How to hire employees in the Philippines through an EOR

Hiring in the Philippines gives you access to a large, skilled, English-speaking workforce. But to hire full-time employees there, you need either a registered legal entity or an EOR Philippines provider. Setting up an entity can take up to six months and requires ongoing legal and compliance support. Using an EOR Philippines provider lets you hire in days instead of months, without registering a local entity.

Here is a step-by-step guide to hiring through an EOR in the Philippines.

Step 1: Decide Between an EOR Philippines Provider and a Legal Entity

Before you hire, weigh the two paths.

An EOR Philippines provider works well if you're testing the market, hiring a small team, or want to move fast. A legal entity makes more sense once your headcount grows large enough that per-employee EOR fees outweigh the cost of running your own entity.

Step 2: Choose the Right EOR Philippines Provider

Not every EOR Philippines provider operates the same way. Before signing on and locking in contracts, you need to ensure both your legal compliance infrastructure and your candidate quality are entirely watertight.

• Entity ownership: Does the provider own its entity in the Philippines, or partner with a third party? Providers with their own local infrastructure tend to resolve issues faster and offer more consistent service.
• Regulatory compliance: How well do they know Philippine-specific compliance? This includes SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG (HDMF) contributions, plus minimum wage rules that vary by region.
• Support model: What is their support model? Since Philippine business hours differ from US and European time zones, confirm the provider has support staff available during hours that overlap with yours.
• Scalability: Can they scale with you? If you expect to grow beyond a handful of hires, check whether the provider can support larger teams or a shift into broader outsourced staffing later on.

Before handing off your new international hires to an Employer of Record, verifying that candidates possess the exact required competencies is critical. Integrating robust skills assessments and structured pre-employment testing into your remote hiring workflow ensures you are onboarding proven talent from day one. Utilizing an AI-powered talent to screen candidates objectively across technical and communication domains before processing them through an EOR.

Unity Communications is a strong option to evaluate for the operational side. It operates its own Philippine delivery infrastructure and functions as both an EOR Philippines provider and a broader BPO operator, so it handles payroll, tax withholding, and statutory compliance while also supporting companies that later want to build out fuller outsourced teams. That combination matters if your Philippine hiring needs might grow past a handful of individual roles.

Step 3: Collect New Hire Information

Once you've picked your EOR Philippines provider, gather the following from each employee before onboarding:

• Full legal name matching their bank account
• Date of birth and start date
• Philippine mailing address and contact information
• Bank account details
• Salary amount in PHP, including any bonuses
• Tax Identification Number (TIN)
• Social Security System (SSS) number
• PhilHealth number
• Pag-IBIG (HDMF) registration

Most EOR Philippines providers give you a simple form or portal to collect this information directly from the employee.

Step 4: Issue a Compliant Employment Contract

Your EOR Philippines provider should draft and send a localized employment agreement covering:

• Probationary period terms
• Working hours
• Minimum wage (which varies by region, for example Metro Manila vs. Bangsamoro)
• Statutory benefits
• Termination terms, including notice periods and severance pay

Do not skip this step even for short-term hires. Philippine labor law applies regardless of how long the role is expected to last, and a compliant contract protects both you and the employee.

Step 5: Run Payroll

With signed contracts in place, your EOR Philippines provider pays the employee in PHP and withholds required taxes and contributions, including:

• Social Security System (SSS)
• Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)
• Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), also known as Pag-IBIG

You typically fund one consolidated invoice, and the EOR Philippines provider distributes pay and remits statutory contributions on your behalf. This removes the need to track deductions and filing deadlines yourself.

Step 6: Manage Ongoing Employment

Hiring through an EOR Philippines provider doesn't end at onboarding. Ongoing responsibilities the EOR should handle include:

• Processing leave requests and statutory entitlements
• Managing benefits administration
• Handling termination procedures if a role ends
• Keeping contracts and pay structures current with Philippine labor law changes

Check with your provider on how much of this is automated versus manual, since this affects how much oversight you'll need to provide as your team grows.

Why Use an EOR Philippines Provider Instead of Hiring Directly

• Faster hiring. Most EOR Philippines providers onboard a new hire within one to two weeks, compared to months for entity registration.
• Built-in compliance. You are not responsible for tracking changes to minimum wage, statutory contributions, or labor code updates.
• Lower upfront cost. No registration fees or need to retain local legal counsel before your first hire.
• Reduced liability. The EOR takes on the legal responsibilities of employment.
• Room to scale. Add or reduce headcount without renegotiating entity-level obligations.