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Employer of Record in India, for UK Companies
You cannot put someone living in India on a UK payroll, and setting up an Indian subsidiary to hire one person is absurd. An Employer of Record is the third option: a company already established in India employs your hire on your behalf, while you direct the work.
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From £199 per person, per month
Falling to £149 from five hires, and quoted per engagement above 20. Recruitment included — there is no separate placement fee.
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One invoice, in pounds
No Indian entity, no rupee account, nothing filed with an Indian authority. Their employment cost and our fee, itemised.
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We find them as well as employ them
Most EOR providers hand you infrastructure and let you source the candidate. We do both, and only on this one route.
How it fits together
Who does what
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You direct the work.
You set the tasks, the hours, the priorities and the standards. You run their one-to-ones and decide when they get a rise. Day to day, they are your team member.
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Our India partner is the legal employer.
They hold the employment contract, run payroll in rupees, make statutory deductions and file with the Indian authorities.
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JuteWise sits between the two.
We recruited the person, we manage the relationship, and we are who you call. One invoice in pounds, one named contact.
What the fee covers
- Sourcing, headhunting and screening candidates in the Indian market
- Skills testing and spoken-English assessment before you see anyone
- A compliant Indian employment contract, in English and the local language
- Provident Fund (EPF) contributions where the salary threshold applies
- Employee State Insurance or private medical cover, as appropriate to salary
- Gratuity accrual as required under the Payment of Gratuity Act
- Statutory paid leave and public holidays
- Payroll in rupees, with proper payslips and tax deducted at source
- Local HR support for your hire, in their time zone
- A replacement search if the placement does not work out
What an EOR does not do for you
This is where providers oversell, so it is worth being plain about it. An EOR carries the employment obligations. It does not carry everything.
Data protection stays yours
If your hire handles personal data of UK or EU individuals, you remain the data controller under UK GDPR, and you need appropriate safeguards for transferring that data to India. This is manageable and extremely common, but it is your obligation rather than something we absorb. Raise it with whoever advises you on data protection before the first day, not after.
Management stays yours
We handle employment, not performance. If someone is not working out, that is a conversation you have to have — though we will help you have it, and handle the exit properly under Indian law if it comes to that.
Permanent establishment depends on the role
Whether activity abroad creates a taxable presence depends on what the person actually does. For a standard back-office or engineering hire it is not usually a concern; someone concluding contracts on your behalf is a different question. If the role is commercial rather than administrative, take advice from your own tax adviser. We will flag it if we think your role warrants asking.
EOR, a contractor, or your own Indian entity
| Criterion | JuteWise EOR | Paying a contractor | Your own entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to first hire | About four weeks | Days | Three to six months |
| Setup cost | None | None | Incorporation, counsel, registrations |
| Misclassification risk | None — properly employed | Yours to carry | None |
| Statutory benefits for them | Yes | None | Yes, once you run them |
| Ongoing filings in India | Ours | None | Yours, monthly |
| Sensible above | One hire and up | Genuinely independent work | Roughly 20–30 staff |
The entity column is not a straw man — above a certain headcount your own entity genuinely does become cheaper. We will tell you when you have reached it.
FAQ
Employer of Record questions
Do we need an Indian entity?
No. That is the entire point of the arrangement. Our India partner is already established there and employs the person on your behalf.
Are they our employee or not?
Legally they are employed by our India partner. Practically they work only for you, on your schedule, on your tasks. Both are true at once, and it is a well-established arrangement.
Is recruitment really included?
Yes. There is no separate placement fee and no percentage of first-year salary. Sourcing, screening and shortlisting are covered by the monthly fee, from £199 per person.
What happens if we want to end the arrangement?
You give us notice under our agreement and we handle the termination properly under Indian employment law — notice, final settlement, gratuity where it has accrued. We will not put you in a position where someone is treated badly to save you money.
Can we hire more than one person?
Yes, and the second is faster than the first. Our fee per person drops to £149 from five hires, and above 20 we quote per engagement.