ubiqueHire in a new country before you decide whether it deserves an entity
A first sales lead in Germany. A four-person engineering pod in Poland. A country manager in Brazil. Test the market with real employees on local contracts, and only open an entity once the numbers say so.
Employer of Record from £499 per employee per month. First hire onboarded in 15 minutes.
An entity is a bet on a market you have not tested yet
Setting up a subsidiary means a local director, a registered address, a bank account, a local accountant, an annual filing and, in many countries, share capital you cannot touch. It takes three to six months. By then your candidate has taken another offer.
Most companies do not need an entity for their first two or three hires in a country. They need a compliant contract, a local payslip, mandatory benefits and someone who answers the question "what happens if this does not work out?"
That is what an Employer of Record is for. Ubique employs the person through its own entity in 40 countries, or through a vetted partner elsewhere. You manage them like any other team member.
Day 0: you send the offer
Add the role, salary and start date in the dashboard. Ubique Calculator shows employer contributions and our fee before you confirm.
Day 1: contract ready
A locally compliant employment contract in the local language and English, with probation, notice and leave set to statutory defaults.
Day 2 to 5: registration
Tax authority, social security, health insurance and pension enrolment. In Ubique-run countries this is handled by our own payroll team.
Start date: first payslip cycle
Salary paid in local currency on the local payday. You receive one invoice in GBP, EUR or USD.
Partner-served countries add roughly one to two weeks to registration. The country page tells you which is which.
Entity versus Employer of Record for a three-person team
Illustrative figures for a Western European country over the first 12 months. Salaries, employer contributions and benefits are identical in both columns and are excluded from the figures below.
| Line item | Your own entity | Ubique EOR (3 employees) |
|---|---|---|
| Incorporation, notary and registration | £4,000 to £12,000 one-off | £0 |
| Registered address and local director | £3,000 to £8,000 a year | £0 |
| Local payroll provider | £1,500 to £4,000 a year | Included |
| Local accountant, annual accounts and corporate tax filing | £5,000 to £15,000 a year | £0 |
| Employment law advice and contract drafting | £2,000 to £6,000 for the first year | Included |
| Ubique fee | n/a | £17,964 a year (3 × £499 × 12) |
| Time to first hire | 3 to 6 months | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Indicative first-year total | £15,500 to £45,000 | £17,964 |
| Cost to exit the market | Liquidation: 6 to 18 months, £5,000 to £20,000 | Statutory notice and severance only |
Ranges reflect what our customers report across France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. Your figures will differ. Use Ubique Calculator for a country-specific estimate including contributions.
At some point your own entity is the better deal. We will tell you when.
The EOR fee is flat per employee. Entity costs are mostly fixed. Somewhere between eight and fifteen employees in one country, depending on local accounting costs, the lines cross. Other reasons to open an entity arrive earlier: a customer contract that requires a local counterparty, a government tender, a local lease, or a share scheme that only works with a direct employer.
When that happens, Ubique transfers the employees to your new entity. Continuity of service is preserved, accrued leave carries over, and the contracts are novated rather than terminated. You keep the same dashboard and move the country to Global Payroll, so the payslips keep arriving from the same team.
- No early-termination fee for moving employees to your own entity
- Transfer typically completed within one payroll cycle
- Your account manager runs the handover with your local accountant
Rule of thumb
Under 8 employees in a country: EOR almost always wins. 8 to 15: run the numbers with us. Over 15: an entity usually pays, and we help you set it up and move across.
Before you pick a country
Compare employer cost, notice periods, leave and mandatory benefits side by side in Ubique Atlas. It is free and does not ask for an email.
Country guides
Every one of the 160 country pages shows whether Ubique runs the entity itself or works with a partner, and what that means for timelines.
Bring the country and the role. We bring the numbers.
A thirty-minute demo with a cost estimate for your first hire.