- Overview: Cayman Islands
- Global PEO and payroll
- Expand without a company set up
- Contractor vs. employee: which is better?
Global PEO and Payroll in the Cayman Islands
One of the first questions you may have when considering expanding globally is about the legal framework for different types of business entities. While this can be a complicated topic, there are some essential basics to help you understand:
All businesses, whether in your home state or another country, have a legal structure that dictates exactly how the business will be run and who is responsible for what. These structures will vary somewhat depending on where you’re doing business. Some structures are more complex and expensive than others, but they all have benefits and drawbacks.
Acumen’s Global PEO and Payroll solution was designed especially for companies like yours to smooth the way for quick, easy, and risk-free business operations in the Cayman Islandswithout establishing a legal business entity.
What is a Global PEO?
A PEO (professional employer organization) can help take care of many Human Resources responsibilities for businesses of all sizes, including payroll, tax filing, benefits, workers’ compensation, immigration support, and more. By establishing a co-employment relationship with the employees of the client’s organization, the PEO can deliver these services comprehensively and efficiently.
Global PEO — One-Stop Destination for Global Businesses
It can be hard to trust global employment functions when you’re entering uncharted territory. Still, an Acumen Global PEO (Professional Employment Organization) can help your business get global and stay safe, secure, and compliant in foreign markets. So what is a Global PEO? It’s like a payroll company—but for employees in other countries. It’s like an employee benefits broker—but for employees worldwide. And it’s like a human resources consultant—but for businesses expanding internationally. So what does that mean for you?
PEOs are organizations that provide HR management and benefits to employers’ employees via a co-employer relationship or employee leasing arrangement. PEOs can help businesses with HR functions such as payroll, employee benefits, workers’ compensation, and visa and work permit sponsorship.
PEOs and employers share employment responsibilities, with the employer maintaining control over employee work performance and the PEO bearing responsibility for benefits, taxes, and payroll. When you work with a PEO, they become the co-employer of your workforce.
Co-employment is the result of a growing trend of companies employing internationally that do not have their own human resource departments in target countries, but instead outsource these functions to companies called global Professional Employer Organizations (or PEOs).
The co-employment model often comes with a variety of advantages, allowing companies to outsource the administrative burdens and risks associated with managing and retaining employees in a foreign jurisdiction.
It allows businesses to avoid the hassle and expense of being an employer of record. In a PEO arrangement, the end client partners with a PEO, which then employs the workers under a joint employment contract. This means that the workers are technically employed by the PEO, not the business itself.
As a co-employer, the PEO manages payroll, pays the employment taxes for worksite employees out of its account, collects and reports taxes, maintains a long-term relationship with employees, and potentially retains the right to hire, terminate and reassign employees.
What Services Does a Global PEO (Professional Employment Organization) Provide?
- Global Payroll management;
- Compliance with local tax rules (file & deposit) of the country where the EOR company is located;
- Handling compliant employment contracts:
- Background, education, and other checks;
- Onboarding and termination processes, as well as employee’s compensation;
- Arranging visas and work permits for employees;
- Ensuring the working process is organized under local labor laws;
- Processing workers’ medical insurance and other benefits (day-offs, bonuses, and more);
- Global employment process maps, matter maps, employment guides, and other documentation.
How Much Does a Global PEO Charge?
Payroll taxes and service fees can be a big burden for employers. Many companies choose to use a Global PEO (Professional Employer Organization) to help with these costs. PEOs typically charge a percentage of the total payroll, including employee insurance fees. It can be difficult to determine the actual costs for these services, especially when some employer taxes are only paid on wages up to a certain threshold.
Single Global Service Agreement
A global PEO can cover all your international projects within a single contract and add new employees and services as you expand your global workforce in the new countries.
No Required Minimums
We accept projects of any length, with any number of employees.
Flexible Pricing
Whether you need to scale up or down, we adjust your pricing based on the project employee number.
End-to-end Global Employment Solution
We manage all your global services, including employment, recruitment, immigration, legal and global HR consulting, saving you valuable time. And Acumen International covers the cost and saves you the effort of finding and selecting local employment-related service providers.
Acumen International – Your Single Point of Truth and Global Employment PEO Solutions Provider in the Cayman Islands
- 100 % compliant, quick, easy market entry. Acumen Global PEO is your local legal entity, helping you reduce the cost and time associated with incorporating
- Immediate global employment service coverage in 190 countries
- Both a single point of contact and a dedicated account manager for your project for all target countries
- Compliant and secure global employment operations. We help you adhere to all local laws and regulations in 190 countries
- A single contract for all in-country services (employment, immigration, legal, etc.)
- A single PEO provider assumes full responsibility for your international employees in multiple countries
- Payments are made within the UK or to the UK bank company account
- Fully compliant with standardized procedures and reporting systems
- You can delegate to Acumen Global PEO and Payroll solution all HR responsibilities Payroll & benefits administration, background checks, and HR helpdesk
- Standard payroll breakdowns for all target countries
- As soon as we receive your request for a project in any country, we will send you a payroll breakdown and offer within 2 working hours
- Full 100% fee money-back guarantee for the employee or contractor payment delays.
- Tailored and 100% compliant employment contract drafts
- With Acumen in your corner, you can quickly and easily onboard and compensate your employees without risk of legal repercussions
- Acumen Global PEO protects your company’s Intellectual Property rights
Acumen International is here to help, from payroll and tax management to social security disbursements and immigration services. We’ll give you the peace of mind you need and reduce your company’s legal costs by 50% or more.
| Our Global PEO&Payroll | Client | |
|---|---|---|
| Employment risks mitigation |  |
 |
| Tax compliance & payroll processing | |
|
| Incorporation costs | |
no need for own entities |
| Effort | 90% | 10% |
| Coverage | 190 countries | 190 countries |
Why Partnering with Global PEO Is a Win-Win Solution For Businesses?
The key benefit of a global PEO is eliminating redundant administrative work. Rather than having to manage everything internally, companies can rely on an expert third party to handle all aspects so they can focus on their core business operations. This efficiency reduces internal costs while improving service delivery to employees—and everyone wins!
As a business owner, you face many potential threats. Global PEO and Payroll solution can help reduce these risks by providing compliance support with labor and tax laws, insurance coverage, record keeping, and immigration issues.
By definition, global PEOs are contracted to provide global employment services for multiple employers across various jurisdictions. They’re middlemen between businesses of all sizes and industries and the government agencies that file taxes and manage benefits. A global PEO can help your business by minimizing the risk of legal issues, such as unfair dismissal claims, labor disputes, and tax compliance.
As a business owner, you face many potential threats. Global PEO can help reduce these risks by providing compliance support with labor and tax laws, insurance coverage, record keeping, and immigration issues.
As your business grows and changes, its needs also change. To stay competitive in the ever-changing global business environment, you need to focus on growing your business while ensuring that it is legally compliant with the requirements of each foreign market you enter. This can be a huge challenge for even the most organized entrepreneur. Suppose you are looking for an alternative to hiring an entire HR and legal department to handle these responsibilities for your company. In that case, you may want to consider working with a global PEO (Professional Employer Organization).
This type of organization is specifically designed to take over management of your company’s human resources function so that you can focus on running your business. A global Professional Employer Organization provides the necessary tools and services to run a profitable global operation without worrying about employment laws and tax issues or maintaining compliance with government regulations. A global PEO’s most important benefit is relief from some of the biggest global employment and HR compliance headaches and risks.
Global Payroll Calculator: Accurate Global Employment Cost Estimation
When hiring employees and contractors across the globe, you may not be choosing the most cost-effective and business-friendly country.
- Do you know which country is the most cost-effective place to hire employees?
- What are the costs of entity establishment and legal representation?
- What are the payroll costs and management fees?
- What are your ongoing annual tax compliance costs?
- Are you fully aware of banking implications?
- Did you know that labour laws and hidden costs could make your company less efficient when choosing a country to run your business?
- Did you know that there could be a more cost-effective country to hire employees in and save up to 50%?
- How to hire international teams without setting up a local entity?
This is because countries have different labor laws, compliance, and tax regulations. What if, instead of limiting your company’s international expansion by cutting through the jungle of local regulatory compliance, tax, labor, and immigration requirements, you could have all the information of 190 countries at your fingertips?
The Global Payroll Calculator is built by Acumen International to help businesses understand the compliance requirements for conducting business in a new country. Acumen’s research team tracks developments in 190 countries around the globe. It provides up-to-date data on local regulations related to tax, payroll regulations, benefits, hiring practices, compliance requirements, and other labor-related factors that impact an employer’s bottom line. This valuable information makes the Global Payroll Calculator an invaluable tool for businesses looking to expand internationally.
Global Payroll Calculator helps companies reduce labor costs by providing up-to-date information on hiring, compensation, and tax requirements. It is also an ideal tool for quickly locating employees in any country.
Global Employment Challenges and Pitfalls to Avoid
When you’re hiring a staff to work overseas, some challenges come with that far beyond the nuts and bolts of finding and vetting candidates. These challenges are often overlooked by companies when they think only of locally-hired employees, but can have extreme consequences for businesses who employ people internationally.
Why is this? Because if you’re not careful, you might find yourself unwittingly breaking one employment law regulation or another in your new country. This could lead to fines, other legal issues, and negative public exposure for your brand. It’s not just about being bad for your business, though; it’s also about being bad for the people who work in your company.
Employment Taxes
There are many different types of taxes that businesses have to pay, but employment taxes are one of the most important. These taxes can vary significantly from country to country and can be a large portion of a monthly salary.
In-country Employee Registration
It is essential to ensure that employees are properly registered with the local authorities before they start work. Failing to do so can result in penalties for both the employee and the employer.
Payroll Calculations: Country-specific Requirements
In many countries, payroll calculations vary significantly. For example, employees in some countries may receive a 13th and 14th-month salary halfway through the year or at Christmas as standard. Thus, it’s important to be aware of the payroll practices in your country of employment.
Some countries have different rules when it comes to employment contracts. To avoid any surprises, it is crucial to understand how payroll calculations work in your new country. In some cases, you may be responsible for paying your employees for the entire duration of their contract even if they are not performing as expected or you want to end their employment early. This can be a financial shock to foreign employers who are not used to this practice.
For this reason, it is essential to ensure that you review and understand the terms of the employee’s contract before hiring them, so you know what to expect.
End of Financial Year Reporting
The financial year for many countries ends in March and companies that have a presence in more than one country need to produce financial reports for each country and send them to the relevant government bodies. With the end of the financial year approaching, accountants are busy at work preparing reports, some of which can be complex and difficult to navigate through as they may be on foreign websites with little or no English language support. It is important that you get these reports lodged on time as it could result in late payment penalties.
A lot of these reports need to be completed in the local language, so it is recommended that you use an accountant specializing in the country you are based in to ensure compliance before lodgement deadlines.
This is the reason why many companies outsource payroll management to a global Professional Employer Organization (PEO) as they have experts with deep knowledge of local labor laws and tax regulations in each jurisdiction. In such cases, a Global PEO will ensure compliance with local employment and tax requirements.
Local Employment Contracts Compliance
As an employer, it is crucial to have local employment contracts that are compliant with the law of the jurisdiction in which your employees work. These contracts should be provided in both English and the local language. Do not simply copy and paste your existing contract template from your home country – this could result in non-compliance and serious legal consequences.
When recruiting employees for your business, it is critical to ensure that their employment contract is appropriate for the country where they will be working. A Spanish employment contract may not be valid in Latin America, simply because they are both Spanish-speaking countries.
The language of the employment contract is a crucial detail to keep in mind during the recruitment process, as non-compliance to target country employment laws or any mistakes with the paperwork could cost you money, time, and potentially your business’s reputation.
Employment Contract Termination
The employment termination process can be just as important as the hiring process. This part of employment should not be taken lightly as it can have many implications and consequences, both for the employer and the employee. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider all aspects of the situation before making a decision.
The start of the termination process begins when the employee signs the employment contract. If the termination guidelines are clear and precise from the terminating an employee will be much smoother.
When setting out the terms of employment, it is important to be clear about the notice period (making sure it’s aligned with the country-specific regulations), and what is expected in terms of returning company equipment and a credit card or cash float balance. Non-compete clauses protecting your intellectual property are also important considerations. Doing so will help avoid misunderstandings and potential legal problems down the road.
If an employer does not have clear procedures for the termination in their employment contract, they may face litigation. If an employee feels they have been mistreated, they may become disgruntled and contest the termination legally. This can be costly and difficult, especially if the dispute is in another country with a different time zone and language.
Simplifying Global Employment with a Professional Employment Organization
There are many things that can go wrong when you try to find employment overseas. Acumen International can help you navigate these challenges, but it is important to be aware of the potential obstacles you may face.
As a Global PEO, our role is to enable organizations to quickly and easily hire employees in any country. We take care of all the employment-related details so that our clients can focus on their business goals. However, if candidates are unhappy at any stage, the whole arrangement can fail.
When making the decision to move abroad for work, your selected candidates consider a number of factors. The visa and work permit process complexities, currency fluctuations, lifestyle choices and family considerations can all impact their final decision.
As a PEO, we understand that when expanding your business globally, it’s vital to put your employees’ needs first. Considering the impact that this move will have on their lives, it’s important to think outside the box and make sure they are comfortable and supported every step of the way.
“It has become critical for organizations to have an understanding of applicable laws and regulations concerning issues such as minimum wages and benefits, employment standards, immigration and labor relations in each location. A Global PEO can play an important role in helping organizations navigate this complex global employment landscape through offering reliable and country-specific solutions and expert advice on matters related to compliance,” says Nick Ganzha, CEO and founder at Acumen International.
Acumen Global PEO and Payroll solution can help you solve the hard puzzle of global employment. As a Global PEO partner, we help businesses meet all of their HR needs while also handling compliance issues that are specific to the international arena. By offering comprehensive global employment solutions and reality checks about the compliance aspects of employing staff across the globe, we can be an important resource for your in-house HR and Management teams.
Disclaimer: Any above information is subject to changes imposed by the Cayman Islands’ laws. To get the latest updates on taxation in the Cayman Islands and 190 countries worldwide, contact Acumen’s team of global employment experts.
