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✓ Send a U.S.-based BYO Payroll offer

Sometimes you already know the right person for the job. A BYO (Bring Your Own) Payroll offer lets you bring your own U.S.-based talent onto Upwork’s platform while letting us help you with employment law compliance through the Upwork Payroll solution. We offer Upwork Payroll services through a trusted, third-party Employer of Record (EOR) service provider. In such cases, the talent will become an employee of the EOR and be assigned to you for the purposes of the project.

How it works


You get to bring the talent you want and the EOR will employ the talent in compliance with country or locale-specific laws and handle the administration of the talent’s employment.

When hiring U.S.-based talent, the EOR service provider will:

  • Enter into an employment agreement with the talent
  • Manage the talent’s pay
  • Maintain workers’ compensation insurance coverage for the talent
  • Administer payroll taxes
  • Provide legally mandated benefits (e.g., as required by the Affordable Care Act) as well as voluntary benefit offerings

As the client working with talent employed by an EOR, you will be responsible for:

  • Directing the talent’s day-to-day work on your project
  • Complying with laws prohibiting workplace discrimination and harassment
  • Providing a physically safe and harassment-free working environment
  • Allowing the talent to take legally-required breaks or leave

Note:

Timekeeping will occur between the employee and their employer (the Employer of Record service provider) on the employer’s timekeeping tools where applicable— the contract you see on Upwork will be "paused" to prevent duplicate reporting.

Send a U.S. BYO payroll offer for Enterprise Standard


If you’re an Enterprise Standard client, complete the U.S. BYO form.

Send a U.S. BYO Payroll offer for Enterprise Compliance


  1. Go to Hire talent > Bring talent to Upwork (BYO)
  2. Select Invite a talent
  3. Select Invite talent to review an offer
  4. Select the worker classification status titled “payroll employee” when sending the offer
  5. Enter the talent’s first and last name, phone number, plus their email address, on the form. Please enter all fields

Your onboarding will be initiated within 24 business hours.

Important:

You must not have the candidate start work until they complete onboarding with their employer (the EOR). Onboarding can include background checks and other items required by law or by the employer. On average, it takes 3-5 business days to complete the entire onboarding process. Legal compliance and payments to talent for any work that happens before the onboarding process is finished will be your company’s responsibility.

During onboarding, the EOR will provide the talent with instructions on logging their time and getting paid. We will notify you once onboarding is complete and you can then seamlessly communicate with the talent through Upwork platform to share details about the work to be done and align on scheduling, timelines, and work product expectations

Talk to your talent


Communicating with your talent is important. If you’re using the BYO Payroll service, let the talent know that we will send an invitation to join Upwork they will need to accept in order to review an offer from you. When they accept the invitation, they’ll need to set up an Upwork profile, then complete the EOR’s onboarding process and any onboarding tasks required by your company (if applicable), and they’ll also need to accept their contract.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if the person I want to work with lives outside the U.S?
How much does Upwork Payroll cost?

As an Enterprise client, you’ll pay a customized rate outlined in your Master Service Agreement (MSA) based on your specific needs. Your Upwork program partner can review the MSA with you to clarify costs. For Enterprise clients with Compliance WPP subscriptions who have contracts with U.S.-based talent, an estimated total fee (excluding taxes) will appear on the offer page when finalizing offers, including for BYO talent.

What is an Employer of Record (EOR) service provider?

An Employer of Record (EOR) is an organization that legally employs workers on behalf of another business, taking on the responsibility for all legal and administrative employment tasks. This includes handling paying workers, payroll taxes, benefits, and compliance with local labor laws. The EOR provides a comprehensive, compliant solution that allows businesses to hire and manage workers in different regions without the need to set up a local entity or navigate complex employment regulations directly.

Are workers employed by the EOR eligible for overtime payments?

Unless you are notified otherwise before work starts, talent employed by an EOR will be eligible for overtime pay. Overtime varies by location, but in most U.S. states it applies to hours worked over 40 in a week. Should you have questions regarding overtime in Upwork Payroll engagements, please contact upworkpayroll@upwork.com.

How can I monitor the hours worked by the employee?

For contracts where talent is U.S. based, you can view the hours worked and payments from your Upwork account by going to Manage Work > Timesheet and choose a date range to see entries.

Who do I reach out to if I have concerns with the employee or the contract?

We’re here to help you resolve issues. Please contact us immediately at upworkpayroll-us-specialist@upwork.com if:

  • You’re concerned with the employee’s work performance, so we can help facilitate a resolution between you and the employer.
  • Your talent alerts you (or you become aware) of a need for a leave of absence or disability accommodation so we can be a conduit of a compliant reasonable accommodation process as directed by the employer.
How do I end an Upwork Payroll contract?

All contractual requests including ending or modifying a contract should be emailed to upworkpayroll-us-specialist@upwork.com Typically, to end a U.S.-based Upwork Payroll assignment, you’ll need to provide at least 72 hours notice. This allows the Employer of Record (EOR) to comply with any termination requirements, such as state laws governing final paychecks or termination paperwork. The notice period for assignments outside the U.S. can vary from country to country.

Where can I see my Upwork Payroll service fee?

You can see your payroll service fee as a line item on your invoices and in your transaction history.

For Enterprise clients who have Compliance WPP subscriptions and contracts with U.S.-based talent, you’ll also see an estimate of your total fees in the offer details when you’re finalizing your offer for both BYO offers and offers to talent you found on Upwork. This estimate does not include any applicable taxes.

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