Hiring Filipino Remote Workers: Your Responsibilities as an Employer

Remote workers are typically hired not only because they ensure business continuity despite unforeseen circumstances, but also because they offer a cost-benefit and diversity to the company. They can work remotely and still be productive without having to relocate or commute every day. When it comes to remote work and outsourcing, the Philippines is one of the host spots and well-known places to hire offshore.

But,  when hiring remote employees from the Philippines, there are several things that you need to do as an employer. You need to handle tasks like:

• Ensuring legal compliance with labor law in Philippines
• Providing employment contracts and other related documents
• Monthly payroll and attendance tracking

To help you prepare the things that you need for remote hiring, we will talk about your responsibilities as a foreign employer when you hire remote workers. We will also provide some useful tips to make employment easier through Employer of Record services.

Responsibilities of foreign employers when they hire remote workers

The hiring process of Filipino remote workers involves a set of responsibilities for employers. These include the process of hiring, paying, and working with employees while complying with Philippine labor laws. It is important to be familiar with the local regulations on employment procedures concerning offshore workers in the country.

Here are some of the important things that you should know:

Employee Sourcing

Conduct a job search and find candidates who are interested in your company’s career opportunities. Look for professionals with skills that match those needed by your business, so as not to hire remote workers outside of their expertise. To give your future candidates an idea about their job role, it is essential to prepare a detailed job description with the things you expect from them.

Filipinos will also be more interested in your company if you will be upfront with the benefits that they could get like health insurance, retirement plan, internet reimbursement, and laptop procurement. You can post your job ads on Filipino hiring sites or get some help from local outsourcing companies.

Contract Signing

When hiring Filipino candidates, it is important to prepare a valid and clear employment contract that both parties have agreed upon. Some companies also require other relevant documents including their SSS, Pag-Ibig, and PhilHealth numbers. In the Philippines, you should note that companies and their workers share the responsibility to pay for social taxes of their employees. To do this, your company must be listed as a legal employer in the Philippines by building a local entity or partner with outsourcing agencies like Remotify.

You should also pay attention to contracts and related documents such as employment agreements, contract terms, or termination clauses that are part of your Filipino hire’s offer letter or any other relevant document. This is important because it will help maintain transparency concerning their compensation package and benefits offered by your company.

Onboarding Process

Provide a comprehensive orientation for your Filipino employees so they can be productive from the start. This should include an overview of their role and responsibilities, company policies (e.g., using time tracker, weekly meeting and reporting schedules, KPIs, etc.), and timelines for the new hire onboarding process. Letting them know about your short-term and long-term goals will help align their priorities to yours.

HR Administrative tasks

When hiring remote employees, one of the most essential and complicated parts would be the HR administrative tasks. For example, you need to document everything related to a remuneration such as wages or salary rates, overtime pay rate, bonuses or incentive pay, and vacation pay. You should also consider the fact that your country’s policies may differ from Philippine labor law.

The HR department is also required to provide remote Filipino hires with necessary support such as training materials or tutorials for using the company’s software applications to ensure they are productive from the start.

To assess your employees’ performance, it is also ideal to have regular performance reviews and provide feedback so that their work can be improved continuously. You can also align incentive schemes based on goals set in previous reviews to encourage improvement.

Termination

Implement an exit interview process for your hire to ensure they leave the company on good terms. You should also provide a clear explanation for their termination and depending on the actual reason, your employees may be entitled to a separation or severance pay. You can know more about this in our Philippine Labor Guide.

Simplify remote hiring through EOR services

Hiring remote workers has a lot of benefits for both employers and employees. But before you hire remote workers from another country, your company needs to go through a few necessary processes first. It usually takes months to process, incur processing costs, and may even require a good percentage of foreign and local ownership. However, managing them is much easier if you will pair up with an Employer of Record company.

Instead of setting up a local entity in a foreign country, partnering with an EOR company is more efficient and practical. An EOR can handle most of your complex employment responsibilities, which can be time-consuming and costly.

If you're looking to make the process more cost-effective and simple, it is best to connect with a qualified employer of record like Remotify. Our services can help simplify the complex processes involving:

• Employee Sourcing
• Vetting and Interviewing candidates
• Performing background checks
• Facilitating the Hiring Process
• Ensuring compliance with local labor laws
• Facilitating contract creation and payment agreements
• Management of attendance, timekeeping 
• Local payroll disbursement 
• Providing benefits to your employees

As we take care of these things, you can focus on the more critical business functions of your company.  We will ensure to get you the ideal candidates you are looking for while helping you provide them with everything they need in their employment.

Check out Our Services to learn more about what we can do to help simplify outsourcing for you.

Conclusion

Despite the perks and benefits of hiring remote Filipino workers, we can’t still deny the tedious sourcing process that employers must go through. From legal complexities to the actual hiring and onboarding process, there are a lot of things that you need to know and do before employing. However, there are agencies that can help you simplify outsourcing through their services like Remotify.

To learn more about our Employer of Record services, book a call with us and we’ll be happy to speak with you!