How do you add up what one EOR hire really costs in a year?

Summary

Start with the salary, add what the country makes the employer pay on top of it, add twelve months of the EOR fee, and then layer on whatever benefits or bonuses you choose to offer. For a £60,000 hire in the UK, employer National Insurance is £8,250 and the minimum employer pension contribution is £1,320.90, so the employment cost is £69,570.90 before the EOR's fee. The fee adds $7,188 a year at Deel's price or $8,388 at Remote's monthly rate.

A £60,000 hire in the UK

The rates below are for the 2026/27 tax year, which runs from April 6, 2026 to April 5, 2027.

• Salary: £60,000.
• Employer National Insurance: 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year. (£60,000 − £5,000) × 15% = £8,250.
• Workplace pension: under automatic enrollment the employer pays at least 3% of qualifying earnings, the slice between £6,240 and £50,270. (£50,270 − £6,240) × 3% = £1,320.90. The legal minimum from employer and employee together is 8%.
• Employment cost in pounds: £69,570.90.
• EOR fee: $599 to $699 a month, or $7,188 to $8,388 a year.

The two statutory lines behave differently as pay rises. National Insurance has no upper limit, so every extra pound of salary carries another 15p. The pension minimum stops at £50,270, which is why it comes to £1,320.90 whether the salary is £60,000 or £80,000.

Keep the dollars on their own line

The fee is priced in dollars and the employment cost in pounds. Convert them into one figure and a currency swing blurs which part of the bill moved. Anything you add above the legal minimum, such as a richer pension, private health cover, or a bonus, goes in as its own line under the pounds subtotal. Which charges are inside the EOR fee and which are billed separately is covered in SeatBill's piece on what the monthly fee pays for.

When the money leaves

Two providers with the same annual total can bill on very different calendars. Remote bills an estimate up front: a pre-funding invoice goes out on the first business day of each month, covering expected pay, contributions, approved extras and benefits, and it is normally due within 14 days. Around the third business day of the next month a reconciliation invoice follows with the management fee and the difference between estimated and actual costs; if actual costs came in lower, you get a credit. Deel issues its monthly invoices on the 23rd, expects funds within five calendar days, and charges 0.15% of the invoice amount for each day a payment is late.

Deposits and first-month funding are covered in the explainer on what an EOR does and the article on payroll funding and cutoffs. Once headcount in one country keeps growing, the comparison with running your own entity is on SeatBill's EOR-versus-entity page.

Sources

• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027
• https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/new-employers/im-an-employer-who-has-to-provide-a-pension/declare-your-compliance/ongoing-duties-for-employers/earnings-thresholds
• https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/new-employers/im-an-employer-who-has-to-provide-a-pension/choose-a-pension-scheme/understanding-your-costs/making-contributions-to-your-pension-scheme
• https://www.deel.com/pricing/
• https://remote.com/pricing
• https://support.remote.com/hc/en-us/articles/4634363931533-What-is-the-invoice-process-for-EOR-customers
• https://help.letsdeel.com/hc/en-gb/articles/17671152016017-Frequently-Asked-Questions-About-EOR-Invoices

Related on this site

• Employer cost calculator
• Method: the formula and the sources
• What does an EOR's monthly fee actually pay for?
• When does an EOR need the payroll money, and what happens to a bonus approved after the cutoff?
• Employer of record or your own entity: where the number flips