Playroll alternative for hiring one employee in the UK

Two routes to the same hire

Onshore Partners is not an Employer of Record and has no connection with Playroll. We run UK payroll for overseas employers who stay the employer themselves, so we sell the other route, and you should read this page knowing that. Every statement about Playroll below comes from Playroll’s own website, read on 23 October 2026, with the page named beside it. Published prices and terms change, so check Playroll’s page for the current figure.

The two routes do not buy the same thing. With an Employer of Record, another business becomes the employer. With your own UK payroll, you are the employer and a payroll firm runs the mechanics. So the first question is whether you want to be the employer, and only then which fee is lower.

Playroll’s Employer of Record and your own UK payroll, for one employee

Playroll’s dollar price is converted at HMRC’s exchange rate for October 2026, 1.3456 US dollars to the pound, and rounded to the nearest pound. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

One UK employee, first twelve months, fees only

Salary and the workplace pension are on top on either route and are left out. So is employer’s National Insurance, which depends on the route. On a DPNI with no UK presence there’s usually none, while an employer in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland on an NI-only scheme usually pays it. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts. Ask Playroll how employer’s National Insurance and the pension appear on its invoice, so you compare the whole cost and not one fee against another. Figures are indicative, not a quote.

Which scheme you would be on depends on where your company is based

If your company is outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, with no UK presence, the scheme is usually a DPNI, not an NI-only scheme. 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. A DPNI costs £157 a month. 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.

In the EU, the EEA or Switzerland. UK National Insurance is due on both sides, the employee’s and the employer’s. For an employer in the EU, HMRC’s manual PAYE20100 says the employer sets up “an NI only scheme rather than a DPNI scheme”, and the UK’s social security agreements with Switzerland and with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein put the employer in the same position. An NI-only scheme is in the employer’s name. An NI-only scheme costs £157 a month for one employee, and £150 a month plus £7 per payslip for two or more. Setting up is a one-off £750, however many employees the scheme covers, or £500 if you go ahead within two weeks of your quote.

Running UK PAYE in your own name instead. For a company outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland: 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. 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.

We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts. One exception: if the employee works for a UK business, such as a UK client, that business may have to run PAYE and pay employer’s National Insurance itself. If you already have a UK company, see our note on payroll options for a UK subsidiary.

What stays with you on every direct route. A direct scheme does not make anyone else the employer, so the auto-enrolment duties stay with you. Our work on the workplace pension is included in the monthly fee, and we never charge extra for it. Each pay period we check which of your staff qualify, enrol those who do, deal with anyone opting in or out, and upload the contributions.

Four things worth asking Playroll

• The monthly price on your own contract, in the currency you will pay in.
• The amount of the security deposit, which Playroll’s page puts at one month’s salary, and when it comes back.
• How employer’s National Insurance and the pension contributions appear on the invoice.
• The notice and exit terms, including how you would move the employee onto your own payroll later.

If you are already with an Employer of Record and want to move, see switching from an EOR to your own payroll.

Playroll alternative: common questions

How much does Playroll charge for an Employer of Record employee?

Playroll's pricing page, read on 23 October 2026, shows its Employer of Record starting at $399 per employee per month. At HMRC's October 2026 rate of 1.3456 dollars to the pound, that is about £297. The same page says Playroll charges no onboarding or offboarding fees and requires a fully refundable security deposit equal to one month's salary. For the price of your own hire, ask Playroll.

What is the alternative to Playroll for one employee in the UK?

You can stay the employer and have your UK payroll run for you, without a UK company. For an employer outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland with no UK presence, the scheme is usually a DPNI, and for an employer in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, it is an NI-only scheme in the employer's name. A DPNI costs £157 a month. An NI-only scheme costs £157 a month for one employee. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

When is Playroll the better choice?

When the person has to start within days, when you are hiring in several countries at once, or when you want another business to be the legal employer. Playroll's Employer of Record page lists onboarding in one to five days, and its pricing page says you can hire employees in 180+ countries.

Is Onshore Partners an Employer of Record, or connected with Playroll?

No to both. An Employer of Record becomes the legal employer of the worker. We run UK payroll for overseas employers who stay the employer themselves, and we have no connection with Playroll.

Who looks after the workplace pension if I stay the employer?

You do, as the employer. A direct scheme does not make anyone else the employer, so the auto-enrolment duties stay with you. Our work on the workplace pension is included in the monthly fee, and we never charge extra for it. You'll need to open the pension scheme with a provider and give us access to it, because the scheme belongs to the employer and is set up in the employer's name.

Read next

• When an Employer of Record is the right answer, the cases where it fits and the ones where it usually does not.
• Employer of Record pricing UK 2026, four providers’ published prices side by side.
• Employer of Record cost vs your own payroll, with an interactive comparison.
• EOR, DPNI or subsidiary, the four questions that pick between the three ways of employing someone here.
• The same comparison for other providers: Oyster, Deel, Remote, Rippling, Velocity Global, Multiplier.
• Employer of Record UK: the complete guide, every EOR guide in one place.

Playroll is a third party and is not connected with Onshore Partners. Every fact about Playroll on this page is from Playroll’s own website, read on 23 October 2026. This page is general information, not tax, legal or employment advice, and reflects the published rates for the 2026/27 tax year. Your own position may differ, so please check it or get advice before acting.