Employer of Record alternative in the UK: when you need one and when you don't

The question that decides it: do you want to be the employer?

If you would rather another business were the legal employer of your UK worker, that is what an Employer of Record is for. If you are content to be the employer, you do not need one, and not having a UK company does not change that.

You probably don't need one when

• you are content to be the employer and want a direct relationship with your UK person;
• you have one or a few UK staff you plan to keep;
• your only reason for an EOR is that you have no UK company.

The employee sets up a DPNI and pays both their income tax and their employee National Insurance to HMRC under one PAYE reference. HMRC's DPNI guidance includes employees of an overseas employer that has no UK address it pays wages from. When someone works in the UK for an employer based in the EU and UK National Insurance is due, it is due on both sides, the employee's and the employer's, so the scheme is an NI-only scheme in the employer's name and not a DPNI or DCNI. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

A company with no UK presence doesn't have to run UK PAYE, but it can choose to run it in its own name.

We are not VAT registered, so no VAT is added. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

How the fees compare

Four of the best-known Employer of Record platforms publish starting prices of $399 to $699 per employee per month on their own pricing pages, read 22 October 2026, with $599 the most common. That is about £297 to £519 at HMRC's October 2026 rate of 1.3456 dollars to the pound, and about £445 for $599. An Employer of Record becomes the legal employer and takes on the employer's duties; we run the payroll while you stay the employer, so the fees pay for different things. The full table is on our Employer of Record pricing comparison, and the year-by-year sums are in Employer of Record cost vs your own payroll.

Employer of Record alternatives: common questions

Do I need an Employer of Record to hire in the UK?

Not if you are happy to be the employer. An Employer of Record becomes the legal employer of the worker. If you would rather stay the employer, your UK payroll can be run for you without a UK company.

Can a company with no UK presence run UK payroll itself?

A company with no UK presence doesn't have to run UK PAYE, but it can choose to run it in its own name. A UK PAYE scheme in the company's own name starts at £225 a month plus £8 per payslip, and setting it up costs £350.

What does the direct route cost?

A DPNI costs £157 a month. An NI-only scheme costs £157 a month for one employee, and £150 a month plus £7 per payslip for two or more. Setup is £750, or £500 if you go ahead within two weeks of your quote, and no VAT is added. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

How long does the direct route take to set up?

We'd allow four to eight weeks for HMRC to set the scheme up, and that's our own estimate, not a figure from HMRC. If pay starts before the scheme is in place, payroll still runs every payday and is reported to HMRC late once the scheme exists.

Read next

• Employer of Record cost vs your own payroll, with an interactive comparison.
• When an Employer of Record is the right answer, the cases where it fits.
• Switch from an EOR to your own UK payroll, how the move works.
• Setting up a direct payment scheme, the steps and our timeline estimate.
• Do I need an Employer of Record?, a short decision guide.
• Convert a UK contractor to an employee, with no UK entity.
• Hire a software engineer in the UK, without a UK entity.
• Employer of Record UK: the complete guide, every EOR guide in one place.