How does an Employer of Record work in India?

An Employer of Record in India becomes the official legal employer, so your company can hire employees without opening an Indian entity. You control all day-to-day work, while the EOR manages contracts, payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance under Indian labor laws.

Based on our extensive experience helping US companies scale engineering, marketing, and GTM teams in India, the EOR model works best for firms that want to move fast while staying fully compliant.

What does an Employer of Record handle in India?[toc=What an EOR Handles]

From our experience supporting hundreds of global companies expanding into India, these are the core areas where companies rely most on an EOR:

• Employment contracts and onboarding: The EOR issues locally compliant employment contracts covering notice periods, statutory leave, confidentiality, IP rights, and benefits. This ensures the employment relationship aligns with Indian labor regulations from day one.
• Monthly payroll and tax compliance: The EOR runs payroll with accurate deductions for PF, ESI, Professional Tax, and TDS. These operate similarly to Social Security and payroll withholding in the US. We often see founders underestimate the complexity of multi-state compliance, which is why a local EOR becomes essential.
• Statutory benefits and HR administration: The EOR manages mandatory benefits including PF, ESI, gratuity, paid time off, and statutory holidays. It also administers reimbursements, increments, and offboarding based on state rules and contract terms.
• Compliance and risk protection: The EOR absorbs all legal employer obligations in India, shielding you from Permanent Establishment exposure, misclassification risk, and tax penalties. In our audits, this is one of the highest-risk areas for US companies trying to hire directly without local expertise.
• Daily work ownership: Your team manages performance, deliverables, promotion cycles, and culture. The EOR handles employment law and HR administration, so you stay focused on operations.

Why US companies hire in India through an EOR?[toc=Why use an EOR]

Based on our work with US startups and mid-size SaaS companies, these are the most common reasons founders choose the EOR route:

• Zero entity setup: Incorporating in India takes three to six months and brings ongoing legal maintenance. An EOR allows you to hire immediately.
• Lower administrative load: You avoid the burden of payroll software, HR filings, and state-level compliance across India.
• Faster access to top talent: India offers one of the world’s strongest engineering and GTM talent pools. Companies typically accelerate hiring when the EOR removes compliance barriers.

To demonstrate how teams benefit from this model, here are real experiences from global founders who hired through Wisemonk:

“I'm very happy that I discovered Wisemonk. They have been a pure pleasure to work with, and their attention to detail is impressive. They helped us understand their pricing model, find top-qualified individuals, interview them, and then onboard them. I gave them criteria for the type of people we sought, and they delivered. The individuals they were able to find have been some of the best engineers I have ever worked with. I recommend Wisemonk to anyone who is in need of staffing assistance.”
- Dan Sampson, Head of Engineering at Cobu

“I highly recommend them. Wisemonk helped us tap into the vibrant and top-notch Indian talent market and hire our first couple of founding engineers in record time. We've been able to accelerate our roadmap and deliver terrific value to our customers thanks to Wisemonk's efforts. They are easy to work with and very transparent about the process. I highly recommend them to any company looking for talent located in India.”
- Krishna Ramachandran, Co-founder at Onform

These reviews reinforce what we see in practice, an India-focused Employer of Record (EOR) significantly shortens the hiring cycle while ensuring accuracy and compliance.

How Wisemonk supports US companies hiring in India?[toc=How Wisemonk Helps]

Wisemonk  provides India-specialist EOR services that handle compliant hiring, payroll, benefits, equipment procurement, and onboarding for global teams. We help companies hire in two to four days while removing India’s compliance complexity.

Here are client perspectives that highlight the compliance and HR support US companies value:

“The Wisemonk team played a key role in helping us hire for specialized B2B SaaS marketing skills. We were able to build the team within four months, and hire experienced professionals from Tier 1/major B2B SaaS brands. This includes SEO, digital marketing, business development, product marketing, content marketing, and GTM roles. They are a great partner providing integrated services for EOR and recruitment/hiring and I’d recommend them to any B2B SaaS vendor.”
– Saurabh Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer at Onereach

“Working with the Wisemonk team in India has been a genuinely positive experience from day one. They've been consistently accessible and are building fantastic relationships with our local team. As someone based in the UK, I value the quality of compliance Wisemonk brings — I have full confidence when it comes to financial, legal, and HR matters. They've ensured our team is managed in line with local employment law and have also been flexible when we've wanted to go beyond statutory requirements. Whether it's increasing annual leave or tailoring health insurance, they've offered clear guidance to help us enhance the benefits we provide. It's been a great partnership.”
– Lisa Jones, Chief People Officer at Couch Health

These testimonials reflect what we consistently see: companies want fast hiring, accurate payroll, strong compliance, and a dependable India partner. Wisemonk fills that gap with an India-specialist model that delivers predictable execution at scale.