Upwork Payroll supports international hiring by partnering with an Employer of Record (EOR) to manage employee classification, onboarding, and compliance. The five-step process includes requesting pricing, reviewing and approving costs, onboarding talent, and starting the contract. Work may only begin after onboarding, and all employment terms vary by country.
Upwork Payroll services can be utilized for international hiring. Similar to U.S.-based payroll assignments, if you determine the talent in your engagement is best classified as an employee (rather than an independent contractor), we offer Upwork Payroll service through a trusted, Employer of Record service provider. In such cases, the candidate will become an employee of the EOR and assigned to you for the purposes of the project.
Employee rights and contractual obligations can differ from country to country. The five steps below outline the Upwork Payroll offering for international hires.
Step 1: Request pricing
Once you have found a suitable candidate for your project, the first step is to complete a quote request form. This form includes your proposed annual salary in local currency, the estimated number of weekly hours and contract duration, the title and description of work, and other details about your engagement requirements.
Step 2: Review pricing
An Upwork Payroll International Specialist will provide you with the estimated cost breakdown, payment framework, and country-specific statutory financial obligations from the EOR service provider within 48 business hours of your request.
Step 3: Pricing Approval
Once you have reviewed the pricing and engagement details you can provide your approval via an electronic signature. Within 24 business hours of receiving your approval, an Upwork Payroll Specialist will reach out to you to collect a few additional details of the assignment, and communicate these to the EOR service provider.
Step 4: Onboarding
After you give your final approval, the EOR will contact the talent to begin the onboarding process. This will include having the talent sign an employment agreement that outlines the relationship between the talent, the EOR, and you as the end client, as well as the basic employment laws and practices for the locale that will govern the employment relationship. Additional steps required by law or by the employer, such as a background check, may also be included in the talent’s onboarding process.
International onboarding typically takes 3-4 weeks (from quote signature to start date) but can move quicker. An Upwork Payroll Specialist will keep you up to date with the progress throughout the process.
Step 5: Commence working
Once onboarding is complete, a contract will be created on the Upwork platform for billing purposes and the talent can commence work from the agreed start date. The EOR will provide their employee with instructions on time entry, submitting approved expense reimbursements, time off requests and getting paid. You can then seamlessly communicate with the talent through the Upwork platform to share details about the work to be done and align on scheduling, timelines, and work product expectations.
Important:
Work must not begin until the candidate completes onboarding with their employer (the Employer of Record service provider). Legal compliance and payments to talent for any work that happens before the onboarding process is complete will be your company’s responsibility.
Timekeeping will occur between the employee and their employer on the employer’s time tracking tools where applicable. The contract on Upwork will be “paused” to prevent duplicate reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Workers’ eligibility for overtime payments are country dependent and the specific rules governing overtime payments will be communicated to you by the Upwork Payroll Specialist during the quoting process and before the talent begins onboarding with the EOR.
Upwork Payroll is generally available for engagements involving administrative or professional work or responsibilities but cannot be used to support engagements requiring talent to perform more physical or dangerous duties like manual labor, operating heavy equipment, or driving. Hourly and salaried assignments are available through Upwork Payroll — fixed-price contracts are not supported through this service.
Upwork is here to help you resolve issues. Please contact us immediately if:
- You’re concerned with the employees' work performance, so we can help facilitate a resolution between you and the employer.
- The employee alerts you (or you become aware of) 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.
For U.S.-based contracts, contact us at upworkpayroll-us-specialist@upwork.com
For international contracts, contact us at upworkpayroll-intl-specialist@upwork.com
All contractual requests including ending or modifying a contract should be emailed to us. This allows the Employer of Record service provider to comply with any termination requirements, such as country-specific laws governing final paychecks or termination paperwork. The notice period for assignments can vary from country to country and will be communicated prior to starting the contract.
For U.S.-based contracts, contact us at upworkpayroll-us-specialist@upwork.com
For international contracts, contact us at upworkpayroll-intl-specialist@upwork.com