Swift, hassle-free onboarding

Adding an employee’s details to Remote is simple, with an automated invitation sent to your new starter

Once your employee logs into the platform, Remote prompts them to provide administrative details and upload the necessary supporting documents

Remote conducts right-to-work checks to confirm workers hold the permissions, permits or visas required in their location

We prepare the employment agreement and send it to the employee for a formal signature

The employee is enrolled on payroll and benefits programmes and their status is set to active in Remote.

Depending on the jurisdiction in which you hire, employee onboarding software lets you bring new employees into your organisation while complying with applicable employment law. For local hires this is generally a familiar process: new employees sign an employment agreement and upload key documents, all managed by the onboarding software. Often, onboarding software remains in use once the employee starts work, as it is commonly a feature within a broader employment software suite.

The process gets more complex when companies try to onboard remote employees in countries where they lack a legal entity. Unfamiliarity with local law and customs can hinder rapid, compliant onboarding. In such situations, employers often use an employer of record — or EOR — to onboard workers. An EOR enables businesses to employ people overseas by acting as the local employer of record and handling functions such as payroll, benefits, tax withholding, compliance and share options.

New employees do not automatically know what to do when they start a new role. Even for small organisations, onboarding is the first chance to handle administrative tasks, set clear expectations and communicate company culture. In many jurisdictions, onboarding involves deadlines for paperwork and registrations, so companies hiring across countries should be vigilant.

Nothing frustrates a new employee more than problems with payroll and benefits. You want new starters to have a positive experience and to feel an immediate sense of care and belonging.

If you cannot issue their first paycheque on time or they are unable to sign up for insurance because of administrative errors, new team members will quickly lose trust and motivation. Smooth onboarding processes create a positive experience from the outset, establishing a welcoming environment from day one.

Onboarding remote employees can be as straightforward as bringing in in‑office staff — or considerably more complex, depending on where you hire and how prepared you are. If the remote employee lives in the same area as the rest of the team (for example, the same city or county), the onboarding steps are largely the same: provide suitable equipment and ensure they feel welcomed and included; the legal elements, such as signing the employment agreement, generally remain unchanged.

Onboarding remote employees located elsewhere, such as in a different state or country, introduces new challenges. Besides accounting for time zones, you must handle the paperwork and registrations that accompany a distributed hire. For example, in certain countries, employees are required to undergo a medical exam as part of a new offer of employment, even when working remotely.

Often, particular documents must be filed with government agencies by strict deadlines, and employees need to be enrolled in social programmes within a set period after starting. To hire in a country where your company lacks a legal entity, you can engage an employer of record, or EOR such as Remote.

Begin onboarding remote employees with the fundamentals. Do you have all the legal requirements in place to employ this person?

For contractors, onboarding is typically quick and straightforward. You can use an international contractor management platform such as Remote to pay contractors in their local currencies.

Onboarding full-time remote employees can be more complex. The essential task is to understand the regulations in the country or region where the employee lives and works. If you have a local entity in that country, you will be accountable for functions including local compliance, payroll, taxes, benefits administration and various forms of paperwork. Owing to these challenges, companies commonly work with an employer of record when onboarding remote employees abroad.

Remote is designed to remove the cost, risk and complexity from global employment, allowing you to manage compliance with confidence.

Onboarding independent contractors is generally easier than hiring full-time employees, but take care. Failing to define the boundaries of the working relationship can be costly — not only in fines but potentially in the loss of intellectual property (IP) ownership.

To onboard independent contractors, first draft and sign a formal agreement with the contractor. The contract should set out pay rates, deliverables and ownership of any work produced. Rules differ by country, so when hiring internationally use an international contractor management tool — not merely a payment service without contractual context or protections.

You may wish to convert contractors to employees at a later stage. If that happens, you will need to onboard them into new roles with the accompanying paperwork required in each country.