Global employment is becoming more prevalent and remote opportunities are growing. Research shows that 25% of all North American professional jobs will be remote by 2022, with remote opportunities expected to increase through 2023. Qualified candidates, especially those in the tech field, are increasingly requesting remote work, whether in their home country or in another country.
At the same time, immigration challenges, especially in the US where the H-1B visa can make it difficult to hire and retain foreign employees (many of which are facing decades-long wait times for permanent residency) are making it increasingly difficult for companies to hire the employees they need.
A key strategy for hiring much-needed talent is to leverage other countries’ favorable immigration laws and pursue nearshore options, such as Canada’s Global Talent Stream.
An Employer of Record (EOR) can be the fastest and most cost-effective solution for companies without a Canadian presence who do not wish to open an office, but want to hire one or two employees locally.
Using a third-party employment solution, like an EOR, can simplify the remote hiring process, here’s how it works.
What is an Employer of Record (EOR) and how do they work?
Small and mid-size companies can more easily expand internationally by working with an Employer of Record (EOR).
The EOR’s most important role as the legal employer is managing tax, payroll, employee benefits, and immigration on behalf of your company.
This is not to be confused with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), which requires the company to have an established identity in the host country and simply outsource administrative tasks like payroll, HR, and more to the PEO. Services provided by an EOR allow you to seamlessly hire, terminate, or retain staff in countries where you don’t have a legal entity by using the EOR as the official “employer” in that country.
The EOR’s most important role as the legal employer is managing tax, payroll, employee benefits, and immigration on behalf of your company.
It is possible, for example, for a growing US company to hire an overseas tech worker remotely in Canada if they didn’t win the H-1B lottery, even if the company doesn’t have a legal presence or office there. This candidate would be sponsored by a Canadian EOR through Canada’s specialized immigration program for tech workers, the Global Talent Stream.
The EOR will help you hire the candidate, put them on a local payroll, administer benefits, and more. Outsourcing hiring this way means you can hire in Canada, or anywhere else in the world, without having to expand your company’s legal presence there.
Here are 4 ways an EOR can make remote hiring in Canada easy
1. Employee Benefits
Since employee benefits, and perhaps laws around benefits, can vary by country, the EOR can take care of this aspect of employment. Instead of learning about them, the employer can simply have the EOR handle it. Pension funds, health insurance, and workers’ compensation are examples of benefits that can be provided.
2. Payroll and Tax Compliance
Since the EOR is the legal employer in the host country, they can manage the issuing of paychecks, managing expenses, deductions and reimbursements, handling leave entitlement, and more. An EOR can also take care of appropriate payroll and other taxes in line with the legal requirements of the host country, which means year-end income tax as well.
3. Human Resources
From hiring and firing employees to dealing with workplace disputes, understanding country-specific labor laws is crucial to making sure every situation is dealt with correctly and compliantly. Because the EOR is the local employer from a legal standpoint rather than a US company, they can provide full HR services and strategy.
4. Immigration
As the legal employer, the EOR is responsible for handling immigration matters for foreign nationals who need visa sponsorship, a work permit, or other benefits.
For instance, if a US employer is looking to hire a software engineer in Canada and is working with an EOR, the EOR may use Canada’s Global Talent Stream, a world-class immigration program that grants work permits to qualified tech workers in just 90 days, and hire that worker quickly, compliantly and with certainty.
Tech talent can be hired by US employers with H-1B visa experience without having to worry about a lottery or not being able to hire them!
Hiring skilled tech workers in Canada with an EOR is the easiest way forward. Let Syndesus help!
For US-based companies that are unable to hire skilled tech workers because of the challenges surrounding the H-1B visa or otherwise, hiring them remotely in Canada through an EOR is the easiest and fastest way to get them onboard without needing to have an office in Canada.
And that’s precisely where Syndesus comes in! As a Canadian Employer of Record, Syndesus is able to hire tech workers remotely on behalf of US employers, which means that the immigration, payroll, HR, tax, and other administrative processes of your US-based company are taken care of while you focus on expanding your workforce and moving your business forward.
Reach out to us to learn more about how our EOR services can help you hire and retain staff remotely.
