India EOR FAQ: Hiring, Cost & Compliance When You Hire in India
The questions founders and ops leads actually ask before hiring in India — how to hire without a local entity, what it costs, how fast we onboard, statutory benefits and gratuity, IP protection, and how EOR compares to PEO. Each answer points to the page with the full detail.
Related pages: Employer of Record India, Pricing, PEO Services India, and IT Recruitment Agency India.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about hiring compliantly in India through an EOR.
Can I hire someone in India without setting up a company there?
Yes. As your Employer of Record, SynkPay becomes the legal employer of your India hire on paper, so you don't need to register a local entity, open an Indian bank account, or navigate state-by-state labour registration. You direct the work day to day; we handle the compliant employment contract, payroll, and statutory filings. It's fully legal under Indian law and it's the fastest compliant way to make your first India hire — see the Employer of Record India page for how the model works end to end.
How much does it cost to hire an employee in India through SynkPay?
Our EOR fee is a flat $349 per employee per month — no salary tiers, no setup fee, and no country surcharges, whether the hire is a junior engineer or a senior one earning the equivalent of USD 100,000 a year. Recruitment, background verification, and HR outsourcing are separate optional services, not part of the $349. For worked examples, the deposit question, and how we compare to Deel and Remote on India cost, see the pricing page.
Do I have to pay a deposit upfront?
No. There's no salary deposit and no working capital locked away. We invoice the monthly salary plus the $349 EOR fee at the start of each month and pay your employee at the end of the month — a standard payroll-in-advance cycle. That's a deliberate difference from deposit-based global EORs that hold a full month's gross salary upfront per employee. The full billing timing is explained on the pricing page.
How quickly can you onboard a new employee in India?
Standard onboarding takes 1 business day, and we've completed same-day onboarding for urgent cases. Most of the clock depends on you sending complete candidate details and approving the offer; once we have those, we issue the India-compliant contract, register the employee for PF and ESI, and set up payroll. Timelines can vary slightly by role and any background checks requested.
What's included in the $349, and what costs extra?
The $349 covers the complete EOR service: compliant employment contracts, monthly payroll, all statutory filings and contributions (EPF, ESI, professional tax, TDS), leave management, IP and confidentiality clauses as standard, and ongoing human support. Recruitment (12% of annual salary), background verification ($300 one-time per employee), and HR outsourcing or RPO are separate paid services — we never bundle them into the EOR fee. The full breakdown of included-versus-extra is on the pricing page.
What's the difference between EOR and PEO in India?
For a foreign company hiring in India without a local entity, EOR and PEO deliver the same outcome — you employ people compliantly without registering a company. The technical distinction is that with EOR, SynkPay is the sole legal employer, while PEO is a co-employment model. For most companies that have no Indian entity, EOR is the appropriate fit; the PEO services page explains when co-employment makes sense instead.
What statutory benefits do India employees get, and how does gratuity work?
Every employee we hire for you is enrolled in India's statutory benefits — Provident Fund (PF), Employees' State Insurance (ESI) where applicable, and paid statutory leave — all handled within the $349 fee. Gratuity becomes payable under the Payment of Gratuity Act after five years of continuous service; you don't accrue it monthly. We calculate the amount when an employee reaches eligibility and collect it from you at that point, so there's no surprise bill. More on what's covered is on the Employer of Record India page.
How is my intellectual property protected when hiring in India?
Every employment contract we issue includes automatic IP assignment, confidentiality, trade-secret protection, non-solicitation, and return-of-materials provisions enforceable under Indian law — these are standard in every contract, not a premium tier. Work product created by your India employee belongs to your company. We also apply security protocols and regular data-protection training. The Employer of Record India page covers the contract and compliance detail.
Can you help with laptops and equipment for India hires?
Equipment procurement isn't part of the standard $349 EOR fee, but it's a common request and we can coordinate it on a case-by-case basis — talk to us about your hardware and timing needs when you onboard. Many clients ship their own kit or expense a local purchase, and we can advise on the cleanest approach for tax and asset ownership in India.
Can SynkPay also find the candidates, not just employ them?
Yes — recruitment is a separate service from EOR. We source from the top 1% of India's engineering talent for a flat 12% of the placed candidate's annual salary, billed only on a successful hire, with a 90-day replacement guarantee. Many clients use us to both find and employ their India team, but you can use either service on its own. Details and the recruitment process are on the IT Recruitment Agency India page.