Navigating global regulations can be a complex issue, especially as it relates to employer of record (EOR) legislation.
In PayrollOrg’s webinar, “Adapting to Changing EOR and Payroll Legislation: Strategies for Staying Ahead,” sponsored by Papaya Global, Gina Dorcelus, Employment & U.S. Legal Counsel for Papaya Global, and Anushka Lalwani, Pre-Sales and Solutions Consultant for Papaya Global, shared key concepts to help global payroll professionals navigate the legal landscape, leverage technology to ensure compliance, and maintain a competitive edge while managing a global workforce.
“If you think compliance is expensive, try noncompliance,” Dorcelus said. “You might think compliance is simple, but it is a risky issue.”
According to an informal poll taken during the webinar, nearly 55% of participants said they are not at all comfortable navigating global payroll regulations, while 39% were only somewhat comfortable.
Tackling global regulations can be a highly complex issue for payroll professionals, but there are several key strategies that can be used to stay ahead and adapt to ever-changing legislation, while remaining in compliance with local and regional tax laws.
One strategy involves utilizing an EOR that enables companies expanding into the global space to hire employees, which can make it easier to navigate global regulations.
Some of the benefits of using an EOR include the following:
- Ensures compliance with local laws and regulations
- Helps to manage HR tasks to include terminations to ensure they are handled legally
- Utilizes knowledge to navigate global employment
- Minimizes possibility of civil litigation
- Minimizes employee turnover
- Ensures data transfer complies with local privacy laws
Attendees were also polled about challenges they have faced concerning their organization’s EOR strategy. More than 75% of respondents said legal and compliance issues were the biggest challenges to their EOR strategy, while others cited financial risks, reputational damage, and operational disruptions as the major challenges.
Dorcelus said all these issues are linked, meaning it’s likely that entities will encounter each of these challenges to their EOR strategy.
Another key strategy is optimizing payroll processes in the global space. According to Lalwani, standardizing the payroll process across multiple countries will allow for businesses to scale, without sacrificing compliance.
“Managing a global workforce is eventually a minefield of complexities,” Lalwani said. “Part of this process does require companies to optimize their payroll processes.”
Of course, ensuring compliance requires businesses to partner with providers that leverage local payroll software that is designed to handle every country’s unique legislative updates and statutes, as well as global reporting needs for managing a global workforce.
“Every country has their own local elements, and to translate those into global harmonized content does require some effort on behalf of the global payroll provider,” Lalwani said.
Data security is also one of the key strategies payroll providers must adhere to ensure compliance. Thus, it is imperative that organizations partner with a provider that complies with data security standards such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or ISO certification.
Attendees were asked if their global payroll provider complies with established data security standards. According to the informal poll, nearly 50% of those respondents didn’t know, while 22% said their provider was following local data security regulations. Only 11% of those polled during the webinar said their provider followed the GDPR.
Adapting to ever-changing legislation and remaining compliant will provide organizations with a competitive edge, enable better talent retention, and mitigate risks.
“One of the most invaluable tools to staying ahead is having local experts on the ground,” Dorcelus said. “One of the most underrated ways to adapt to the changing laws is understanding the cultural and linguistic norms. This is often overlooked, but you must understand the culture where you are. This ties in with having local experts because they understand the culture and the linguistic norms.”
Register today for the “Adapting to Changing EOR and Payroll Legislation: Strategies for Staying Ahead” webinar, which will be available on demand until 31 August 2025.