Hire in India
Hire in India. We find them. We employ them.
Most companies use a recruiter to source and an EOR to employ. Two vendors, two contracts, two markups. Saileor does both under one agreement, at $99 per employee per month.
- No Indian entity required
- Sourcing and screening included
- Flat fee, no percentage of salary
- ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 9001:2015
The problem
Hiring in India is two problems, not one.
Finding the person is a recruiting problem. Paying them legally is a compliance problem. Vendors solve one and hand you the other.
Recruiters stop at the offer
An India recruiting agency will shortlist candidates and charge 8% to 15% of first-year salary. Then they hand you a signed offer and no way to pay the person.
Global EORs stop at payroll
Deel, Remote and Multiplier will employ someone you already found. They do not source. You still need a recruiter, and you pay roughly $599 per employee per month on top.
Setting up an entity is slow
A private limited company in India takes months to incorporate and register for PF, ESI, PT and TDS. It is the right answer at scale. It is the wrong answer for your first five hires.
What Saileor does
Source. Employ. Support. One contract.
You describe the role. We do everything from the first CV to the final settlement.
1. Source and screen
- Role brief and calibrated JD
- Sourcing across our India network
- Skills screening and reference checks
- Shortlist with notice period and expected CTC
- Interview scheduling in your time zone
2. Employ and comply
- Saileor becomes the legal employer of record
- Offer letter and contract compliant with the Labour Codes
- CTC structured to meet the 50% wage rule
- PF, ESI, PT, TDS and LWF filed every month
- IP and confidentiality assigned to you
3. Run and support
- Monthly payroll with maker-checker review
- Employee self-service portal for payslips and Form 16
- Medical and accidental insurance provisioned
- Laptop and IT asset provisioning on request
- Exit, relieving letter and full and final settlement
Roles
What you can hire through Saileor.
Full-time employees on Saileor payroll, working only for you. If the role exists in India, we can source it.
Engineering
Backend, frontend, full stack, mobile, QA, DevOps, SRE, platform, embedded.
Data and AI
Data engineers, analysts, ML engineers, applied scientists, analytics engineers.
Product and Design
Product managers, product designers, UX researchers, technical writers.
Finance and Accounting
Accountants, controllers, FP&A analysts, AR and AP, CAs, bookkeepers.
Customer Support
Support engineers, CS associates, technical support, success managers.
Sales and Marketing
SDRs, account executives, performance marketers, content, SEO, lifecycle.
Operations
Business ops, supply chain, process associates, project coordinators.
Back office and HR
Recruiters, HR operations, payroll associates, legal and compliance support.
Compare
Four ways to get someone in India. What each one actually costs you.
| Contractor marketplace | Recruiter plus global EOR | Your own Indian entity | Saileor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who finds the person | You do | Recruiting agency | You do, or an agency | Saileor |
| Who is the legal employer | Nobody. They are a contractor | The EOR | You | Saileor |
| Sourcing cost | Your time | Typically 8% to 15% of first-year salary | Your time, or an agency fee | Included |
| Monthly cost per employee | Platform fee on each payment | Around $599 with the large global EORs | Entity, CA, payroll and filing overheads | $99 flat |
| Time to start | Days | Recruiting cycle plus EOR onboarding | Months to incorporate and register | Shortlist in days, onboarding in 48 hours after offer |
| Misclassification risk | High for full-time work | Low | Low | Low |
| Statutory filings | Not handled | Handled by the EOR | You own PF, ESI, PT, TDS and LWF | Handled by Saileor |
| India labour law depth | None | One of 100+ countries covered | Depends on who you hire | India only. That is the whole company |
| Exit handling | End the contract | Handled by the EOR | You run the settlement | Relieving letter and full and final within the statutory window |
Competitor pricing reflects publicly listed rates and standard agency fee ranges. Actual quotes vary by headcount and contract term.
How it works
From role brief to first payslip.
Tell us the role
A 20-minute call. Skills, seniority, budget in CTC or USD, time zone overlap you need, and whether the person needs to be in a specific city.
We source and screen
We run the search, screen for skills and communication, and check notice periods before we send anyone. Every profile arrives with expected CTC and availability.
You interview
We schedule around your calendar. You run your own technical and culture rounds. We handle candidate communication and keep the pipeline warm.
We make the offer
Saileor issues a compliant employment contract, structures the CTC to meet the 50% wage rule, and collects onboarding documents digitally.
They join and get paid
Notice period permitting, they start. Payroll, PF, ESI, PT, TDS, insurance, payslips and Form 16 run automatically from month one.
Know before you hire
Five things about hiring in India that surprise foreign founders.
These are the questions we answer on almost every first call. Current as of July 2026.
Notice periods are long
Indian employment contracts commonly carry 30 to 90 days of notice, and 90 days is standard at large IT services firms. A candidate who accepts in week two may not start until month four. Plan your start date backwards from the notice period, not forwards from the offer.
Employer PF and gratuity are usually inside CTC
In India, salary is quoted as cost to company. Employer provident fund and gratuity accrual are normally already included in that number. Foreign finance teams often add them again on top and overstate the budget by 10% or more.
ESI applies only below the wage ceiling
Employees' State Insurance applies to employees earning up to ₹21,000 per month in gross wages. Most professional and engineering hires are above that ceiling, so ESI does not apply to them at all. Many cost calculators get this wrong.
The Labour Codes changed the maths
The four Labour Codes came into force on 21 November 2025. Basic pay plus dearness allowance must now be at least 50% of total remuneration, which raises the base for PF and gratuity. Salary structures written before that date usually need restructuring.
Exits now have a two-day clock
Full and final settlement must be completed within two working days of resignation, dismissal or retrenchment. Fixed-term employees also become eligible for gratuity after one year rather than five. Both are recent changes and most offshore payroll processes have not caught up.
Contractors are not a shortcut
Paying a full-time worker as a contractor to avoid compliance is misclassification. It creates exposure on unpaid statutory dues, IP ownership and permanent establishment. If the person works only for you and you direct their day, they are an employee.
The cost
What an India hire actually costs you.
Worked example for a mid-level engineer on a ₹18,00,000 annual CTC. Numbers are illustrative and depend on salary structure and location.
Why Saileor
India is not one of our markets. It is our only market.
Global EORs cover 100 countries and know India as well as they know any of them. We are in Hyderabad, we file in every Indian state, and India hiring is the whole business.
Proof
What clients say on third-party review sites.
All reviews below are published and verified on platforms we do not control. Follow the links to read them in full.
“Their expertise of Indian payroll ecosystem was impressive.”
Nikhil Bhargav, Founder, Office StocksVerified on Clutch, rated 5.0
“Onboarded faster than expected.”
Client in Doha hiring three employees in IndiaRead on GoodFirms, rated 5.0
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Does Saileor charge a recruiting fee on top of the EOR fee?
No. Sourcing and screening are included in the $99 per employee per month. There is no percentage of first-year salary and no separate placement fee. We only earn once the person is employed and on payroll, which means we are paid to make hires that last rather than hires that close.
How long does it take to get candidate profiles?
For common roles in engineering, finance, support and operations, we send a first shortlist within about a week of the role brief. Niche and senior roles take longer. Every profile includes the candidate's expected CTC and current notice period so you can plan the start date realistically.
Do I need an Indian entity to hire through Saileor?
No. Saileor becomes the legal employer of record in India. The employee signs a contract with Saileor, appears on our payroll, and receives Indian statutory benefits. You direct their work day to day. If you already have an Indian entity, use our payroll outsourcing service instead.
Who owns the intellectual property the employee creates?
You do. IP assignment and confidentiality flow through to your company in the employment contract and in the service agreement between you and Saileor. This is one of the main reasons to employ rather than to engage a contractor without an assignment clause.
What statutory contributions does Saileor handle?
Provident fund, Employees' State Insurance where applicable, professional tax, tax deducted at source, and labour welfare fund. Filings run monthly, quarterly and annually depending on the head. Employees get Form 16 and access to a self-service portal for payslips and tax documents.
How does Saileor compare to Deel or Remote for India?
Deel and Remote are multi-country platforms with published EOR pricing around $599 per employee per month, and neither sources candidates for you. Saileor covers India only, charges $99 per employee per month, and includes sourcing and screening. If you hire across twenty countries, a global platform makes sense. If your hiring is in India, a specialist is cheaper and closer to the law.
Can we convert an existing contractor into an employee?
Yes, and this is a common reason companies come to us. We issue a compliant employment contract, structure the CTC to meet the 50% wage rule, register the person for statutory benefits, and move them onto payroll. Converting removes misclassification and permanent establishment exposure.
What happens when an employee resigns?
We run the exit. That covers the notice period, handover, clearance, relieving letter and the full and final settlement, which under the Labour Codes must be completed within two working days of the exit. Fixed-term employees are eligible for gratuity after one year of service.
Is there a minimum headcount or a lock-in?
No minimum and no lock-in. Start with one hire. The agreement runs month to month and pricing is a flat fee per employee, so your cost scales linearly with headcount rather than with salary.
Can Saileor provide laptops and equipment?
Yes. We can procure and provision laptops and IT assets, and we can arrange office or desk space where a role needs it. Equipment is billed at cost and stays outside the flat monthly fee.
Tell us the role. We will do the rest.
One call. We come back with a shortlist, a cost breakdown and a start date you can plan around.