Should you hire in Seychelles through an EOR or your own entity?
The right route for a first hire here needs a check, because the Employment Act licenses employment agencies and defines them to include supplying workers to employers. 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. For companies weighing a local entity, Teamed's real HR and legal experts, assigned within 24 hours, give you an honest answer on the right route. You also get 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes.
· Seychelles guide
Photo: Marc Schmittbuhl on Unsplash
Whether you need a local company to employ someone in Seychelles depends on the route. The Employment Act requires a licence to carry on an employment agency, and defines the business to include supplying employers with workers for employment by them.
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 Seychelles law say about supplying workers?
Section 6 of the Employment Act says no person may carry on any employment agency without a licence under the Licences Act.
Section 2 defines an employment agency as the business of finding workers employment with employers, or of supplying employers with workers for employment by them.
An agency must keep registers of applicants and vacancies and file monthly returns with the Employment Services Bureau. It cannot charge a worker a fee, but it can charge the employer a fee that is agreed. An employer who does not use an agency must advertise the vacancy in a local newspaper or in another way.
We found nothing in the sources we read on how these rules apply to a modern employer of record, and that is a question for local counsel. Our experts check the route against them before any contract is signed.
Which other Seychelles rules shape the route?
A Seychellois worker needs a job card, and a non-Seychellois needs an approved post, a permit and an attested fixed-term contract.
The Act also defines the employer as the person who has the worker in employment, or the accredited representative in Seychelles if that person is absent.
The Ministry's checklist for approval of a post asks for a business licence from the Seychelles Licensing Authority where applicable, and the company's certificate of incorporation. It also asks for proof of the vacancy advertisement and a localisation or training plan. That shapes who can apply and who the employer is.
A foreign company with no local presence therefore needs advice before it hires, and the answer can differ by the type of worker.
What does an EOR do in Seychelles 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 income tax withholding, Pension Fund contributions and the Employment Act's rules on 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.
What changes when you employ people directly in Seychelles?
You take on every employer duty yourself: income tax withholding, Pension Fund payments, and the Employment Act's contract, leave and termination rules.
None of it is optional.
- Contributions. The employer's 5% Pension Fund contribution and the worker's 5%, paid by the 21st of the following month.
- Registration. Employers register with the Seychelles Revenue Commission, and register each employee within 7 days.
- Income tax. Withholding on each payment, paid by the 21st of the following month.
- Leave. 24 days of annual leave, up to 21 days of paid sick leave, and 16 weeks of maternity leave.
- Termination. A negotiation procedure with the Ministry, notice of one month for most workers, and compensation of five sixths of a day's wage for each completed month.
- Foreign workers. An approved post, a permit and an attested fixed-term contract, so we 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 cost of the other routes.
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.
Teamed tells you when you have crossed, and helps you move.
How does the move to your own entity work?
You move from contractor to employer of record to your own entity on one platform under Teamed's Graduation Model.
EOR is the right model for a first hire in many countries, until it isn't.
The same people 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.
Teamed prices every country the same way, with zero FX markup in any currency, and the pricing page shows the fee.
How does Teamed advise on the right route in Seychelles?
Teamed's real HR and legal experts check the right route for your Seychelles hire first: employer of record, contractor or your own entity.
Advice and the next steps run on one platform.
A designated person gives you an honest answer on the right route, and you can run the numbers yourself in the Crossover Calculator.
The check is part of every plan and comes before any contract is signed. Contractor, employer-of-record and own-entity routes run on one platform, so a change of route does not mean a change of provider.
Start from the Seychelles 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 Seychelles?
It depends on the route. The Employment Act requires a licence to carry on an employment agency, and defines that to include supplying workers to employers. Teamed's experts check which route fits your hire before any contract is signed, and you can open your own entity later.
What does a direct employer in Seychelles have to run?
Income tax withholding, Pension Fund contributions for Seychellois workers, and the Employment Act's rules on contracts, leave and termination. Tax and contributions are due by the 21st of the following month.
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 Seychelles become an employee on the same platform?
Yes. A contractor who converts to employment moves onto payroll on the same platform, and the same person can later move to your own entity.
Seychelles licenses employment agencies and defines them to include supplying workers, so the route for a hire is the first decision and not the last.
A direct employer then carries income tax withholding, the Pension Fund and an Employment Act with a negotiation procedure for termination.
We will tell you when you have crossed, and help you move.
Looking for a job in Seychelles 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.
