One market, done properly

Why one country

Global EOR platforms cover 150+ countries with a single generic playbook. South African compliance is not generic. UIF, SDL and COIDA sit under three different departments with different filing calendars, PAYE brackets change on the first of March each tax year, the BCEA sets ordinary-hours limits that catch out European contracts written for a 40-hour week, and the CCMA hears unfair-dismissal referrals that a global vendor with no local counsel is not built to defend.

We chose South Africa on purpose. One country, one legal stack, one currency pair, and one talent pool that is genuinely under-served by the big platforms. That focus is why every rate on this site carries a verification date and every contract we place is drafted for the CCMA, not for a US template library.

How we work

You contract with Expand to South Africa. We contract with a licensed local employer of record and, where you need shortlists rather than a specific hire, with a South African talent-sourcing partner. Your employee has one South African payslip, one SARS tax number, one UIF contribution history and one point of contact. You pay one flat monthly fee in euro, dollar or pound, and receive one consolidated invoice.

Onboarding takes three to five working days from signed offer to first payroll cycle. There is no CIPC company registration, no SARB approval and no SARS employer number in your name. If you later decide to open a South African entity, we hand over the employment history and terminate the EOR contract with 30 days notice, no clawback.

Our partners

EOR SA Ltd, our licensed South African employer of record partner. They are the legal employer of every team member we onboard and hold the SARS employer registration, UIF and SDL accounts and a current COIDA letter of good standing. Payroll is run in-country, in rand, against live SARS tax tables.

EmbedPeople B.V., our Netherlands-based talent-sourcing partner. They screen and shortlist South African professionals for embedded roles in European teams, working alongside the EOR when clients want a hire-then-employ workflow rather than a bring-your-own-candidate contract.

What we do not do

We do not do independent contractor conversions to dodge PAYE. We do not do commission-only agreements that fall outside the BCEA. We do not process cash-in-hand payroll and we do not offer to backdate contracts. If your requirement lands outside South African labour law, we will tell you before you sign, refer you to a compliant alternative, and refund the setup fee.

Verification

Every statutory figure on this site, including UIF ceilings, SDL thresholds, COIDA assessments and PAYE brackets, carries a verification date and a linked primary source. See our methodology for cadence, sources and change log.

Security and data

Client data is stored inside the European Union under GDPR. Employee personal data processed for South African payroll is stored inside South Africa under POPIA and transferred to the EU only under the standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission. Payroll files, ID documents and bank details are handled under a documented processing agreement. Access to production data is restricted to named engineers and audited quarterly.

Talk to a human

The fastest way to get a specific answer is a 30-minute call. If you would rather run the numbers first, the employment cost calculator gives you a fully loaded monthly cost in euro, dollar or pound before you commit to a call.