Are Your India Contractors Actually Employees?
In India the label on the contract doesn't decide it — how the work happens does. Answer a few questions and get an honest misclassification risk read, whether you should convert to EOR or can keep them as contractors, the cost either way, and a clear next step.
Risk read
Six-factor employee-status test, scored 0–100
Cost picture
Contractor spend against fully-loaded EOR cost
Exposure estimate
Potential back statutory and penalties if reclassified
A clear next step
Convert, restructure or keep — whichever actually fits
Tell Us About Your Contractors
Answer honestly — the risk read is only as good as the inputs.
What you pay each one today, before any Wisemonk fee.
Which of these are true?
Each one makes a contractor look more like an employee in substance.
Misclassification risk
—
Current spend
—
Cost to convert
—
Time to convert
~3 wks
Why this verdict?
What's driving the risk — the six-factor test
Filled bars are the factors that apply to you. The more that apply, the harder the contractor label is to defend.
Contractor cost vs EOR-employee cost, per month
Fully-loaded cost per converted head
- Base gross (unchanged)
- Statutory load (EPF/ESI/gratuity)
- Wisemonk EOR fee
- Total per head per month
Illustrative exposure if reclassified
Statutory load (EPF/ESI/gratuity)
Penalties and interest
Total potential exposure
Directional estimate of unpaid employer contributions plus damages and interest an authority could levy. Not legal advice — a consultation sizes your actual exposure.
Cost to convert vs exposure carried, over the engagement
- Cost to convert
- Exposure if not
The compliance cost is a steady, modest line. The exposure you carry by waiting compounds with every month engaged.
What an EOR conversion would change
Removes
- Misclassification and PE risk
- Personal liability for back taxes
- IP ownership gaps in contractor terms
- Unpaid statutory exposure
Adds
- Compliant employment contracts
- Statutory benefits (EPF/ESI/gratuity)
- IP-assignment and DPDP clauses
- POSH and payroll compliance, run monthly
- Conversion cost. We keep the person's gross pay the same and add the employer layer — effective statutory ~15% (EPF 12% of capped basic, gratuity ~4.81%, ESI where applicable) plus the flat $99/employee Wisemonk EOR fee.
- Risk score. A weighted read of the six substance-over-form tests Indian authorities and courts apply — control over hours, exclusivity, engagement length, integration, tools and personal service. Regulated industries carry extra weight.
- Exposure. An illustrative estimate of unpaid employer statutory contributions over the engagement (capped at 36 months) plus a 1× allowance for damages and interest. Actual exposure depends on facts and enforcement.
- EOR fee. Wisemonk EOR from $99 per employee per month, flat — not a percentage of salary.
Figures are directional and are not legal or tax advice. The risk score is a weighted read of the substance-over-form tests Indian authorities apply, not a determination. Exposure is an illustrative estimate of back employer contributions plus damages and interest, capped at 36 months of engagement. A consultation validates your risk and exposure for your specific arrangements.
Get this checked against your actual contracts
A Wisemonk expert reviews how your contractors really work and sizes the risk properly — free, and we only suggest converting if it's warranted.
