Employer of record in India
23 sourced figures on hiring in India, drawn from 11 sources and normalized for comparison: statutory rules, employer cost and exactly what an EOR covers locally. Every figure is dated.
Hiring here: moderately complex, mid-range on cost, and fast to hire via EOR.
Employer of record in India: the statutory snapshot
The headline employer costs, pay floor and worker protections for hiring in India through an employer of record, each figure sourced and dated. 52 EOR providers cover India.
| Employer social security | 19.75% | ISSA Country Profiles, 2024-01-01 |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax | 25.17% | OECD |
| Notice period | 4.3 weeks | World Bank Employing Workers / B-READY, 2019-05-01 |
| Severance | 11.4 weeks | World Bank Employing Workers / B-READY, 2019-05-01 |
| Annual leave | 12 days | Perplexity (AI gap-fill), 2026-01-01 |
| Public holidays | 17 days | National government, 2026-01-01 |
| Maternity leave | 26 weeks | Perplexity (AI gap-fill), 2026-01-01 |
As of 2026-08-30. Each value is the winning figure from primary and harmonized sources, resolved by a documented priority chain. Full record with provenance below.
Reading the data
What the figures say about India
Employing someone in India costs employers a 19.75% social security contribution on top of wages, while employees contribute a further 12.75%, against a backdrop where the average monthly wage sits at INR 22,220. The statutory working week is set at 48 hours, yet actual weekly hours worked average 56, a gap worth noting when structuring contracts. A 13th salary is mandatory, and payroll runs on a monthly cycle. On exit, employers must account for 11.4 weeks of statutory severance and a 4.3-week notice period. Statutory annual leave stands at 12 days, alongside 17 public holidays, and maternity leave is a notable 26 weeks, while there is no statutory paternity leave. The top personal income tax rate reaches 39%, and the corporate tax rate is 25.17%, figures that shape the overall cost of employing and retaining staff. With a labour force of 617.6 million people and an unemployment rate of 4.22%, the talent pool is large and relatively active.
Where to start
Three ways to hire in India
You are the employer. Lowest per head cost at scale, months to establish.
You direct the work, the provider's local entity is the employer on paper. Compliant in days.
See the 52 providers below ↓Not your employee. Fastest and cheapest, with misclassification exposure.
The full record
Every figure behind the snapshot
Not a guide, a record: 23 figures for India from 11 sources, last refreshed 2026-08-30. Each value carries its source and the date it was pulled. Hover any provenance tag for the full chain.
Average monthly earnings in India by occupation (2025)
Gross monthly earnings of employees per ISCO-08 major occupation group, in INR — the official ILOSTAT survey figures, not estimates. Use them to sanity-check an offer before an EOR quote turns it into total employer cost.
| Occupation group | Monthly (INR) | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| All occupations | 22,220 | $255 |
| Managers · ISCO 1 | 50,473 | $579 |
| Professionals · ISCO 2 | 38,298 | $439 |
| Technicians and associate professionals · ISCO 3 | 26,152 | $300 |
| Clerical support workers · ISCO 4 | 24,252 | $278 |
| Service and sales workers · ISCO 5 | 15,575 | $179 |
| Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers · ISCO 6 | 13,145 | $151 |
| Craft and related trades workers · ISCO 7 | 16,825 | $193 |
| Plant and machine operators and assemblers · ISCO 8 | 17,329 | $199 |
| Elementary occupations · ISCO 9 | 11,530 | $132 |
Source: ILOSTAT (EAR_EMTA, employees, both sexes), reference year 2025. Survey earnings differ from statutory minimums above.
What the average salary takes home in India
The employee keeps an estimated 87% of gross at the average wage. For an employer, this is the gap between the offer you quote and what your hire actually receives.
Illustration at the ILOSTAT average wage using statutory rates (ISSA Country Profiles; OECD) applied to gross pay. Individual allowances, deductions and regional rates vary — not tax advice.
The differentiator
What an EOR handles in India
An EOR removes the entity and the payroll machinery. It does not remove your obligations as the people manager.
Provider × country
Who can employ in India
52 providers operate an EOR in India, ranked by Select Score.
Comparing EOR options for India?
Run a side-by-side on the providers that actually operate there.