Employer of Record (EOR)

Employer of Record services for international companies hiring in the Philippines.

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AOBS provides Employer of Record (EOR) services — also referred to as Professional Employer Organization (PEO) services — for international companies hiring talent in the Philippines.

Setting up a Philippine legal entity takes three to six months and introduces ongoing compliance obligations that most foreign companies aren't equipped to manage. If you need to hire one person — or a small team — before that infrastructure exists, an Employer of Record is the practical answer. AOBS becomes the legal employer of your Philippine-based staff. We handle payroll, statutory remittances with SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and BIR, and all HR administration. You direct the work. We keep the employment compliant.

"Every foreign client we've worked with underestimated Philippine compliance at the start. The regulators are specific, the deadlines are firm, and the penalties for late remittances compound quickly. Our job is to make sure none of that becomes your problem."

— Edith Arias, General Manager, AOBS

How it works

What "Employer of Record" means in practice

The legal structure

Under an Employer of Record (EOR) arrangement — also called a PEO or Professional Employer Organization arrangement — AOBS is the employer of record on the employment contract. The employee is on AOBS's payroll and covered by AOBS's statutory registrations. This is the legally compliant way to employ someone in the Philippines under a foreign company — without that foreign company being the registered employer.

This is different from staffing. In staffing, the agency deploys resources it controls. In an EOR engagement, you have a dedicated person working exclusively for your business — we're simply the employer on paper, handling the administrative and compliance layer.

What you control

You define the role, set the expectations, manage performance, and direct the day-to-day work. The employee operates as a functional member of your team. AOBS handles the HR infrastructure beneath that — the payroll, the government filings, the employment documentation, and employee relations when they're needed.

Intellectual property, confidentiality, and work-product ownership are documented in the service agreement between AOBS and the client. Your counsel should review this before the engagement begins — it is straightforward to structure correctly.

Scope of service

What's included in every Employer of Record engagement

The following are standard — not add-ons. Every client gets the full compliance layer.

  • Payroll computation & disbursement

    Monthly payroll processed on schedule, with payslips and records.

  • Statutory remittances

    SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and BIR contributions filed and remitted on time.

  • Employment contracts & onboarding

    Philippine-compliant contracts, documentation, and onboarding coordination.

  • Employee relations

    HR policy, performance support, and disciplinary processes handled correctly.

  • 13th month pay & mandatories

    All government-mandated benefits computed and disbursed accurately.

  • Offboarding & final pay

    Separation documentation and final pay computation per DOLE requirements.

Two situations we handle

Whether or not you have a Philippine entity

You don't have a Philippine entity yet

We typically support companies headquartered outside the Philippines who need to hire Philippines-based team members but don't have — or don't yet have — a registered local entity. Under our EOR structure, AOBS becomes the legal employer of record for those team members on your behalf, handling contracts, payroll, statutory remittances (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, BIR), and compliance — while you direct their day-to-day work.

If you later establish your own Philippine entity, we manage the transition: employment records, statutory account transfers, and coordination with your new entity's payroll.

You have a registered Philippine entity but need HR support

Some clients have a local registration but lack the internal HR capacity to run payroll and statutory compliance correctly. AOBS can administer payroll and government filings for your existing entity — so your team is paid correctly and your compliance is current, without you building an HR function in-house.

Common for: Companies with a Philippine branch or subsidiary that are still thin on local administrative staff.

Client patterns

What Employer of Record engagements with AOBS tend to look like

All clients anonymized at v1. Named references available on request.

US-Headquartered Electronics OEM

Trusted Local Partner from Day One

A US-headquartered electronics OEM established a major warehouse and testing hub in the Philippines with no internal HR expertise. AOBS took over their HR operations end-to-end — payroll, onboarding, statutory compliance across SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and BIR, and employee relations — so the operations team could focus on building the facility rather than navigating Philippine labor law. They had a fully compliant Philippine team from the first hire.

Canada-Based Learning Company

Remote Team, No Local Function Needed

A fully remote company wanted access to disciplined Filipino talent without building a local HR function. AOBS handled the Employer of Record arrangement and compensation structuring for a small team. The model kept labor costs appropriate to market rates — without reducing quality of hire. The same EOR structure is repeatable for companies in similar positions.

Questions foreign buyers ask

Is this an EOR or a PEO service?
The terms are used interchangeably in many markets. In the Philippines, the practical service is the same: AOBS legally employs your talent on your behalf, handles payroll and statutory compliance, and lets you direct their day-to-day work. We tend to use "Employer of Record" because it more precisely describes the structure, but if you came here searching for a "PEO," you are in the right place.
Who controls the employee's day-to-day work?
You do. The client directs the work, sets the schedule, and manages performance. AOBS is the employer on paper — handling payroll, compliance, and HR administration. The employee works for your business; we handle the legal employment relationship.
Who owns the intellectual property the employee creates?
IP ownership is governed by the terms of the service agreement between AOBS and the client. We structure agreements so that work product belongs to the client. We recommend your legal counsel review this before the engagement starts — it is standard practice and straightforward to document correctly.
What are the tax implications for us as a foreign company?
Using an Employer of Record does not automatically create a permanent establishment or Philippine tax liability for the foreign company — provided the structure is correctly documented and the employee is not acting as a dependent agent. We recommend confirming with your tax counsel for your specific jurisdiction.
What happens if we want to end the engagement?
Philippine labor law governs separation. The specific process depends on the reason for separation — resignation, end of contract, or authorized cause. We handle the documentation and DOLE requirements. Exit timelines and final pay are managed by us so you don't have to navigate them directly.
What is the employee's legal status under Philippine law?
The employee is a regular employee of AOBS under Philippine law — with all statutory benefits and protections this entails. This is the correct and compliant structure. "Independent contractor" arrangements that are actually employment relationships carry significant legal risk under Philippine labor law; the Employer of Record (EOR) model resolves this.
What is the path to transitioning to direct employment under our own Philippine entity?
When a client establishes their own Philippine entity and is ready to absorb employees directly, we manage the transition — employment records, statutory account transfers, and coordination with the new entity's payroll. We've done this successfully for clients who started with an EOR arrangement and grew into a registered local company.

Ready to hire in the Philippines?

Tell us who you want to hire, where you're based, and we'll walk you through what the engagement looks like — including timelines and cost.

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