Independent contractors or freelancers are self-employed individuals who provide services to companies as a non-employee. This is one of the most common ways companies tend to hire non-local designers, engineers, support reps, etc.
For legal and tax purposes, independent contractors are not classified as employees. They may work for multiple clients, set their own work hours, negotiate their pay rate, and decide how a job gets done.
For example, the IRS says that if an independent contractor or freelancer does work that can be controlled (what will be done and how it will be done) by an employer then they are, in fact, classified as an employee.
As you can imagine, hiring someone as an independent contractor versus an employee is a fine line to tread.
While there are benefits when you choose the contractor route, there are quite a few drawbacks to consider and you’ll need to weigh them carefully to determine the best fit for your company.
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A foreign subsidiary is a company that operates overseas as part of a larger company who’s HQ is in another country.
Establishing a foreign entity is great for having an international presence and accessing new markets. Though, setting up a subsidiary in Serbia can be expensive, stressful, and time-consuming. It's not for the faint of heart.
To set up a subsidiary in Serbia, you have to:
If you're lucky, this process can take months. If you're not so lucky, it can take up to a year. And on average, it costs about $50k-$80k, all-in-all, to get setup. And that's just for Serbia.
An employer-of-record (EOR) is a company that hires and pays an employee on behalf of another company.
An EOR is typically used to overcome the financial and regulatory hurdles that often come with employing remote workers.
Each country has its own payroll, employment, and work permit requirements for non-resident companies doing business in their jurisdiction. Meeting those demands can be a huge obstacle when it comes to hiring remotely.
At Panther, we help companies employ and pay people in over 160 countries, without having to set up a foreign subsidiary. Payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and more are all handled by us, at a fraction of the cost.
Outside of saving you months and tens of thousands of dollars, other advantages of using Panther are:
Because you no longer have to set up your own subsidiary, you’ll save a ton of time and tens of thousands of dollars using Panther.
Paying employees in Serbia is not the same as paying workers in your own country. Employees have to be paid using Serbia’s employment and payroll standards.
This means that you have to know, understand, and keep up with 1) fluctuating currency changes, and 2) local payroll and tax laws in the countries you’re looking to hire in.
Outside of the laws and regulations around payroll, there may be different conditions surrounding leave, overtime, termination, and more. As you can imagine, maintaining this kind of regulatory knowledge can be challenging. But it is crucial and necessary to follow local legislation.
After, you’ll have to determine the best way to pay your international employees. This can be done in a number of ways, including but not limited to:
One of the most challenging (and expensive) parts of paying international employees is setting up the infrastructure to do so.
Before you start to run payroll, you have to register your company as the local employer in the country the worker resides in. As you can see in the “Set up a subsidiary” section, this is a multi-step process that can take up to a year and put you on your way to bankruptcy.
Outside of EORs acting as the full admin employer, many also provide remote payroll.
For example, at Panther, in just 1-click, you’re able to pay your entire global team, anywhere in the world. We send you an invoice each month, charge you in US Dollars, and pay your employees the same amount in their local currency.
We factor in currency fluctuations and use the mid-market rate plus any applicable fee passed on by our provider at cost at the time of billing.
A work week is 40 hours for five days of 8 hours each.
Overtime is work over 8 hours per day or 40 hours a week.
Overtime is limited to 8 hours per week and 4 hours per day and paid at 126% of regular salary.
Employer
The payroll cycle is monthly.
There is no 13th salary.
PTO is calculated by the:
There are 12 public holidays.
The duration of sick leave entitlement provided to workers is dependent on how long they have been employed by their employer:
Combined pregnancy/maternity leave goes for 365 days.
No specific paternity leave but under certain circumstances, the father could use maternity leave if mother unable to care for the baby during that period.
None.
None.
None.
None.
In the event of a termination of a local employee, the employee’s salary must be paid:
Employers must provide an explanation in writing and at least 8 days’ notice if the termination is based on performance.
The explanation must include the reason for dismissal, evidence, and an opportunity for the employee to respond.
Failure to follow the procedure could result in a court invalidating the dismissal.
The notice period in Singapore is:
The employer must give at least 8 days.
An employee terminating the employment must give 15 days.
In the event of layoffs, a notice period of 30 days is required.
In the case of layoffs, a severance payment of at least 1/3 of regular salary for each year worked is required.
Not more than 6 months, during which either party could end the relationship with five days’ notice.
