Employ someone in India from the UK, without an Indian entity
SynkPay becomes the legal employer of your hire in India for a flat £269 a month — contract, payroll, Provident Fund, tax and compliance, all run through our own Indian entity. You manage the work; we handle the employment. One GBP invoice a month, no deposit, and your hire can start within one business day.
- Salary
- £2,564
- Employer statutory
- £88
- SynkPay fee
- £269
- Total this month
- £2,921
Example: an engineer in Bengaluru on ₹40 lakh a year.
- Contract signed
- Payroll and PF set up
- Ready to start
- Invoiced in GBP
- No salary deposit
- Onboarding in 1 business day
- No UK VAT added
- Real people, no bots
Fixed GBP price, set from US$349.
Cost
What does a UK company pay to employ someone in India?
Your monthly cost is the employee's salary, the employer contributions Indian law requires, and our fixed fee. Here is what that comes to in pounds at three common salary levels.
| Annual salary in India | Salary / month | Employer statutory | Total / month, incl. £269 fee | Total / year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹20 lakhMid-level engineer (3–5 yrs) | £1,282 | £57 | £1,608 | £19,296 |
| ₹40 lakhSenior engineer (6–10 yrs) | £2,564 | £88 | £2,921 | £35,052 |
| ₹60 lakhStaff / Tech Lead (10+ yrs) | £3,846 | £119 | £4,234 | £50,808 |
Statutory costs (Provident Fund, a monthly gratuity provision for budgeting, and related charges) are at 2026 rates forKarnataka; gratuity is invoiced only when it falls due. Converted at the rate of 27 August 2026. Try any salary and state in the India employee cost calculator.
Compared with hiring locally
The same engineer, the UK vs India
UK companies typically save 50–80% per hire on an India hire. A senior engineer at £27,200–£42,900 loaded in Bengaluru replaces a £92,900 hire in London. For the full breakdown of both sides, see the India vs UK engineer cost breakdown.
| Role | London, loaded | Bengaluru, loaded | Saved per hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-level engineer (3–5 yrs)₹15–25 lakh in India | ~£68.7k | ~£15.4k–£23.2k | ~£45.5k–£53.4k (66–78%) |
| Senior engineer (6–10 yrs)₹30–50 lakh in India | ~£92.9k | ~£27.2k–£42.9k | ~£49.9k–£65.7k (54–71%) |
| Staff / Tech Lead (10+ yrs)₹50–75 lakh in India | ~£121k | ~£42.9k–£62.6k | ~£58.7k–£78.4k (48–65%) |
London loaded cost is base salary plus employer National Insurance and the auto-enrolment pension; outside London it is lower, at £81,400 for the senior row in Manchester. Base salaries are the Robert Half 2026 UK Salary Guide percentiles for a fullstack developer. Recruitment fees are excluded on both sides, converted at INR 130 per GBP as of 27 August 2026. Check your own with the India employee cost calculator.
Billing
How billing works for a UK company
- Your UK companyPays one GBP invoice
- SynkPay invoiceStart of each month
- SynkPay India entityPayroll, PF and tax
- Your employeePaid in rupees
One GBP invoice a month
Salary, employer contributions and the £269 fee arrive on a single invoice in pounds at the start of each month. No Indian bank account needed on your side.
No UK VAT added
The invoice comes from SynkPay's Indian entity, so we don't add UK VAT to it.
Fixed fee, rupee salary
Our fee stays at £269. Your employee is paid in rupees, so the pound value of their salary moves with the exchange rate. Agreeing the salary in rupees keeps what they take home steady.
No deposit, no setup fee
Nothing to pay up front and no salary deposit held against the contract. The engagement runs month to month.
Working hours
Working-hours overlap with your India employee
India is 4½ hours ahead of the UK in summer and 5½ hours ahead in winter. That puts your UK morning inside your employee's working day, which is enough for a daily stand-up, reviews and handovers.
| Your time zone | Employee's hours | In your local time | Overlap with 09:00–17:30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| London, summer (BST) | Standard India day09:30–18:30 IST | 05:00–14:00 | 5h |
| Later India shift12:00–21:00 IST | 07:30–16:30 | 7.5h | |
| London, winter (GMT) | Standard India day09:30–18:30 IST | 04:00–13:00 | 4h |
| Later India shift12:00–21:00 IST | 06:30–15:30 | 6.5h |
Working hours, not support hours. A later shift is set in the employment contract. Reach us on WhatsApp, phone or email — real people, no bots.
Contracts
Contracts, IP and data
Indian employment contract
Every hire gets a contract under Indian law covering pay, leave, notice and confidentiality. SynkPay is the legal employer; you direct the day-to-day work.
IP belongs to your company
Every contract assigns the work your employee creates to your company, with confidentiality and non-solicitation terms. How IP protection works.
UK GDPR and data transfers
UK GDPR still applies to personal data you share with your India hire. The UK has no adequacy decision for India, so ask your data protection lead which transfer safeguard your company uses. See the ICO's guidance on international data transfers.
Roles
Roles UK companies hire in India
UK companies use SynkPay for one or two hires as often as for whole teams. These are the roles we see most.
Accountants and bookkeepers
Practices and finance teams adding qualified accounting capacity in India, working on UK clients' books during the UK morning.
Software engineers
Developers, QA and DevOps engineers joining an existing UK product team.
Customer support and operations
Support, back-office and operations roles, often on a later India shift to cover more of the UK day.
Specialist and technical roles
Design, data, quality and inspection roles that need a full-time employee rather than a freelancer.
Already paying a contractor in India? Moving them onto SynkPay's payroll turns them into a properly employed member of staff, with statutory benefits and a contract that protects your IP. See when to switch a contractor to an EOR, and compare the numbers in the India vs UK engineer cost breakdown, or read how to pay someone in India legally.
How it works
From first call to first payday
- 01
Tell us about the role
Share the role, salary and start date for your India hire.
- 02
We issue the contract
An Indian employment contract with IP assignment to your company.
- 03
Onboarded in 1 business day
Payroll, Provident Fund and tax set up once we have their details. What onboarding needs.
- 04
You manage the work
Your hire works with your team; we run payroll and compliance every month.
Included
What the £269 fee covers
One fee per employee per month, any salary, no deposit. Full detail on our pricing page.
- Compliant employment contracts
- Monthly payroll processing
- Statutory benefits (PF, ESI, gratuity)
- Tax filing & compliance
- HR documentation & support
- Employee onboarding
- Dedicated HR/payroll specialist
- Human support on WhatsApp, phone and email
Compared
SynkPay compared with global EOR platforms
It's important to know, when building a team in India, that the fee and the deposit are the visible difference — and who actually employs your hire is the one underneath it.
- Billed in pounds, from India
- You get one GBP invoice a month at a fixed pound fee set from our dollar price, issued by our Indian entity — no UK VAT added and no salary deposit held back.
- Our own entity since 2016
- SynkPay is an Indian business that has run its own entity since 2016. Your hire is employed by us directly, not sub-contracted to a local partner we don't control.
- People inside your morning
- Your UK morning sits inside your employee's working day, and you both reach real people on WhatsApp, phone and email rather than a ticket queue.
| Provider | India EOR fee / month, as published | Salary deposit |
|---|---|---|
| SynkPay | US$349 flat (£269, set from USD) | None |
| Deel | US$599 plus an India surcharge | Usually 1 month's salary |
| Remote | US$599 (annual plan) or US$699 | Case by case |
| Multiplier | From about US$400 | Not published |
Provider prices from each provider's public pricing page, checked July 2026.
Fit
Who this is for
A good fit
UK companies and accounting practices hiring one or more full-time people in India.
Teams converting a long-standing India contractor into an employee.
Founders who want India hires without setting up an Indian entity.
Not a fit
Staff who live and work in the UK.
Hires in countries other than India.
Short freelance projects that don't need an employee.
We employ people in India only. We don't employ, pay or run compliance for staff based in the UK.
Questions UK companies ask
Do you employ staff in the UK?
No. SynkPay employs people in India only, through our own Indian entity. We don't employ, pay or run compliance for anyone based in the UK.
Which currency is the £269 price in?
It is pounds sterling (GBP). Our price is set in US dollars — US$349 per employee per month — and each country is billed a fixed local amount set from it, which for UK companies is £269.
How much does it cost a UK company to employ someone in India?
The employee's salary, the employer contributions Indian law requires, and SynkPay's fixed £269 a month per employee. For a ₹40 lakh salary in Karnataka that comes to about £2,920 a month all-in. The India employee cost calculator works it out for any salary and state.
How much cheaper is a senior engineer in India than in the UK?
About 54–71% per hire. A senior engineer in Bengaluru on INR 30–50 lakh a year lands at roughly £27,200–£42,900 all-in, against £92,900 for the London equivalent once employer National Insurance and the auto-enrolment pension are added.
Can we be invoiced in pounds?
Yes. You get one GBP invoice at the start of each month covering salary, employer contributions and the £269 fee. The fee is a fixed GBP price set from our US$349 rate.
Is VAT charged on your invoice?
No UK VAT is added. The invoice is issued by SynkPay's Indian entity.
Is there a deposit or setup fee?
No. There is no salary deposit and no setup fee, and the engagement runs month to month.
How many working hours will our India employee overlap with the UK day?
On a standard 09:30–18:30 India day, about 5 hours in British summer time and 4 hours in winter, covering the UK morning. A later India shift, agreed in the contract, adds about 2.5 hours.
Who owns the work our India employee creates?
Your company. Every SynkPay employment contract assigns the employee's work product to you and includes confidentiality and non-solicitation terms.
Is support handled by real people?
Yes. You and your employee reach our team on WhatsApp, phone and email. No bots and no ticket queue.
How quickly can someone start?
Onboarding takes one business day once we have the candidate's details.
Hiring in India from the UK?
Book a free call. We'll talk through your role, the cost in pounds and how quickly your hire can start.