FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions about Boundless EoR / PEO.
About Boundless
See all- What is Boundless and how does it work?
- What does “Employer of Record” mean?
- How much does it cost?
- We have corporate entities set up in a number of countries, can we still use Boundless?
- We employ people as independent contractors, and it works fine. How is Boundless different?
- Does Boundless have its own corporate and employment infrastructure?
- How does invoicing and billing work?
- What countries do you currently support?
- What countries do you plan on supporting and when will support be available?
- What are the advantages of using Boundless to employ my internationally remote team?
Multi-Country Payroll Questions
See all- Who is responsible for filing and paying taxes and social insurance contributions of our employees?
- Who actually pays the employee?
- We run payroll on two-week cycles, can you work with that?
- We need to make adjustments, how do we do that?
- Can you handle medical benefits / can you deduct medical insurance payments at source?
- Can you support pension payments?
- How does billing work?
- We have people who need to be paid in a different currency to ours, how do you handle that?
Local HR Compliance Questions
See all- What does HR compliance mean, and why does it matter?
- How do you ensure HR compliance on a local level?
- What are the legal responsibilities of a company when they use a service like Boundless?
- What do we do if we have an issue with an employee?
- In the event that we need to end a working relationship with an employee, how is that handled?
- How does Boundless handle the risk associated with termination of employment?
Employee Questions
See all- The company I work for is using Boundless, what does this mean for me?
- I have a problem that is HR related, what should I do?
- I need to request time off, who do I talk to about that?
- I'm currently a contractor, and the company I work with wants to use Boundless. What will the difference in my take home pay be?
- Why should I change from being a contractor to an employee; my take home pay will be less?
- What benefits will I receive that I don't get as a contractor?
- Who should I contact if I have a problem with my manager?
All FAQs
About Boundless
1. What is Boundless and how does it work?
Boundless makes it easy for companies to grow their internationally remote team. We do this by employing your team on your behalf, being the local “employer of record” for the individual.
2. What does “Employer of Record” mean?
It means that Boundless is the legal employer of the individual, as far as their government, tax, and employment authorities are concerned.
We are responsible for:
- ensuring their employment is compliant with local employment laws
- processing local payroll
- filing employment related tax returns
- issuing payslips to the employee
- distributing salary payments
- payments to the local tax authorities
Our customers are responsible for:
- sourcing and recruiting their own workers
- managing the employee’s day-to-day work load
- contributing to the personal / professional development of the employee through their work
- following any guidance we give on employment and HR best practices or legal obligations in the employee’s home country
- ensuring that payroll bills relating to their team are paid to Boundless before the cut-off point in each pay cycle
Boundless is a legal employer of record for growing companies with international workers, in a number of countries.
3. How much does it cost?
Boundless charges 8% of total monthly processed payroll. That is:
- gross salary payment
- employer taxes (depending on jurisdiction)
- pension contributions
- Any other benefits payments or additional payments/contributions processed through payroll
4. We have corporate entities set up in a number of countries, can we still use Boundless?
Yes, even if you have set up your own entities, you still have to process payroll, and ensure compliance with employment law, for each country you have remote workers in. Many companies will outsource these processes/responsibilities to third parties. Boundless offers you the chance to combine these fragmented systems, relationships and workflows into a single experience.
5. We employ people as independent contractors, and it works fine. How is Boundless different?
If an individual is giving their full and undivided attention to your company, and they are treated as an independent contractor, you are likely in breach of employment laws both in your country, and theirs.
Your company could be liable for fines or other legal measures. The individuals you are working with do not receive the benefit of local employment laws and protections that are often afforded to people working full time hours.
We have written about this in the past:
6. Does Boundless have its own corporate and employment infrastructure?
Boundless owns and manages its infrastructure everywhere it is possible to do so. It aims to assume the legal burden of risk for its customers, or if this is prohibited within a particular territory, to adopt a closely managed partnership model based upon transparency and accountability.
7. How does invoicing and billing work?
Each pay period, after you make any necessary adjustments and processing is completed, we issue you with an invoice bill, for one amount, in your home currency. A full breakdown of the payroll cost is available, including our fee of 8% of total monthly processed payroll. You pay us, and we pay your team in their currency. We also file and pay their taxes compliantly in their home country.
8. What countries do you currently support?
A full list of the countries that we support can be found at:
boundlesshq.com/how-it-works/countries/
9. What countries do you plan on supporting and when will support be available?
A list of countries that we are working on supporting in 2021 can be found here: boundlesshq.com/how-it-works/countries/
Being able to support employment of people in these countries requires us to establish corporate infrastructure and develop systems compatible with local laws, which can take time.
10. What are the advantages of using Boundless to employ my internationally remote team?
- To be compliant. Be assured that you are legally employing your team in a way that benefits them, without the monthly administrative burden.
- To access local knowledge. We have the local expertise to help you quickly employ your internationally remote team in a way that's compliant within their local jurisdiction.
- To avoid penalties. Governments are starting to enforce compliance laws that carry penalties for misclassification of employees.
- To scale your team, faster. You can take full advantage of being able to hire from a global talent pool, without new hires needing to wait for you to become compliant on your own.
Using Boundless as an Employer
11. How do I get started?
You can get started here. Let us know the countries you need support in and we'll follow up with a short consultation call, where we can answer any technical questions you have in relation to:
- local payroll
- local employment compliance
- benefits / penstions / insurance
- stock options
We'll share with you a detailed salary and tax breakdown of each employee in each country, and make you aware of any specific requirments relating to compliant employment, employment agreements, handling disuptes, and terminating agreements in each country.
12. What’s the downside to employing people through an Employer of Record?
There’s no real downside. Boundless is absorbing the risk of having employees in another country. You won’t be the only party mentioned on your worker’s employment agreement - Boundless will be a party to that agreement.
13. Do we need to take care of filing monthly/annual reports to the tax authorities?
No. Boundless takes care of all of this.
14. Do you offer tiered pricing / discounts as we add people?
Not yet, but it is something we’ll explore in the future.
Multi-Country Payroll Questions
15. Who is responsible for filing and paying taxes and social insurance contributions of our employees?
Boundless files all pertinent taxes as they relate to the compliant employment of an individual in their home country.
16. Who actually pays the employee?
The employee is paid directly by Boundless. As a customer, you will receive a predictable payroll bill each cycle, which will include the total gross payroll cost, plus any employer related taxes or contributions, plus our fee of 8%.
17. We run payroll on two-week cycles, can you work with that?
Boundless currently supports monthly payroll cycles. In the future, we will support alternative cycles.
18. We need to make adjustments, how do we do that?
Boundless is intuitive, and easy to use. Making adjustments to an employee’s monthly payroll is as easy as logging in to our secure interface, making the necessary adjustments, and saving them. Each cycle has a cutoff point, beyond which it’s no longer possible to make adjustments.
19. Can you handle medical benefits / can you deduct medical insurance payments at source?
We don’t currently offer access to any specific medical insurance policies, but we are working on putting this in place.
A simple & effective way of handling this is to offer any employee with their own health insurance policy an additional gross payment on top of their salary.
For example: you could say that, for any employee that provides you with evidence of their own policy, you’ll pay them an extra gross amount each year. This will be treated as an additional gross payment on their payslip, and they’ll be taxed on this, resulting in an increase of the employee’s net salary that covers the cost of the insurance minus the taxes on this monetary benefit.
20. Can you support pension payments?
We can support pension payments / contributions in the countries where this is a mandatory benefit. If workplace pension is not a mandatory benefit in a certain country, we can discuss alternative options to provide this to your employees.
21. How does billing work?
Each cycle you will receive a payroll bill. To make things easy, it will be a single amount, accompanied with a breakdown of each employee’s salary, tax and contributions.
22. We have people who need to be paid in a different currency to ours, how do you handle that?
Employees are paid in the local currency of their employment country. It is not a problem if this is different to yours as you will be invoiced in your local currency.
Local HR Compliance Questions
23. What does HR compliance mean, and why does it matter?
HR compliance is about making sure your policies and procedures respect all the applicable laws and regulations when it comes to employment and work practices. Complying with local employment law is fundamental for the correct running of your business - not only because these laws are in place to protect employees and guarantee their rights are safeguarded, but to minimise your risk of liabilities as an employer.
24. How do you ensure HR compliance on a local level?
In each of the countries we operate in, we carefully choose employment lawyers or advisories to partner with. They make sure all our employment agreements are completely compliant with the local jurisdiction, and we have thorough discussions on specific norms such as data protection or work from home regulations. Whenever a potentially sensitive issue arises in one of the countries, our internal team contacts the relevant firm to make sure all steps are taken to resolve it compliantly.
25. What are the legal responsibilities of a company when they use a service like Boundless?
The company remains responsible for the day-to-day management of the people and teams that are employed through Boundless, including any disciplinary or performance issues.
Boundless ensures compliance with local specific procedures, practices and laws, while employing people and teams on behalf of the company.
26. What do we do if we have an issue with an employee?
You get in touch with us. Once you explain to us the problem thoroughly, we will be able to support you, and whenever situations arise that need a sensitive approach, we will consult our legal teams in the local jurisdiction on your behalf, to make sure you get the best possible advice.
27. In the event that we need to end a working relationship with an employee, how is that handled?
In most countries there are quite strict regulations to prevent unlawful terminations. Depending on the location of your employee, and the specifics of the situation, we will offer you tailored advice on all aspects you need to consider. We'll also provide you with the support needed to ensure the situation is handled as positively as possible.
28. How does Boundless handle the risk associated with termination of employment?
Boundless has an established procedure for compliantly terminating employment agreements in each country that we support. We require customers to alert us an agreement that may need to be ended, at the earliest possibly opportunity, so we can ensure procedure is followed, and is in compliance with local employment law and best practices.
Employee Questions
29. The company I work for is using Boundless, what does this mean for me?
You will be employed in full compliance with the legislation of your country, and your employer will be paying all the relevant taxes and contributions. It means more security for you, a full employee status, regular payslips and all of the benefits of being an actual employee.
30. I have a problem that is HR related, what should I do?
Your employer remains responsible for supporting you and your development, but we’re happy to help too. We’re setting up a direct link for employee support and will be available to answer your questions, particularly those specific to local employment in your country.
31. I need to request time off, who do I talk to about that?
You should follow the normal process of the company you work with. They’ll be informing Boundless at the end of the month, for tracking purposes only.
32. I'm currently a contractor, and the company I work with wants to use Boundless. What will the difference in my take home pay be?
That depends on the specifics of your country and personal circumstances. We have a range of country calculators available that could give you a good estimate - get in touch if you’d like more information.
33. Why should I change from being a contractor to an employee; my take home pay will be less?
By being an employee, you get access to benefits and statutory employment guarantees that apply in your country. You don’t have to deal with invoicing, find an accountant or risk paying additional taxes that would apply in case of misclassification as an independent contractor.
While the take home pay will likely be lower depending on your country, in most cases you’ll see a saving in the additional costs and an easier, more streamlined handling of your benefits.
34. What benefits will I receive that I don't get as a contractor?
It depends on what benefits your employer is offering. But a minimum, you will receive all statutory benefits that apply to your country. In many places this means social security, paid vacation, pension contributions, paid maternity/paternity leave, job protection and more.
For example, here is a guide to benefits in Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
35. Who should I contact if I have a problem with my manager?
The company you work for has a process in place to support you with this. In some countries, a specific multi-step complaint process is also available to help you solve the issue.