Highlights of an Employer of Record Services Provider in Eastern Europe
A great Employer of Record in Eastern Europe keeps the bureaucracy out of your backlog so you can go deep on product. You stay in control of the team, and they keep you compliant across Eastern Europe with local know-how and clean SLAs. Now, let me show what the best Employer of Record in Eastern Europe actually covers, and what still stays yours.
Employment & contracts
Let’s say you’re a US CTO used to federal law that sets no national mandate for paid vacation, paid sick leave, or paid parental leave, plus looser, sector-based privacy rules. Then you land in Eastern Europe, and the rulebook flips on day one: EU regulations, directives, and national labor codes drive entirely different rules, and GDPR-grade data handling.
That’s where an Employer of Record in Eastern Europe helps: they run background checks (on request), collect employee/contractor data, hire FTE or B2B without opening an entity, and keep documents tight – employment contracts/SLAs, NDAs, IP, and confidentiality – so every clause fits EU and country rules while you stay focused on your business.
Let’s take a concrete example: Romania. Written contracts are mandatory and registered in REGES-Online (the national labor register). Contracts capture essentials such as type (indefinite/fixed-term), role, working hours, and work location, and must be lodged before the employee’s first day.
And if you’re hiring in Ukraine, there are wartime specifics – like lawful suspension of an employment contract when work is impossible due to the conflict. And don’t forget that, beyond standard contracts, tech companies can use the Diia.City gig contract, a hybrid civil-law form built for the IT sector that pairs flexibility with defined IP and tax mechanics.
Your EOR partner in Eastern Europe should track these moving parts, refresh templates as laws shift, and lift operational burden off your shoulders, so you don’t have to learn every intricacy yourself.
Payroll management
Same as in the US, in Eastern Europe, salaries are typically paid monthly on a fixed date, with the latest payout usually no later than the following month (for example, in Poland by the 10th, in Czechia by the last day of the next month). Your Employer of Record in Eastern Europe should lock this into your hire pack from day one.
Here’s the usual payroll flow your EOR provider will run:
- Capture time, leave, and allowance;
- Run gross-to-net & issue payslips;
- Withhold and remit income taxes;
- File social security/health reports & pay contributions;
- Year-end (or periodic) reconciliations.
Taxes & SSC management
This is where expansions go sideways. Rates, caps, and deadlines vary by country, and a single missed filing can tank trust with your team. A strong Employer of Record in Eastern Europe solves this problem with correct withholdings, on-time remittances, and clean reports.
|
Full-time employment |
B2B | |||
|
Employer’s share |
Employee’s share |
Client’s share |
Contractor’s share | |
|
Poland |
SSC: 20% |
PIT (progressive): 12% up to PLN 120,000 (~USD 29,800), then 32% on the excess |
N/A |
PIT: 12% |
|
Romania |
SSC: 2.25-10.25% |
PIT: 10% |
N/A |
PIT: 10% Health insurance contribution: 10% from the net income |
|
Ukraine |
SSC: 22% |
PIT: 18% |
N/A |
Single Tax: 5% |
|
Bulgaria |
SSC: 18.9-19.6% |
PIT: 10% |
N/A |
PIT: 15% |
|
Hungary |
SSC: 13% |
PIT: 15% |
N/A |
PIT: 15% |
|
Czechia |
SSC: 33.8% |
PIT: 15% up to threshold; 23% above |
N/A |
PIT: 15%/23%; health & social per OSVČ rules |
Benefits management
I’ll show you the baseline your Employer of Record in Eastern Europe will switch on by default, but then layer country specifics on top:
Statutory benefits.
- Paid annual leave: EU minimum 4 weeks, and countries can (and often do) grant more.
- Family leaves: at least 14 weeks maternity leave, plus EU-wide parental leave (4 months per parent, 2 months non-transferable).
- Sick pay: employers often cover the early period in many Eastern European markets (for example, in the Czech Republic, employers cover the first 14 days, then social insurance pays).
- Social insurance/health: employer and employee contributions handled via local filings (for example, ZUS DRA in Poland; D112 in Romania).
Non-statutory benefits.
Your EOR vendor can also manage private medical plans, meal vouchers (tax-favored and common in Romania), life insurance, sports cards, WFH stipends, and retirement add-ons, such as Poland’s PPK auto-enrolment scheme, upon request.
IT-specific benefits.
Not all EOR companies in Eastern Europe provide these. But if they do, there are pre-configured gear, learning budgets, conference support, flexible remote setups, and clear IP/bonus mechanics for your tech team. Where feasible, also stock options or equity plans administered in a locally compliant way.
Onboarding & offboarding
EOR providers in Eastern Europe also understand that you want day-one readiness, clean probation, and exits for employees with zero friction. So they handle:
- Onboarding: right-to-work checks, GDPR consent, contract and IP/NDAs signed, bank/tax details collected, benefits enrollment, HRIS access, equipment delivery, and mandatory registrations.
- Probation: simple 30/60/90 cadence with written objectives and check-ins.
- Offboarding: drafting termination docs, compliant letters and notices, asset return and access revocation, final payroll, statutory filings, and – where applicable – severance per local law or contract.
HR operations
Your EOR service provider in Eastern Europe should be your calm, always-on help desk – and your HR systems co-pilot. They’ll set up (or connect to) your HRIS, configure SSO/SCIM, and help you manage it day to day. On the ground, they handle routine asks (leave balances, sick notes, confirmations), coach managers through tricky moments (warnings, investigations), and keep the paper trail audit-ready. You get ongoing customer support with clear SLAs, tidy digital records, and payroll exports that actually map to your cost centers.
Helpful add-ons that some EOR providers in Eastern Europe offer
Pick the Employer of Record services in Eastern Europe that don’t stop at payroll. The best providers wrap a full stack around your team so expansion feels like flipping a switch:
- Contractor of Record (COR)
I already mentioned B2B taxes above. You might ask: “If contractors handle their own taxes and there’s no employer’s share, what’s the point?” Here it is: COR standardizes contracts (IP, confidentiality), reduces misclassification risk, validates invoices, schedules on-time payouts, and sends gentle tax reminders. All while making it crystal clear that contractors remain responsible for their own filings. It’s operational hygiene, not a tax position. - Recruitment
If you can, choose Employer of Record companies in Eastern Europe that also own recruitment – not just “access to an AI marketplace” or a third-party agency list. Most EOR providers outsource hiring or point you to platforms, which is fine for volume, but weak for quality. The ideal EOR partner has an in-house recruiting team that can source, interview, and close top candidates, then handle compliant contracts and fast starts with EOR. One accountable partner means cleaner comparison, fewer handoffs, and a saner cross-border model across HQs and Eastern European teams. - Business & travel visa support
For non-EU hires somewhere in Poland, Romania, or Bulgaria, your EOR should run the local permit/residence flow, keep letters tight, and track timelines. For US trips, they prepare employment confirmations and a clean itinerary for B1/B2 (or advise when to loop in immigration counsel). - Equipment procurement & sysadmin help
Your EOR partner in Eastern Europe should give you not only administration depth, but also outfit the team end-to-end: laptops, PCs, and peripherals, plus setup for office or WFH – Wi-Fi and VPN standards, identity/SSO, MDM, and corporate cloud access (for example, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365). They’ll install required software, enforce policies, and harden the stack against cyber risks (EDR, patching, MFA, backups, incident playbooks). - Employer branding with a local presence
Your EOR partner handles the local lift, so you don’t have to make: localized career pages, salary ranges in local currency, postings on country job boards (such as Pracuj.pl, eJobs.ro, Jobs.cz), plus country-specific social channels, targeted ads, and media/community placements. The payoff is stronger pipelines, fewer renegotiations, and a shorter onboarding time frame because candidates already know – and trust – your brand before day one. - Office/coworking lease
Even your remote would enjoy some offline connection. The right EOR services in Eastern Europe can secure coworking or small offices in Warsaw, Bucharest, Prague, Sofia, or Lviv, without you having to learn lease law.
Overlooked, Yet Important Factors for Choosing an EOR Partner in Eastern Europe
Entity model
One of the questions you might have: “What is the difference for me if the Employer of Record providers in Eastern Europe hire via their own local entities, or through a chain of partners?” Owned entities mean faster contract edits, clear liability, and fewer hops when something breaks. Partner-of-a-partner models add lag and finger-pointing exactly when you need speed.
Customer support
When terminations, sick-pay disputes, or benefits deadlines hit, an FAQ, tutorial video, or chatbot buys you time, but not solutions. Ask for named account managers, response-time SLAs, and a live escalation line. The best EOR providers pair a platform with humans who can actually move a case forward.
Local expertise & in-country team
Let’s imagine that the US team rolls into Eastern Europe with a global template, only to learn – late – that Poland needs specific IP or invention wording, Romania expects REGES-online registration before start, and Czechia handles on-call differently. Good Employer of Record agencies in Eastern Europe bring bilingual (EN + local) contracts, city-level guidance, and someone who can say, “We already fixed this for two clients last quarter – here’s the clause and the timeline.”
Termination and severance handling
Your EOR partner should brief managers on grounds, notice, and documentation. Then run the sequence: letters, tracking, final pay, unused leave, and severance, so exits are lawful and respectful.
|
Termination Laws in Eastern Europe |
||||||
|
Poland |
Romania |
Ukraine |
Bulgaria |
Hungary |
Czech Republic |
|
|
Notice Period |
2 weeks (<6 m); |
20 working days |
Not required in general; up to 2 months for certain redundancies |
Usually 30 days (indefinite); fixed-term up to 3 months or per contract |
30 days base; may extend by service (up to 90 days total) |
2 months, runs from 1st day of next month after notice |
|
Local requirements |
Dismissal must be justified |
Dismissal for cause (e.g., performance/discipline) or redundancy |
Dismissal only on specific legal grounds with statutory forms |
Dismissal only on enumerated grounds |
Ordinary dismissal requires substantiated reasons |
Dismissal needs legal grounds |
|
Termination payments |
Compensation for all unused paid vacation days accrued and any outstanding payments. |
|||||
|
Severance payments |
1 mo (<2 y) |
Not mandatory (except certain medical unfitness or per CBA/contract) |
Depends on grounds; commonly 1-6 months average salary |
Typically 1 month for staff reduction; up to 6 months in certain cases |
Due after tenure thresholds; typically 1-3 months (more near retirement/ special cases) |
Redundancy: 1× monthly pay (<1 y), 2× (1–2 y), 3× (≥2 y); up to 12× for health reasons |
|
Protected employees |
Pregnant women Employees on maternity or childcare leave Employees on justified leave or other forms of absence Union leaders/employee representatives Employees close to retirement |
|||||
Platform integrations
Your EOR partner should plug cleanly into your stack – HRIS (Workday, BambooHR, HiBob), ATS (Greenhouse, Lever), and accounting/ERP (Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite) – with SSO/SCIM for access hygiene and field-level mapping you can audit. Check that payroll exports land in the right cost centers with no spreadsheet surgery, approvals don’t time out, and syncs run on schedule. For cross-border payouts, compatibility with Wise or Payoneer is a plus. If the answer to “Can we map these fields?” is “download a PDF,” that’s not an integration.
Pricing transparency
Demand an itemized view you can benchmark: salary, employer obligations, benefits, EOR fee (PEPM – per employee per month), FX handling, and one-offs. Clear pricing models from Employer of Record service providers in Eastern Europe prevent gotchas like exchange markups or ridiculous “document generation” fees later.
Top 10 Employer of Record companies in Eastern Europe
Now that you know what a great Employer of Record actually handles, let’s talk about the companies that could become your partners, so you can choose the one that fits your business goals:
Clutch: 4.9/5
G2: 5/5
Founded: 2017
Alcor assembles and operates software R&D teams across Eastern Europe and LATAM – combining a tech-first EOR, senior IT recruitment, and full operational support. It’s a strong pick if you want a single accountable partner to hire senior engineers in 2-6 weeks and centralize payroll, benefits, IP/NDAs, equipment, and workspace under one roof.
Pricing: tailored, line-item transparency for only the services you use
Platform automation: AlcorOS – a single workspace that pulls onboarding, payroll, benefits, and finance ops into one place
Buyer fit category: US tech product companies scaling into Eastern Europe and LATAM
Pros:
- Purpose-built for tech: local presence, deep engineering hiring expertise
- One vendor for tech EOR, recruitment, and ops
- Dedicated Customer Manager with fast responses and hands-on support
- Clear, flexible pricing with volume discounts as you scale – no prepayments, no offboarding fees
Cons:
- Optimized only for tech
- Narrower country footprint vs global giants (contractor coverage in additional markets only via COR)
- No self-serve HRIS experience
- Deel
Clutch: N/A
G2: 4.8/5
Founded: 2019
A global Employer of Record and contractor platform covering 150+ countries, positioned for fast rollouts across Eastern Europe. Deel combines payroll, benefits, and compliance with deep HR/finance integrations and an expanding network of owned entities in the region.
Pricing: starting at $599 PEPM (EOR), add-ons vary
Platform automation: Deel Platform – centralizes onboarding, payroll, benefits, and contractor payouts
Buyer fit category: Scale-ups/enterprises needing fast cross-border onboarding
Pros:
- Wide geographic reach in 150+ countries with owned-entity push
- Rich integrations (Workday, HiBob, BambooHR, SuccessFactors, finance stacks)
- Equity support for EOR employees
Cons (based on G2 feedback):
- High costs and markups, FX/transfer fees can feel steep on international payments
- Slow and robotic support with FAQs and chatbots that often lags
- The platform can feel heavy and slow to navigate for simple or single-country use cases
- Atlas HMX
Clutch: N/A
G2: 4.5/5
Founded: 2015
An Employer of Record built around the direct EOR model with 160+ countries covered – suited for multi-country programs across Eastern Europe, and beyond. Atlas pairs EOR with HXM (Human Experience Management) features, visa support, and an in-region support model.
Pricing: Starting at $599 PEPM (EOR)
Platform automation: Atlas Platform – unifies hiring, payroll, documents, and visa workflows with web + mobile access
Buyer fit category: Mid-market and enterprise teams
Pros:
- Direct-entity model in 160+ countries
- Ease of use & quick setup frequently noted by users
- Human-led support + mobility options alongside platform self-service
Cons (based on G2 feedback):
- Support responsiveness can lag on escalations; some users report delays during setup or issue resolution
- UX hiccups for new users (login/auth issues, occasional crashes, feature discoverability) create an early learning curve
- Cost skews higher for some use cases (implementation/maintenance), so single-country or lean programs may find it pricey
- Papaya Global
Clutch: N/A
G2: 4.5/5
Founded: 2016
An Employer of Record and global payroll platform built for multi-country hiring across Eastern Europe and beyond. Papaya centralizes EOR, payroll, and payments with coverage in 160+ countries, plus a payments OS that moves funds via local rails.
Pricing: Starting at $599 PEPM (EOR)
Platform automation: Papaya Global platform – combines multi-country payroll, cross-border payments, and BI into a single control panel
Buyer fit category: Mid-market and enterprise teams
Pros:
- Strong multi-country payroll + payments capabilities, with 160+ country coverage
- Easy to use, quick to set up – users highlight smooth onboarding and intuitive workflows
- Responsive support praised by many reviewers during implementation and day-to-day ops
Cons (based on G2 feedback):
- Costs can feel high for smaller programs, especially with add-ons/fees
- Occasional billing/invoicing frictions require careful review
- Generalist across many industries
- Remote
Clutch: N/A
G2: 4.6/5
Founded: 2019
Global Employer of Record and contractor platform geared for multi-country hiring across Eastern Europe, and beyond. Remote combines employment, payroll, benefits, contractor management, and mobility/relocation with an integrations/API layer.
Pricing: Starting at $699 PEPM (EOR)
Platform automation: Remote Embedded – runs onboarding, payroll, benefits, contractor management, and mobility with APIs
Buyer fit category: SMBs and enterprise teams standardizing multi-country hiring
Pros:
- Integrations + API for HR/finance stacks
- Mobility, relocation options, and business-travel support
- User-friendly interface and intuitive workflows that simplify HR and payment management
Cons (based on G2 feedback):
- Reports of payment processing delays and occasional slow load times affect payout timing
- Support quality is uneven in some cases, creating friction on urgent issues.
- Higher entry price and add-ons (e.g., mobility, certain benefits) can lift total cost for lean, single-country needs.
- Rippling
Clutch: N/A
G2: 4.8/5
Founded: 2019
An all-in-one workforce platform – HRIS, payroll, EOR, device MDM, identity/SSO – positioned for teams standardizing operations across Eastern Europe and other regions. Rippling emphasizes fast EOR payroll lead times plus deep workflow automation.
Pricing: EOR pricing is quote-based (varies by bundle)
Platform automation: Rippling Platform – all-in-one HRIS + payroll + EOR + device/identity management
Buyer fit category: Scale-ups/enterprises needing HR, payroll, IT, and finance management
Pros:
- Broad ecosystem with 600+ integrations, useful for complex HR/finance/IT setups.
- HRIS + payroll + device management + identity/SSO under one roof.
- Global payroll reach (185+ countries, 50+ currencies) supports multi-country hiring
Cons (based on G2 feedback):
- Mixed UX reports: some users cite steep learning curves, confusing navigation, and reporting
- Variable support response, multi-day waits in certain cases
- Pricing clarity can be hard to parse – modular bundles/add-ons complicate budget forecasting
- OysterHR
Clutch: N/A
G2: 4.4/5
Founded: 2019
Global Employer of Record and contractor platform that pairs employment, payroll, and benefits with integrations/API and a growing EOR track record in the region.
Pricing: Starting at $699 PEPM (EOR)
Platform automation: Oyster API – a hub for onboarding, payroll, benefits, and compliance with plug-and-play integrations
Buyer fit category: SMB-mid-market companies standardizing cross-border hiring
Pros:
- Integrations + API to connect HR/finance tools and streamline routine tasks.
- Users highlight quick starts and straightforward navigation across devices
- Broad reach (180+ countries) with equity and tooling available in 80+ markets
Cons (based on G2 feedback):
- Reports of opaque costs (e.g., FX, certain add-ons, upfront and recurring costs) can complicate TCO planning
- Support frictions – slower ticket handling and reimbursement hurdles noted by reviewers
- Operational quirks such as early cut-offs, unclear payout schedules, and clunky document uploads can slow workflows
- G-P (Globalization Partners)
Clutch: N/A
G2: 4.5/5
Founded: 2012
A long-standing Employer of Record platform operating in 180+ countries that combines EOR and contractor workflows with Gia, its AI help layer for compliance and HR questions.
Pricing: Modular
Platform automation: G-P EOR, G-P Contractor, and G-P Gia (AI help platform)
Buyer fit category: Enterprises and scale-ups
Pros:
- Mature integrations and automation suitable for larger HR/finance stacks
- Fast onboarding with a portal that many teams find straightforward for day-one setup and payments
- Broad coverage of 180+ countries for fast expansion
Cons (based on G2 feedback):
- Some policy rigidity (e.g., expense rules) can clash with internal practices, creating operational friction
- Certain global payroll calculations may route through external providers, adding extra hops and coordination
- Total cost can rise with setup charges, FX spreads, and service surcharges compared to leaner alternatives
- MOTIFE
Clutch: 4.8/5
G2: N/A
Founded: 2017
Poland-first operator focused on IT recruitment, staffing, soft-landing, and Employer of Record – designed for teams that want hands-on, on-the-ground support in a single Eastern European market.
Pricing: Basic, core, and custom packages
Platform automation: N/A
Buyer fit category: Software or R&D teams that want on-the-ground Polish support
Pros:
- 100% tech-focused
- Deep Polish market expertise for sourcing, hiring, and compliance.
- Bundled support: IT recruitment + EOR services
Cons:
- No self-serve platform or automation layer
- EOR is limited to Poland (not a multi-country CEE solution)
- On cost sensitivity, some alternatives rank more competitively on Clutch
- EasyEOR
Clutch: N/A
G2: N/A
Founded: 2022
Poland-only Employer of Record operator with PEO capability. Focuses on compliant hiring in Poland and the practical bits – pre-employment medicals, onboarding paperwork, and day-one readiness.
Pricing: Custom
Platform automation: N/A
Buyer fit category: Companies wanting a boutique, Poland-first provider for a small-to-mid team
Pros:
- Deep Polish expertise in labor law, payroll, and local procedures
- Tightly scoped EOR/PEO services
- Adds HR consulting support when you need extra guidance
Cons:
- Single-country footprint – no multi-market EOR if you expand beyond Poland
- No public HRIS or self-serve platform experience
- Broad industry coverage means not tech-specialized for R&D-heavy teams
Top EOR Companies in Eastern Europe for the Software Development Industry
Alcor. Built for software teams, not general payroll. As an Employer of Record in Eastern Europe, Alcor pairs tech-only EOR with R&D center build-outs, a 40-person headhunting squad for top-10% engineers, and no-entity hiring so you don’t lose 2-4 months on setup. You get a clean IP, fast onboarding, and 360° operational support around your dev team.
Motife. A Poland-first choice for product engineering. Motife blends IT recruitment with a focused EOR and soft-landing, bringing strong local pipelines in Warsaw/Krakow, engineer-savvy contracts (IP, on-call, code ownership), and truly on-the-ground onboarding.
Best EOR Providers in Eastern Europe for E-Commerce
Deel. Solid pick for e-commerce brands stitching together multiple Eastern European markets. Deel helped fashion marketplace Miinto run payroll across seven countries with an in-house team – useful when you’re juggling seasonal spikes, multi-currency pay, and marketplace ops.
Remote. Has experience helping global e-commerce companies by centralizing entity payroll – handy for distributed CX and finance teams that need one source of truth.
Atlas (Atlas HXM). Best for retailers that want control plus predictability at scale. Atlas’ direct-entity EOR model and fast onboarding aim to make cross-border hiring in Eastern Europe boring – in the best way – for store, ops, and data roles.
Best EOR service providers for Business Expansion in Eastern Europe
Alcor. Expansion with proof, not promises. Sift scaled to a 51-person engineering team across Ukraine and Poland under full EOR coverage; Intel 471 moved 20 developers to Poland and fully onboarded them in 4 weeks; People.ai stood up a Ukrainian R&D office in 1 month, hired 25+ rare-skill engineers, and achieved 100% compliance after ditching multi-vendor chaos.
Rippling. A good pick when your expansion needs HR, IT, and finance to move as one. Its all-in-one stack (HRIS + payroll + EOR + device/identity) helps larger organisations launch new Eastern European countries without stitching together five tools.
OysterHR. Built for multi-country ramp-ups with light lift from your team. Oyster’s EOR + contractor coverage, straightforward UI, and integrations let ops leaders add roles across Eastern Europe quickly.
Top Eastern Europe-founded/owned EOR companies
- Alcor – Ukraine-born, company with tech-only focus, IT recruitment, ops, and EOR across Poland, Romania, Ukraine.
- Motife – Poland-first operator that blends IT recruitment, soft-landing, and EOR for product engineering hubs.
- EasyEOR – Boutique, Poland-only EOR/PEO with hands-on compliance and onboarding practicalities.
