
3. Papaya Global
It is an aggregator-model EOR, built for founders managing multi-country workforces. It has coverage across more than 160 countries, and leans heavily on automation for multi-currency payments and tax calculations. For certain markets, Papaya Global works with in-country partners and not under its own local entity.
The plan starts from SGD $634/employee/month.
4. RemoFirst
If you seek a budget-friendly option that’s particularly suited for founders hiring a small team of international employees, RemoFirst can be the right pick. It offers coverage over 185 countries, at a lower price point than most of the competitors.
The plan starts from SGD $253/employee/month.
End your search for the best Employer of Record provider with Aspire EOR
Transparent pricing, 150+ country coverage, and deep local compliance knowledge are all you will need to expand your business with confidence. Aspire offers an EOR solution built on Deel’s employment infrastructure, built to help founders hire internationally through the same dashboard they use for managing their business account.
Manage your business account, payroll, and international hiring, all from a centralised dashboard. No more juggling between multiple tools or reconciling data across diverse platforms. Explore Aspire EOR to know more about how we can help you with your global hiring needs.
FAQs
1. Who are the EOR service providers in Singapore?
An EOR provider in Singapore acts as a third-party agency, serving as the legal employer of a company’s international team members. The EOR provider is responsible for handling local payroll, tax withholdings, labour law compliance, and other such tasks while ensuring you don’t have to set up your own legal entity in the country.
2. What tasks does an EOR help us with?
An EOR will help your global hiring needs with:
- Signing locally compliant employment contracts
- Running monthly payroll
- Paying mandatory CPF contributions as per country-specific laws
- Managing local leaves, bonuses, and employee benefits
3. Is it possible to switch EOR provider if the business growth plan changes?
Yes, it is possible for you to switch EOR providers or build your own legal entity within the country as the business grows. However, you just need to make sure the local tax ID, employee benefits contributions, and employment records are transferred smoothly in the process.
4. What will happen if the EOR provider makes any payroll error?
Your service agreement determines who would be liable for a payroll error. Most of the top EOR service providers in Singapore will absorb potential penalties and will correct the errors at their own expense. Average or rookie EORs will smartly pass this liability onto you. Therefore, check the liabilities and indemnification clauses in your service agreement prior to signing it.
5. What is the most crucial factor for choosing the best EOR provider in Singapore?
When choosing an EOR provider, we recommend prioritizing entity ownership as one of the most crucial factors in your evaluation. An EOR having its own entity in the country will have more control over the employee relationship, whereas a partner-based model means having a middleman handle the tasks at hand. Both are practical approaches in the market, but the former is more efficient.
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