Hire in India without setting up a company.
Ensaar becomes the legal employer of your India hire. We issue the contract, pay the salary in rupees, and file every statutory return. You decide what the person works on, the same as anyone else on your team.
- No setup fee
- No security deposit
- No minimum term
- Statutory costs passed through at cost
Global platforms charge $499 to $699 for the same India hire. The difference is brand, not compliance.
When an EOR is the right call
- You have found someone in India and want them employed properly, now.
- You are testing whether an India team works before committing to a company.
- You need one to fifteen people, which is below the level where your own entity pays for itself.
- You want engineering, support, or operations talent, not a local sales force.
When it is not
- You already run an Indian entity. Use it. An EOR on top adds a fee and nothing else.
- You are hiring people to close contracts in India. That is a sales presence, and it needs tax advice before it needs an EOR.
- You expect to pass thirty people within a year. Go straight to a subsidiary; we will still build the team.
One fee from us. Everything else is the government's.
Your monthly invoice is the salary, the statutory employer contributions at cost, and our $199. Recruitment is separate and only applies if we find the person: 8.33% of annual salary, one month, charged when they join, with a 90-day replacement if it does not work out.
Included in the fee
- An employment contract that holds up under Indian law, with your IP and confidentiality terms assigned to you
- Monthly payroll, payslips, and salary paid on time in rupees
- Provident fund, state insurance where it applies, professional tax, and monthly TDS, filed and paid
- Form 16 at year end, and the UAN the employee needs to move their provident fund later
- Leave, probation, and notice terms that match the state Shops and Establishments Act that governs them
- Statutory policies a compliant Indian employer must have, including the POSH committee obligation once headcount reaches ten
- Gratuity accrued from day one, not discovered at year five
- Onboarding, equipment reimbursement, and a clean, lawful exit when someone leaves
Not included
- The salary itself, and any bonus or allowance you agree with the employee
- Statutory employer contributions, which are passed through at cost with no margin
- Equipment you choose to buy, and reimbursements you approve
- Recruitment, if you want Ensaar to find the person rather than bring your own
What India requires on top of salary.
Statutory contributions add roughly 13% to 18% on top of gross at junior and mid salaries. At senior salaries the share falls, often below 5%, because provident fund is capped at a Rs 15,000 wage base while the salary is not.
Provident fund (EPF)
Commonly applied on the statutory wage ceiling of Rs 15,000, so Rs 1,800 a month, plus small administrative charges. Applying it on full basic instead is a choice some employers make, and it costs more.
State insurance (ESI)
Only where gross pay is Rs 21,000 a month or below. Most engineering salaries are above the threshold, so this usually does not apply.
Gratuity
A statutory payment after five years of continuous service. It is accrued monthly as a liability rather than paid out, so the cost is real from month one.
Professional tax
Set by each state, typically Rs 200 a month. The Rs 2,500 annual ceiling is constitutional, so no state can charge more.
Rates verified 2026-09-23. India's four labour codes took effect on 21 November 2025.
From an agreed offer to a first working day, in about two weeks.
Tell us the role and the offer
Salary, start date, location, and anything specific to the role. If you already have the person, we start here. If you do not, recruitment runs first.
We paper the employment
A compliant offer and contract, issued by Ensaar as the legal employer in India, carrying your IP assignment and confidentiality terms.
They join, usually inside two weeks
Five to ten working days is typical from the day we have the candidate details and documents. Faster is possible when documents arrive clean.
You direct the work, we run the employment
You manage the person day to day. Ensaar runs payroll, files the statutory returns, tracks leave, and handles the paperwork nobody enjoys.
Compliance you can check, not a badge.
Filed on the statutory calendar
Provident fund and ESI by the 15th, TDS by the 7th, professional tax on the state schedule. Late filing is our cost to carry, not yours.
Documented at onboarding
Identity, PAN, prior employment, and education verified before the first working day, with the records retained for audit.
A statutory policy pack
Leave, working hours, notice, and the POSH policy with its internal committee, matched to the state Shops and Establishments Act that applies.
Records you can inspect
Payslips, challans, filing acknowledgements, and the employment file for anyone we employ for you. You should be able to audit your provider, so we assume you will.
Ensaar employs people in India, and only in India. If you need employment in several countries at once, a global platform will serve you better and we will say so on the first call. What we offer instead is depth in one country: the statutory detail, the state differences, and the entity path when you outgrow an EOR.
The honest answer.
Hiring through an EOR does not automatically create a permanent establishment in India, and it does not automatically protect you from one. PE turns on conduct: it is the risk of someone in India habitually concluding contracts in your name, or a fixed place of business being treated as yours. An engineer building your product is a very different case from a salesperson closing your deals. We will tell you which side of that line a role sits on, and we will say so before you hire rather than after.
What buyers ask before the first hire.
- What is an Employer of Record in India?
- An Employer of Record is the company that legally employs someone on your behalf. Ensaar issues the Indian employment contract, pays the salary in rupees, and files provident fund, state insurance, professional tax, and TDS. You direct the work day to day. It is how a foreign company hires in India without first registering a company there.
- How much does an Employer of Record cost in India?
- Ensaar charges a flat $199 per employee per month, with no setup fee, no security deposit, and no minimum term. On top of that you pay the salary itself and the statutory employer contributions, both passed through at cost. India specialists generally charge $99 to $399 and global platforms $499 to $699 for the same hire.
- How quickly can we hire someone in India?
- Five to ten working days from the point we have the candidate details and documents is typical, and it can be faster when documents arrive clean. If Ensaar is also finding the candidate, add the recruitment time, which depends on the role.
- What does an employer pay on top of salary in India?
- Provident fund at 12% of basic pay, commonly applied on the statutory wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 so about Rs 1,800 a month; state insurance at 3.25% of gross, only where gross is Rs 21,000 a month or below; gratuity accrued at about 4.81% of basic; and professional tax set by each state, typically Rs 200 a month and capped at Rs 2,500 a year. That adds roughly 13% to 18% at junior and mid salaries, and proportionally less at senior salaries because provident fund is capped.
- Does hiring through an EOR create permanent establishment risk in India?
- Not automatically, and an EOR does not automatically protect you either. Permanent establishment turns on conduct, mainly whether someone in India habitually concludes contracts in your name or a fixed place of business is treated as yours. An engineer building your product sits differently from a salesperson closing your deals. Ensaar will say which side of that line a role sits on before you hire.
- Who owns the work and the IP?
- You do. IP assignment and confidentiality terms sit in the employment contract Ensaar issues to the employee, and in the service agreement between Ensaar and you, so the rights land with you rather than with the employer of record.
- Can we move EOR employees into our own Indian entity later?
- Yes, and it is worth planning for from the start. When your own subsidiary becomes the cheaper option, Ensaar incorporates it and transfers the team across with their service continuity preserved, which matters for gratuity and for notice. Employees keep their provident fund through their UAN.
- What happens when an employee resigns or has to be let go?
- Ensaar runs the exit: notice period as written in the contract, final settlement, statutory dues, and the paperwork. Indian dismissal rules are more prescriptive than in the US, so a termination needs cause, documentation, and notice. We will tell you what is possible before you commit to a decision.