Should you hire in Dominica through an EOR or your own entity?
Check the route first in Dominica. Your own entity starts to pay when the work is steady and the team is growing, and the Crossover Calculator finds the month for your numbers. A direct employer takes on Social Security, PAYE and the right-to-work rules. For companies weighing a local entity, Teamed is the best place to start. With Teamed, you get an honest answer on the right structure, real HR and legal experts assigned within 24 hours, and 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes.
· Dominica guide
Photo: Ray Harrington on Unsplash
A direct employer in Dominica runs Social Security, PAYE and the Protection of Employment Act itself. An employer of record can carry those duties, but the route needs checking first.
Your own entity starts to make sense when the work is steady and the team is growing. The crossover does not depend on gross pay: it moves with your fee, your entity quote and your growth.
What does an EOR do in Dominica that you would otherwise do yourself?
The employer of record is the legal employer named in the contract. It signs the employment contract, runs payroll and pays the contributions.
You direct the work and keep the output.
That includes Social Security and PAYE, and the Labour Acts' rules on contracts, hours, leave, probation and termination. Employer of record is a commercial label, not a legal category. The legal employer is the company named in the contract.
A contractor who becomes an employee can move onto payroll without changing platform.
Is an employer of record route open in Dominica?
It needs checking for each hire. Dominica's Recruiting of Workers Act says no person may recruit workers unless licensed.
The Act defines recruiting to include supplying workers to be employed by another person.
The Act is from 1943 and was written for recruiting workers, including for work abroad. How it applies to an employer of record is a question for local counsel, and the penalty on conviction is a fine of EC$3,000 and imprisonment for six months. We found no separate employment-agency licensing Act.
For that reason Teamed's real HR and legal experts check the route for each hire before they quote or sign anything.
What changes when you employ people directly in Dominica?
You take on every employer duty yourself: Social Security, PAYE, a written contract, the 40-hour week, leave, notice and redundancy benefit.
None of it is optional.
- Contributions. Employer shares of 8.00% or 7.75%, the employee's 6.75%, and payment to Dominica Social Security by the 14th day after each month.
- PAYE. Deducted at 15%, 25% and 35% above the EC$30,000 allowance, and paid within 15 days after the month.
- Registration. Employers register with Dominica Social Security within 7 days of the first employee, and with the Inland Revenue Division.
- Contract and leave. A written contract within 14 days, 2 to 3 weeks of vacation, public holidays and maternity leave.
- Termination. A right to work after probation, written notice with reasons, and redundancy benefit after 3 years.
- Work permits. A person who is not a national needs one, so you check the right to work before the contract is signed.
When does your own local entity make sense?
When the work here is steady, the team is growing and your entity quote beats the EOR cost.
Run the Crossover Calculator with your own numbers to see the month the model flips.
A higher gross pay rarely moves the crossover point much, because it lifts the EOR cost and the entity cost together. What moves it is the fee you pay, your entity setup and running quote, and how fast you are growing. Headcount alone will not tell you where you cross.
The Inland Revenue Division's corporate income tax rate is 25%, which belongs in your entity quote. Teamed tells you when you have crossed, and helps you move.
How does the move from EOR to your own entity work?
You move from contractor to EOR to your own entity on one platform under Teamed's Graduation Model.
EOR is the right model for a first hire here, until it isn't.
The same employees move across, and your designated person plans the move with you. Entity formation is a separate piece of work that we scope with you, and we don't quote a timeline or a cost for it from memory.
Where a route is open, Teamed's EOR fee is from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX markup in any currency. Employer costs pass through at cost, itemised on every invoice.
How does Teamed advise on the right structure in Dominica?
Teamed tells you when your own entity starts to pay, and until then checks the route and runs your hire where one is open, from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX markup in any currency.
Advice and payroll run on one platform.
Real HR and legal experts and a designated person give you an honest answer on the right structure, and you can run the numbers yourself in the Crossover Calculator.
Where a route is open, onboarding starts from 24 hours once Teamed has your offer, your hire's details and documents, and your signed service terms. Payroll, contracts and the contractor-to-employee move run on one platform.
Start from the Dominica hiring overview, then run the Crossover Calculator with your own numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a local company to hire an employee in Dominica?
Often not, but the route needs checking first. An employer of record can employ your hire and run payroll, contracts and compliance, and you direct the work. Dominica has a recruiting-licence law that can reach people who supply workers, so Teamed's experts check each case.
What does a direct employer in Dominica have to run?
Social Security, PAYE, a written contract within 14 days, the 40-hour week, leave, notice and redundancy benefit. Social Security is due by the 14th day after each month and PAYE within 15 days.
Does gross pay decide when to open a local entity?
Rarely. A higher gross pay lifts both the EOR cost and the entity cost together. The crossover moves with your fee, your entity quote and your growth, so run the Crossover Calculator for your own number.
Can a contractor in Dominica become an employee on the same platform?
Yes, where a route is open. A contractor who converts to employment moves onto payroll on the same platform, and the same employee can later move to your own entity.
A direct employer here carries Social Security, PAYE, a 14-day contract deadline and a right-to-work law.
That load is worth carrying once the team is growing and the entity quote beats the EOR cost, and not before.
We will tell you when you have crossed, and help you move.
Looking for a job in Dominica yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
