We’re looking at hiring someone based outside of our country for the first time. This employee is based in the UK, and we are exploring our current options.
The role would sit in customer success/operations, so it would involve regular hours, direct contact with our team, access to internal tools, and some responsibility for ongoing client work.
I’ve done a lot of research, and there were a few different ways.
You can hire them as a contractor, or start a local entity in the UK ( but this is definitely something we would want to avoid ), and finally, use EOR, as they actually have legal entities based in multiple countries.
From what I understood while reading about using
EOR in the UK, one thing that makes the UK a bit different is that there are separate categories for employees, workers, and self-employed contractors. So it is not only about how we pay the person. I’ve noticed a few things I hadn't fully thought through, like PAYE, National Insurance, workplace pensions, written employment terms from day one, and the fact that UK employment is not “at-will” in the same way some founders might expect.
So now it seems to us that this kind of service would be the best way to go.
Has anyone from the USA looked to hire in the UK? What would you do differently if you had to make that first global hire again?
5 Jun 2026 13:23
This sounds like a question for a UK-based labor lawyer, not Lemmy. Any answer you receive here, if not fully compliant with UK law, could result in penalties for your company.
5 Jun 2026 13:37
1. Holidays are mandatory.
2. We take breaks
3. We wont be forced to work stupid hours just because the CEO demands it
4.
holiday is mandatory
5. Employees will take their
legally mandated holiday time
6. employees will take their
legally mandated breaks
7. Remember you arent hiring in the capitalist hellscape of the USA
8.
EMPLOYEES WILL TAKE THEIR BREAKS AND VACATIONS. DO NOT EXPECT THEM TO WORK FROM THE HOSPITAL. DO NOT EXPECT THEM TO USE VACATION TIME FOR SICKNESS
9. You cannot just fire someone for no reason
10. We actually have labour laws
11. Yes you must respect these laws.
12. No being american doesnt give you a pass.
13. Hours cap at 40. Employees would need to sign a waiver to get past this. Its incredibly rude to expect employees to willingly do this.
5 Jun 2026 13:37
I'd consult a lawyer that specializes in this sort of thing. You want to cross all your t's, dot the i's and dot the the j's. You don't want to find out later you were supposed to cross the Ⱦ the other way.
5 Jun 2026 13:40
I assume there are companies that handle that for you and effectively subcontract. They should be set up to handle this case?
5 Jun 2026 13:43
Am on the other side of one of these, and worked for a UK based firm hiring overseas in the past too. Am not a lawyer or any other legal person and am not capable of giving valid legal advice (which you should definitely get).
EOR is often easiest to start as they take on a lot of burdens but are spendy (monthly fee on top of employee costs). They then work for the EOR, permanently seconded to your company.
Uk working norms are much closer to Europe - we take holiday/PTO/leave and expect to not only use it all but carry it over if we can't use it. Working hours are generally max 40/week, there's a legal right to under* 48/week on a rolling average that has to be opted out of contractually, and there are rights to parental leave, flexible working and other things that you'd have to cater for as well.
Repeat and echo - speak to a lawyer/solicitor/HR professional with experience 😁
5 Jun 2026 13:56
Lemmy
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