Employer of Record UK for Australian companies: cost and the direct route

These are US dollar prices, not Australian dollars. Pounds are at HMRC's exchange rate for October 2026, 1.3456 US dollars to the pound, rounded to the nearest pound. Each figure is a platform's own published starting price for its fee; for the price of your own hire, ask the provider. Our full pricing comparison sets the same range beside our direct routes.

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.

Employing the person yourself, with no UK company

There is no UK and Australia social security agreement

The UK and Australia used to have a social security agreement, and it ended in 2001. HMRC's list of agreements with contribution provisions shows it as "terminated 28 February 2001", and Australia isn't among the agreement countries in HMRC's employer guide for 2026 to 2027. So no agreement treats an Australian employer as if it were based in the UK, and the UK's own rule decides whether it owes employer's National Insurance.

HMRC's rule is that an employer owes UK employer's National Insurance if it is resident, present or has a place of business in Great Britain. HMRC's manual lists the kind of evidence it looks for, such as a registered office in the UK, fixed premises in the UK, a UK bank account, or the company paying the employee's rent or mortgage, and whether an employer meets the test is a matter of fact.

The DPNI route

An Australian company with no UK place of business has two routes, and on both the company stays the employer. HMRC's manual PAYE20100 lists "A foreign employer who has no address in the United Kingdom from which earnings are paid" among the cases a DPNI is for. The employee sets up a DPNI and pays both their income tax and their employee National Insurance to HMRC under one PAYE reference. 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 direct payment scheme doesn't work like an ordinary payroll. HMRC send the employee a deductions working sheet, the employee fills it in, and the tax and National Insurance payments go to HMRC from them. So you pay the gross salary and don't take any UK tax or National Insurance off it. We do the sums, tell them what's due and when, and they pay HMRC.

One exception to watch: if your employee is made available to work in a UK business, such as a UK client, HMRC's employer guide says that UK business must pay the employer's and the employee's National Insurance instead, where no agreement with employer obligations covers the employee.

Someone you send over from Australia

A local UK hire is in the UK system from the start. Someone you send here for a while is different. For an employee who doesn't normally live or work in the UK and whom you send here temporarily, HMRC's employer guide says National Insurance isn't payable for the first 52 weeks, counted from the first Sunday after they arrive. HMRC's own manual uses an Australian employer with no UK place of business as its example, and the employee becomes liable once those 52 weeks have passed.

Or run UK PAYE in the company's own name

A company with no UK presence doesn't have to run UK PAYE, but it can choose to run it in its own name. Then the company takes the employee's income tax off their pay through its own payroll, and our fees are the company's cost, not the employee's. The employee's National Insurance still has to be paid: the company can pay it through its payroll if it's willing to and HMRC agree, and if not, the employee pays it directly.

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.

Salary, pension and any National Insurance are left out. Each employee has their own DPNI, so a second employee adds a second scheme at the same price. When the scheme is in the employee's own name, the employee is our client and pays our fees. An employer that wants to cover the cost can add the amount to the employee's pay, and the employee then pays us. We are not VAT registered, so no VAT is added. Figures are indicative, not a quote. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

Australian companies hiring in the UK: common questions

How much does an Employer of Record cost an Australian company in the UK?

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. At HMRC's October 2026 rate of 1.3456 dollars to the pound, that is about £297 to £519, and about £445 for $599. These are US dollar prices.

Is there a UK and Australia social security agreement?

Not any more. HMRC's list of social security agreements with contribution provisions shows the Australian one as terminated on 28 February 2001, and Australia is not among the agreement countries in HMRC's employer guide for 2026 to 2027. So the UK's own rule decides whether an Australian employer owes UK employer's National Insurance.

Does an Australian company need a UK entity to employ someone in the UK?

A UK entity is not needed. HMRC's DPNI guidance includes employees of an overseas employer that has no UK address it pays wages from. 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 will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

What does a DPNI cost an Australian company?

A DPNI costs £157 a month. Each employee has their own DPNI. Setting up costs £750 per scheme, or £500 per scheme if you go ahead within two weeks of your quote. No VAT is added. When the scheme is in the employee's own name, the employee is our client and pays our fees. An employer that wants to cover the cost can add the amount to the employee's pay, and the employee then pays us. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

What does it cost if the company runs UK PAYE 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. No VAT is added.

How long does the direct route take?

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. Nothing goes to HMRC until the engagement is signed and our identity checks are done, so our four to eight weeks starts then, not today.

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.
• Setting up a direct payment scheme, the steps and our timeline estimate.
• Hiring in the UK from Australia, how UK payroll differs from Australian payroll.
• Employer of Record UK: the complete guide, every EOR guide in one place.