Employer of Record · US companies hiring in the UK
Employer of Record UK for US companies: cost and the direct route
A US company hiring its first person in the UK can do it without setting up a UK company, in one of two ways. One is an Employer of Record, which becomes the legal employer of the worker. The other is to employ the person yourself and have the UK payroll run for you.
Onshore Partners runs that payroll. We are not an Employer of Record. This page sets out what the best-known Employer of Record providers publish as their price, in dollars and pounds, and what the direct route costs.
Short answer: A US company hiring its first person in the UK can do it without setting up a UK company: through an Employer of Record, which becomes the legal employer of the worker, or by employing the person itself and having the UK payroll run for it. Four of the best-known Employer of Record platforms publish starting prices of $399 to $699 per employee per month, about £297 to £519 at HMRC's October 2026 rate.
The direct route
Employing the person yourself, with no UK company
For a US company with no UK place of business there are two routes: a DPNI, or the company's own UK PAYE scheme. A company with no UK presence doesn't have to run UK PAYE, but it can choose to run it in its own name. 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.
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.
Or run UK PAYE in your 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. 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.
Common questions
US companies hiring in the UK: common questions
How much does an Employer of Record cost a US 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. Our guide to Employer of Record cost per employee covers the extras on top of the fee.
Does a US company need a UK entity to employ someone in the UK?
No. 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 the direct route cost a US company?
A DPNI costs £157 a month. Setting up costs £750 per scheme, or £500 per scheme if you go ahead within two weeks of your quote. 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. 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?
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.