Employer of Record in India — Your Team in Weeks, Not Quarters
The strongest argument for India is talent. The strongest argument against moving fast is compliance — entity setup, labour registrations, and payroll obligations that consume two to three quarters before the first hire starts.
Our Employer of Record service removes that trade-off. A2 Consultants becomes the legal employer of your Indian team — contracts, payroll, statutory contributions, benefits — while you retain full operational control from day one.
The traditional sequence — incorporate, register, lease, then hire — made sense when India entries were decade-long manufacturing commitments. It makes far less sense for a software company that needs five engineers this quarter, or a global firm testing Indian demand before committing capital. The entity can follow the evidence; the hiring no longer has to wait for the entity.
What matters is that speed does not become liability. Indian employment is governed by statutes that do not recognise informal arrangements: provident fund, state insurance, gratuity, professional tax, and labour-code obligations attach from the first employee. An EOR done properly absorbs all of it — an EOR done cheaply merely hides it until an inspection or a disputed termination surfaces the gap.
Who we serve
Global technology companies building Indian engineering teams; foreign firms hiring country managers or sales staff ahead of entity setup; groups absorbing Indian employees from an acquisition before integration; and companies converting long-standing contractors into compliant employment.
The outcomes we deliver
- First hires onboarded in under 30 days, with locally enforceable employment contracts.
- Full statutory compliance — PF, ESIC, professional tax, TDS, gratuity — owned by us, warranted to you.
- Zero permanent-establishment surprises: engagement models structured with tax exposure in view.
- A clean transition path: when headcount justifies it, we migrate your team to your own entity.
- Employment costs fully transparent: a single monthly invoice with every statutory contribution itemised — no buried margins, no year-end surprises.
How we work
- Structure. Engagement model, compensation benchmarks, and PE risk assessment before the first offer letter.
- Onboard. Contracts, background checks, and statutory registrations completed within weeks.
- Operate. Monthly payroll, filings, benefits administration, and HR support as a managed service.
- Transition. Entity setup and employee migration when you are ready to own operations.
Why A2 Consultants
Unlike platform-only EOR providers, we pair employment administration with genuine regulatory advisory — labour codes, tax, FEMA — so your India presence is built for scale, not just speed. And because our EOR sits inside a full-service regulatory practice, questions that break platform EORs — PE risk, expat payroll, equity compensation taxation — are answered in-house.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to hire employees in India without a local entity?
Yes. Under the Employer of Record model, our Indian entity is the legal employer — signing locally compliant contracts, running payroll, and remitting statutory contributions — while your company directs the employees' day-to-day work. The structure is well established in India. What requires care is the engagement design: the contract terms, benefit obligations, and the boundary between direction and legal employment, all of which we manage explicitly.
Does using an EOR in India create permanent establishment risk?
An EOR does not by itself create a permanent establishment — but the activities of your Indian team can, regardless of who employs them. Employees habitually concluding contracts, or performing core revenue-generating functions attributable to the foreign parent, may create taxable presence. We assess each role before onboarding and structure responsibilities and reporting lines to keep your PE position defensible, not accidental.
When should we switch from EOR to our own Indian subsidiary?
The economics typically invert somewhere between fifteen and forty employees, but headcount is only one trigger: customer contracts requiring a local entity, IP that should sit in India, or leadership hires who expect equity all argue for incorporation. Because we also build entities, the transition is planned rather than disruptive — employees migrate with continuity of service, benefits, and statutory accounts intact.
What happens to our employees if we stop working with the EOR?
Nothing should be improvised. Exit paths are defined in our engagement upfront: employees transfer to your new Indian entity with continuity of service, migrate to another arrangement, or are separated with full statutory settlement — each path documented and costed before you need it. Reputable EOR relationships end with a project plan, not a hostage negotiation; ask any prospective provider to put their exit mechanics in writing.
Planning your first India hires? Get a compliant hiring plan and cost model within one week.