Your first hire in the region
A company without a UAE entity cannot sponsor a residence visa or a work permit. This is not a preference, it is the only lawful route to employing someone here.
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employer of record & contractor of record · uae · delivered with a licensed partner
Hire in the UAE without your own entity.
Employ someone in the UAE without setting up a company, a visa quota or a payroll function. Hyring finds the person, runs the relationship and manages the onboarding. A licensed employer of record partner holds the employment contract, sponsors the visa and runs payroll through the Wage Protection System. You direct the work.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Monthly fee per employee, no entity setup, no long-term commitment.
Who actually employs the person, stated plainly
Employer of record in the UAE requires a specific licence from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. Hyring works with a licensed partner who holds it and acts as the legal employer. We are not the employer of record ourselves, and any provider telling you otherwise should be asked to show you their permit.
What you get from us that a pure employer of record cannot offer: we can find the person as well as employ them. One relationship instead of two, one point of accountability, and the same vetted bench behind it.
when this is the only route
Five situations where an entity is not the answer.
Two people, one year
You want a small presence before committing to a subsidiary. Incorporating for two heads is disproportionate, and unwinding it is worse.
You have an entity but not the quota
Visa quota or licence category limits what you can sponsor. An employer of record sits alongside your entity rather than replacing it.
The money exists, the headcount does not
A common position, particularly in groups running to an approved establishment. The work is funded from a project or operating budget, and there is no permanent role to put someone into. The person is employed by the licensed partner and paid for as a service, so they do not sit on your payroll or against your approved headcount.
Project and contract staff
People you need for a defined programme, without adding permanent headcount or carrying end-of-service liability on your own books.
Days, not months
Standing up an entity takes months. Onboarding through an employer of record can take less than a week, depending on the employer and the location.
Find them and employ them
Most providers do one or the other. We source the person through the vetted bench and arrange their employment through our licensed partner, so there is one relationship rather than two.
what we carry
The parts that make it real.
Employer of record is an administrative promise until you look at who carries what. Here is the split.
the licensed partner carries
The employment
Employment contract compliant with UAE labour law, held by the licensed partner. Residence visa and work permit sponsorship. Payroll through the Wage Protection System, on time, because late wages carry real penalties. Medical insurance. End-of-service gratuity accrual. Statutory leave and terminations handled properly.
you keep
The work
What they do, how they do it, who they report to, their objectives and their performance. Day-to-day direction sits entirely with you. The employment sits on paper and in law with the licensed partner, not in your organisation chart and not in ours.
hyring carries
The person and the process
Sourcing the candidate from the vetted bench. The intake and the success profile. Documents, medicals, attestations, clearance and Emirates ID coordination. Hyring holds the agreement with the licensed partner, so you contract with us and deal with us. One number to call, whether the question is about the search, the paperwork or the invoice.
End of service gratuity accrues monthly and appears on your invoice as it accrues, then pays out at the end of the contract. It is funded as you go rather than left as a liability to discover later, so there is no surprise in year three and no argument at the end about what is owed. The cost sits with you, visibly, from the first invoice.
documents and clearance
The part that actually derails hires, managed by us.
Most onboarding in this region falls over between offer and start date, not before. Attestations, medicals, clearance, then the Emirates ID application once clearance is through. We chase all of it rather than leaving the candidate to work out what is needed.
Signed offer letterreceived
Passport copyreceived
Attested degreereceived
Prior employment confirmedrecruiter
Medical fitness testours
Security clearanceours
Emirates ID applicationours
Labour contract lodgedours
Illustrative. Items marked ours are chased by Hyring, not by the candidate and not by you.
the commercials
A monthly fee, not a percentage.
| Employer of record | Setting up your own entity | Placement fee only | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up-front cost | None beyond the first month | Incorporation, licence, premises, capital | One-off fee per hire |
| Time to first hire | Can be under a week | Months | Weeks, but you must already have an entity |
| Ongoing | Monthly fee per employee | Licence renewal, audit, payroll, HR | Nothing, until the next hire |
| Exit | End the engagement | Liquidation, which is slow | Not applicable |
| Who is the legal employer | Hyring | You | You |
Per-employee monthly pricing is quoted per engagement, because it depends on salary level, benefits and the number of people. For context, the published market range for the UAE is roughly USD 500 to 800 per employee per month. You get a written figure before anything is signed.
contractor of record
Not every engagement is an employee. Some are contractors, done properly.
A contractor of record engages genuine independent contractors on your behalf: compliant contracts, verified classification, invoicing and payment, and clean IP transfer. Delivered with the same licensed partner and the same single contact at Hyring, so employees and contractors sit in one arrangement rather than two.
Misclassification
A contractor who works like an employee is, in law, often an employee, whatever the contract says. Get that wrong and you inherit backdated employment obligations, end of service, and a dispute. The contractor of record verifies the classification against the local rules before anyone starts, and keeps verifying it as the engagement changes shape.
The whole administrative spine
Compliant contractor agreements, onboarding documentation, invoicing, payment in the right currency with the right filings, and offboarding with final payments settled. IP assignment is written in from the start, so what the contractor builds is yours without an argument later.
Contractor today, employee when it matters
Engagements change. When a contractor becomes essential, the same partner converts them to employed status under the employer of record without switching providers, re-papering from scratch or losing continuity. One relationship covers both directions.
| Contractor of record | Employer of record | |
|---|---|---|
| The person is | A genuine independent contractor | An employee of the licensed partner |
| Right fit for | Defined projects, specialist input, variable effort | Ongoing roles, fixed hours, your direction day to day |
| Visa and sponsorship | The contractor holds their own right to work | Sponsored by the licensed partner |
| You pay | Invoices, monthly, one consolidated billing | A monthly fee per employee |
| End of service | Not applicable | Accrued monthly on your invoice, paid out at contract end |
Which one fits is a facts question, not a preference: how the person works decides it, not what the contract is called. Describe the engagement and we will tell you which side of the line it sits on, and say so plainly if it sits on the expensive side.
employer of record questions
Frequently asked
What is an employer of record?
An employer of record is a company that holds a UAE entity and employs staff on another company's behalf. The employer of record is the legal employer, sponsors the residence visa and work permit, runs payroll through the Wage Protection System and carries employment compliance. The client company directs the person's day-to-day work. It allows a company with no UAE entity to employ someone here lawfully.
Who is my employee's actual employer?
The licensed partner, in law and on the contract. They sponsor the visa and carry the employment obligations. You direct the work, set objectives and manage performance. Hyring sources the person, manages the relationship and coordinates onboarding, documents and clearance. Three parties, each doing the part they are licensed and equipped to do.
Can you also find the person?
Yes, and this is the part most providers cannot do. Employer of record companies employ people you have already found. Recruitment agencies find people you then have to employ. Because Hyring is a human capital marketplace first, we can source the candidate through the vetted bench and arrange their employment through our licensed partner, so you deal with one relationship instead of two.
What happens to the employee if we stop using Hyring?
Their employment can transfer to your own entity if you have established one, or to another provider. Ask about this before signing with anyone, because portability is the thing nobody thinks about until they need it, and the answer varies considerably between providers.
Does this work in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia operates an entirely separate regime and nothing about the UAE position carries across. confirm KSA position before answering this publicly.
What is a contractor of record, and when do I need one instead?
A contractor of record engages genuine independent contractors on your behalf: compliant agreements, verified classification, invoicing, payment and IP assignment, handled by the licensed partner with Hyring as your single contact. You need it when the engagement really is contracting, defined work with the person controlling how it is done, rather than an ongoing role under your daily direction.
The reason it exists is misclassification. A contractor who works like an employee is, in law, usually an employee, and getting that wrong creates backdated obligations and disputes. If your engagement sits on the employee side of that line, we will say so and propose the employer of record instead. The two run through the same partner, so a contractor can convert to employed status later without changing providers.
Is this the same as manpower supply?
Legally in the UAE, employing someone and placing them to work at another company falls under manpower supply and requires the appropriate licence from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, alongside a mainland trade licence naming that activity. Any provider offering this should be able to show you both, and you are entitled to ask. Hyring does not hold that licence and does not claim to. Our partner does, and we will show you their permit on request.
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