Sick of freelancing? Go full-time with an Employer of Record

A couple of years back, many people agreed that the future of work was freelance. With the rise in remote work, the stakes have changed yet again. With flexible work arrangements and the possibility for employees to freely choose their place of work, many of the appealing advantages, which formerly made working as a freelancer or contractor a preferable option to employment, have vanished. 

For freelancers working for international organizations, it’s not rare that a long-term client offers them a full-time position. Deciding on whether to take the offer or not is anything but easy. The prospect of having a secured income flow might be appealing, but relocating to the country where their potential future employer is based is often no option. 

But is it really necessary to relocate in order to take on a full-time position with an international organization? Luckily, it’s not. In this blog post, we’ll show you how you can solve this dilemma by getting hired through a so-called Employer of Record, and give you a whole list of reasons why you should consider going from freelance to full-time employment.

Of course, there are many reasons for going freelance. Otherwise, there probably wouldn’t be so many people doing it - 59 million alone in the U.S. in 2020. When offered a full-time position in a company, freelancers usually hesitate because of one or several of the following reasons:

• Not wanting to give up the freedom to choose their place of work

• Total flexibility of working hours and time off whenever they want it - at least in theory, although everyone who has ever done freelance work knows it doesn’t work like this

• Being your own boss

• Excitement of always working on new projects and having the freedom of choice

• Fear of the transition back into full-time employment

• Stronger feeling of fulfillment than in an office job, since freelancers can see their projects through from start to finish

All of the above are totally valid reasons and the decision of going back to full-time employment shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, as we’ll see in the course of this article, some of these reasons vanish into thin air when getting hired through an Employer of Record.

If freelancers struggle to decide on whether to accept a job offer from one of their clients, it’s because there’s an equally long list of reasons in favor of full-time employment. Or put differently: Freelancing isn’t just about freedom and flexibility, but there also are a lot of pain points. These pain points mainly include:

• Having to chase after unpaid invoices

• Handling your own taxes, social security contributions, insurances etc.

• No paid vacation and other employment benefits

• No financial stability - instead, every month means having to secure new projects to ensure a steady cash flow

• Feeling of isolation that comes with flying solo in the freelance universe

• Lack of opportunities for career development

• Longer hours: Freelancers generally work more than employees. With admin, project management, communication, meetings and their actual work, a normal work week for freelancers is usually well beyond the 40-hour mark.

• Lacking work-life balance: Financial worries and an increased workload can make it difficult to really disconnect at the end of the day and to take enough time off.

Read more on the advantages and disadvantages of freelancing and employment in our related blog post Freelancing vs. Full-time job - The pros & cons.

If looking at the pain points of freelancing isn’t enough to convince you to take that amazing job offer you just got from one of your international clients, there are several additional advantages you probably haven’t considered yet and which are unique to being hired through an Employer of Record (EOR). But before we give you the full run-down on the benefits that come with an EOR service, let’s quickly shed some light on what an Employer of Record actually does. 

An Employer of Record (EOR) is an organization that acts as a third party in an employment relationship. As the official employer, the Employer of Record takes on all the legal and administrative responsibilities of the employment relationship, while the organization contracting the EOR partner remains in charge of the employees day-to-day activities. 

This employment model is especially designed to facilitate international hiring for businesses that want to hire the best talent available anywhere in the world, without the legal constraints and headaches of setting up a local entity. But it’s not just the employing party that benefits from using an Employer of Record. There also is a lot in it for the employee - or in this case, the freelancer deciding to accept a job offer with an international client.

No need to relocate to accept a position

You can accept the position and still keep living in the country you love even if your future employer doesn’t have a legal entity there. That’s the beauty of an Employer of Record solution. It allows to connect talent and businesses from different corners of the world by taking down legal and administrative hurdles.

Local benefits package

As a contractor or freelancer, you’re probably used to taking care of your benefits yourself. Now imagine how much easier it would be to just sign a contract and receive paid leave, maternity leave, sick leave, you name it. The great thing about getting hired through an Employer of Record is that you receive all the employee benefits that are legally requested and commonly offered in your country. That means you’ll also be enjoying the same public holidays as your family and friends, although your employer is based in a totally different country.

Smooth onboarding to make the transition from freelance to full-time easier

Going back to full-time employment after being a freelancer is difficult. It takes time to settle into the new role and get used to a fixed work schedule again. Therefore, it’s crucial to make sure that the start of your new job runs as smoothly as possible. Employers of Record are specialized in providing a well-organized and seamless onboarding process that can be conducted fully remotely. Without administrative hold-ups, you can focus on making a brilliant start in your new role and master the switch from freelance to full-time.

Fast and efficient processes to quickly start your new job

One of the main concerns for freelancers when switching to full-time employment is how to bridge the gap between the end of their freelance work and the start of their new job position, which can sometimes extend to several weeks. Sometimes there may not be enough time to take on a new project after the decision to quit freelancing has been made, not working during the transition period is not an option in most cases, since bills still have to be paid. 

Getting the employment contract signed and starting to work as soon as possible is therefore a priority. Being hired through an Employer of Record significantly speeds up the hiring and onboarding process. For instance, if you and your future employer decide to go through one of Lano’s Employer of Record partners you can start your new position in less than two weeks.

Reliable payroll processing and salary payments in your local currency

Freelancers know the problem of having to chase after unpaid invoices. Depending on the outstanding amount, making it through the month can be quite a challenge. Employees sometimes face a similar situation when their company fails to process payroll correctly and on time. 

With an Employer of Record, you don’t have to worry about timely payments. Since their main business is managing employment relationships for other companies, they are specialists in all things employment and payroll. And speaking of getting paid. One of the major advantages of being employed through an EOR is that you’ll be paid in your local currency without transaction fees or charges.  

Received an amazing job offer from one of your international clients you’d like to accept? Don’t let it slip through your fingers! Tell your client about Employer of Record services. For more information, they can check out the global hiring solution we offer at Lano.