Employer of record in Singapore.For local hires, while you have no company.
A platform employs your Singapore hire on paper, runs payroll and CPF, and invoices you. It costs US$400 to 700 a month per person in 2026, takes about a week to set up, and works for citizens and permanent residents only. This page is what it does, what it costs all in, and how you leave it.
The assessment asks who you are hiring and how many, and says on screen whether this is your route.
- Platform fee, per employee
- US$400 to 700 a month
- Who it can employ
- Citizens and PRs
- Employer CPF, added to salary
- 17%
- Deposit, some platforms
- 1 to 2 months of salary
- First payslip
- 5 to 10 days
- Notice to leave the platform
- 30 to 60 days
Fees are public list prices from the platforms we compare, checked September 2026. CPF from the CPF Board.
Five things to know before you sign an order form.
What the platform does, and what you still do
The platform is the legal employer. It signs an Employment Act contract with your hire, runs monthly payroll and CPF, tracks leave, files the IR8A at year end, and invoices you the salary plus its fee. You set the salary, manage the work, decide on raises and, if it comes to it, on dismissal. The employee sits in your team and reports to you; on paper they work for a company you have never met.
- Contract, payroll, CPF, SDL and leave records handled by the platform
- You approve expenses and time off in the platform
- Termination follows the Employment Act notice periods, and you pay any severance
The passport rule
An employer of record employs Singapore citizens and permanent residents. It cannot reliably sponsor an Employment Pass or S Pass for a foreign national. MOM issues a pass to a specific employer for a specific role, and it expects the pass holder to work for that employer. A handful of platforms will file a pass in narrow cases; most refuse, and the ones that accept are taking a risk with your hire's status. If the person needs a pass, you need a company.
The full decision, with the numbersWhat it costs
US$400 to 700 a month per employee in platform fees (2026), on top of the salary and the 17% employer CPF. Some platforms ask for a deposit equal to one or two months of salary, returned when the employee leaves. A S$6,000 a month hire therefore costs about S$6,000 in salary, S$1,020 in CPF, S$15 in SDL and S$530 to 930 in fees, or roughly S$7,600 to 8,000 a month all in. Annual fees on one hire come to S$6,400 to 11,200.
Timeline
Onboarding takes five to ten working days from a signed order to the first payslip: the platform verifies your company, drafts the contract, collects the employee's details and registers them for CPF. A hire who is already in Singapore and a citizen or PR can start within two weeks. There is no company to set up, no bank account to wait for, and nothing to file.
Leaving the platform
Most agreements end on 30 to 60 days' notice. The employee resigns from the platform and signs a new contract with your Singapore company on the same terms with a continuous start date, so no service is lost. Their CPF account is their own and carries over. Write the accrued leave and the notice period into the new contract, because the platform's obligations end when the old contract does.
Setting up the company they move toOne hire, all in.
The fee is the visible part. CPF and the deposit are the parts people forget to budget.
| Item | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| One employee via employer of record | US$400 to 700 per month | Platform fee on top of salary and employer CPF. Only for citizens and PRs. |
| Employer CPF contribution | 17% of wages | For employees aged 55 and below, on wages up to S$8,000 a month (2026). Lower rates above 55. |
| Skills Development Levy | 0.25% of wages | Minimum S$2 and maximum S$11.25 per employee per month. Paid with CPF. |
| Outsourced payroll, per employee per month | S$15 to 50 | Software at the low end, a provider running it for you at the top. Usually a minimum monthly fee. |
- One employee via employer of recordUS$400 to 700 per month
Platform fee on top of salary and employer CPF. Only for citizens and PRs.
- Employer CPF contribution17% of wages
For employees aged 55 and below, on wages up to S$8,000 a month (2026). Lower rates above 55.
- Skills Development Levy0.25% of wages
Minimum S$2 and maximum S$11.25 per employee per month. Paid with CPF.
- Outsourced payroll, per employee per monthS$15 to 50
Software at the low end, a provider running it for you at the top. Usually a minimum monthly fee.
Employer-of-record fees from the platforms we compare. CPF and SDL from the CPF Board. Checked September 2026.
Get your exact numberWhich platform.
They look alike on the website and differ in the payroll team. We choose on price, on how they handle CPF and Employment Act edge cases, and on how they behave when you leave.
An employer-of-record platform
For one to four citizen or permanent-resident hires, when you have no Singapore company and are not setting one up this year. We name the platform and its current price in your plan.
Your own company, sooner
If you expect five people within a year, or anyone who needs a pass, the company is cheaper and it is the only route for the pass. Set-up is two days; being fully operational with a bank account is four to eight weeks.
An employer of record at all
For a genuine contractor who runs their own business and invoices several clients. Pay the invoice. For a founder who wants to employ themselves through a platform to get a pass: it does not work, and the platforms know it.
How we are paid. The firm you go ahead with pays us a share of its fee. You pay its normal price, the same as going direct. Your plan names the firm and what it pays us.
What we tell people who ask about employers of record.
It is the right answer for a first local hire when you do not know yet whether Singapore will work. You can be paying someone in ten days and stop with a month of notice. That flexibility is what the fee buys.
It is the wrong answer for anyone who needs a pass, and for a team you already know you will build. At US$600 a month, two hires cost S$19,000 a year in fees, which runs a small company with a secretary, an accountant and payroll software with money left over.
Read the exit clause before the pricing page. The platforms that are cheap to join are sometimes slow to let go, and a 90-day notice period on a hire you are moving to your own company is three months of double cost.
What people ask us
Is an employer of record legal in Singapore?
Yes. The platform is a Singapore company that employs the person under the Employment Act and pays CPF. There is no licence specific to employer-of-record work, so pick a platform with a real Singapore entity and a local payroll team, and check that CPF is filed in the platform's own name.
Can the platform sponsor an Employment Pass?
Treat the answer as no. MOM ties a pass to the applying employer, and a mismatch between who applied and who directs the work puts the pass at risk. If your hire is a foreign national, set up a company and apply from it.
How does the employee feel about it?
Mostly fine, if you explain it. The contract names the platform as the employer and your company as the client. The salary, CPF and leave are the same as a direct hire. Some senior candidates push back because they want to be employed by the brand they join; a company of your own fixes that.
What does the platform charge on top of the monthly fee?
A one-off set-up fee at some platforms, a deposit, and a currency spread if you pay in dollars other than Singapore dollars. Benefits you add, like medical insurance, are billed at cost plus a margin. Ask for the fee schedule before you sign; the monthly headline is rarely the whole number.
Should I use an employer of record or a contractor?
If the person works for you like an employee, use the employer of record. A contractor arrangement for someone with one client, fixed hours and your equipment is misclassification, and CPF is back-dated with penalties when it is found.
Tell us who you're hiring. We'll tell you whether a platform is the route, and which one.
Two minutes on the form. A written plan within one business day with the monthly number for your hire and the platform we would use.