ubiqueEverything a local employer would offer, without being a local employer
Your hire in Lisbon is comparing your offer with one from a company down the road. Health cover, a pension, a share of the upside, a laptop on day one, and someone to sort out the visa. These add-ons close that gap, country by country, priced only for the people who use them.
All services are optional and quoted per country. None are required to use Ubique.
Health, pension, life and disability, through partner brokers
Mandatory benefits are included in every EOR contract. Local benefits are the supplementary cover that candidates expect from a good employer in their country: private medical in the UK, complementary health in France, a company pension top-up in Germany, life and disability cover almost everywhere.
Ubique does not sell insurance. We work with a vetted broker in each country who places your employees on group plans, usually at rates a small team could not get on its own because Ubique's employees across all customers form the group.
How it works
- Choose a benefits tier per country (standard, enhanced, executive) or build your own with the broker.
- New hires are enrolled at onboarding; existing employees at the next enrolment window.
- Premiums appear on your monthly Ubique invoice. Employee contributions, if any, are deducted through payroll.
- Claims go to the insurer directly. Ubique's team helps when something gets stuck.
Indicative pricing: quoted per country and per plan. Premiums are passed through at cost; Ubique charges a small administration fee per enrolled employee per month, stated on the quote.
Health
Private medical, dental and vision where private cover is customary. In countries with strong public systems, a top-up plan that covers the gaps employees actually notice: specialists, waiting times, dental.
Pension
Employer contributions above the statutory minimum, into the local scheme or a company plan. Matching rules per country, set once and applied to every hire.
Life and disability
Group life cover (typically 2 to 4 times salary) and income protection. Often the cheapest add-on and the one employees with families ask about first.
Grant options to EOR employees, and get the tax right
Granting equity to someone employed through an EOR is possible, but the person is not your employee in law, which complicates the plan documents and the tax. Ubique's equity service makes it routine.
How it works
- Share your plan rules. Ubique's legal team reviews them for each country and prepares a grant agreement that works alongside the EOR employment contract.
- Grants are recorded on the employee's Ubique record, with vesting schedule and exercise price.
- On vesting, exercise or sale, Ubique calculates the local tax treatment, withholds through payroll where the country requires it and files the reports (for example, the annual employment-related securities return in the UK).
- Employees see their grants and the tax position in the dashboard.
Indicative pricing: quoted per country. A one-off plan review per country, then a monthly fee per employee with an active grant. Tax advice on plan design itself is referred to local advisers.
What this does not cover
Ubique does not administer your cap table or replace your equity management software. We handle the employment and tax side for the people employed through Ubique. For employees on your own entities (Global Payroll, PEO, VEO) you grant directly, and Ubique runs the payroll withholding and reporting as part of the standard service.
Some countries tax options at grant rather than exercise, and a few make it impractical for EOR employees to hold them at all. We tell you which before you promise anything to a candidate.
Sponsor a hire who needs the right to work, in around 30 countries
If your candidate is in the country but needs a permit, or is relocating to take the job, Ubique can act as the sponsoring employer where the law allows an EOR to sponsor, and manage the application through a licensed immigration partner.
How it works
- Eligibility check: nationality, role, salary and country. You get a yes, a no, or a "yes with conditions" within three business days, plus a timeline.
- Ubique or its local entity files as sponsor. The immigration partner prepares and submits the application and handles the employee's documents.
- You see each step and its expected date in the onboarding workflow. The employment contract is drafted to start on permit approval.
- Renewals and dependants are tracked, with reminders before expiry.
Indicative pricing: quoted per country and permit type. Government fees are passed through at cost; the immigration partner's fee and Ubique's coordination fee are stated on the quote. Timelines range from three weeks to six months depending on the country.
Where it works well
The UK (sponsored skilled visa route), the Netherlands (highly skilled migrant), Germany (EU Blue Card), Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Singapore and the UAE are the most frequent. Around 30 countries in total. Some countries do not permit EOR sponsorship, and we say so at the eligibility check.
Related situations
A candidate who is relocating to a new country: how that works. An existing employee who wants to move abroad and keep the job: see this guide.
A configured laptop on the employee's desk before day one
Shipping a laptop from your office to another country means customs, import VAT and a parcel stuck somewhere for three weeks. Ubique procures locally or from a regional hub, configures to your standard and delivers to the employee's address.
How it works
- Set an equipment standard per role: for example, a 14-inch laptop with 32 GB memory, a monitor and a headset. Or pick per hire.
- Order from the onboarding workflow. Ubique sources in-country where possible to avoid import duties, otherwise from a regional hub.
- Devices are enrolled in your MDM before shipping, so they arrive ready to log in.
- At offboarding, Ubique arranges collection, data wipe and either return, redeployment to the next hire in that country, or buy-back.
Indicative pricing: quoted per country. Hardware at cost, plus a per-device fee for procurement, configuration, shipping and collection. Leasing is available in most of the 40 Ubique-run countries.
Ownership and accounting
You own the equipment, or lease it, and it sits on your books. Ubique invoices the hardware with the Ubique fee or arranges the lease in your name. For contractors, equipment stays with you and is loaned under the contractor agreement, which Ubique drafts to protect the independent status.
Collection at offboarding is part of the standard offboarding workflow, so a leaver's checklist includes the return label automatically.
Add-on questions
Why "quoted per country" rather than a price list?
Because the underlying cost varies a lot. Private health for a family in the US and in Portugal differ by an order of magnitude; a work permit in Singapore and in Germany involve different government fees and partner work. A single list price would overcharge some countries and lose money in others. The quote is itemised, with Ubique's fee separated from pass-through costs.
Can we use our own broker, equity provider or IT vendor?
Yes. For benefits, your broker can place EOR employees on your plans in many countries, and Ubique runs the payroll deductions. For equipment, you can ship your own devices; Ubique will still track them in the onboarding and offboarding workflows. Immigration sponsorship has to go through Ubique's entity, because Ubique is the employer.
Are add-ons available for contractors?
Equipment loans, yes. Benefits and equity, no, because offering them to a contractor is one of the clearest signs of misclassification in most countries. If you want to give a contractor those things, that is a good moment to convert them to an employee.
Build a local-quality offer for your next hire
Tell us the country and the role. We come back with benefits tiers, equity treatment, visa feasibility and an equipment quote.