Introducing the world's 4028743rd EOR Company

Author

Moshe Ohana
May 12, 2024

What's inside:

The Markets

Another option for global expansion

If you Google “how many employer of record companies are there?” you will be inundated with pages and pages of search results. Even our trusty sidekick, ChatGPT, couldn’t give me an exact or even a round number of EORs out there.

Once you spend just 5 minutes researching the topic, you will realize there are hundreds of companies willing to help you expand your businesses into countries in which you don’t have a legal entity for just a couple of hundred bucks per month per employee.

Well, now there are hundreds AND one!

Gus Nazareth and Helga Townend just launched International Payroll Group (IPG) as announced by Gus on May 9, 2024. Both Gus and Helga have a wealth of experience in compliance and global expansion.

As described by Gus, IPG is designed to support other EORs and staffing companies looking to expand into Europe. They are on track to provide direct support in 6 countries by the end of 2024 and direct support in another 2 countries in 2025.

IPG’s pricing is not readily available on their website but given they are providing EOR to other EORs and staffing firms, one would have to imagine their pricing would be pretty low with razor thin margins.

It’s 2024 and it’s safe to say that EOR is a commodity. It’s not hard to establish a couple of legal entities around the world, put a website together, and start selling EOR.

It goes much further than that. Companies are looking for a partner they can grow their business with, turn to for advice, and lean on when the going gets tough.

While I’m not saying the most expensive option is the best, I really believe that in EOR you get what you pay for. 

Around the world

UK minimum wage increase

The UK increased it’s minimum wage for workers 21 and older to £11.44/hour which is a 9.8% increase from last year’s minimum wage of £10.42/hour. Those under the age of 18 have a minimum wage of £6.40/hour. These increases positively benefit 3 million workers in the UK.

Even the under 18 minimum wage in the UK is higher than the federal minimum wage in the US which has remained at $7.25/hour for the last 15 years. On a state and city level however, minimum wages can be much higher. For example, Colorado’s minimum wage is $14.42/hour but if you’re in Denver, the state capitol, you can expect to earn a minimum of $18.29/hour.

The raise in the UK’s minimum wage has some worried.

The increase has James Reed, of Reed (a staffing firm in the UK, worried. He said that some employers are already changing their behavior. Projects may be shorter in length and hours may be reduced because employers won’t be able to afford as much labor.

He argument is that the increase will only expedite the use of AI and other technology to replace entry level and low wage work. He says IT and accounting are prime for takeover.

It’s also possible that workers will simply learn other skills or trades and change with the changing job market like they have for the past 100 years. 

Gig work

Cracking down on gig workers and platforms

Massachusetts is only the latest state to find itself embroiled in a heated debate on the future of the legal status of gig workers.

The State Auditor in Massachusetts, Diana DiZoglio, issued a report stating that over the last decade the major gig work platforms could have contributed to the $266 Million over the last decade into the state's workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, and paid family leave programs.

Lyft and Uber, however, are saying that drivers value the autonomy and flexibility and moving to an employee model that would mean less flexibility with how and when drivers do work.

Over in Thailand, a bill is making its way through the government that is expected to support and protect freelance workers in the country. Here’s what the Thai bill aims to accomplish:

  • Encourage freelancers to form groups and associations

  • Loan fund for freelancers

  • Provide life and health insurance to freelancers

In the UK, the HMRC is cracking down on freelancers earning income digitally. According to an expert, the revenue collectors in the UK are increasingly focused on collecting their cut from content creators and digital side hustlers. 

Strategic quick hits