Global hiring checklist: from approved role to first payroll
Use one launch record for every international hire. It should show the owner, evidence, due date and status for each gate below. A signed offer alone does not mean the hire is operationally ready.
Gate 1: approve the country and hiring route
- Confirm the employee's actual work location and expected travel.
- Describe duties, reporting line, signing authority, customer activity and access to regulated data.
- Choose your entity, EOR or another locally reviewed route.
- Complete employment, corporate-tax, immigration and data review where the facts require it.
- Record why the route was approved and the event that will trigger a new review.
Owner: legal or expansion lead. Evidence: dated route approval with country and role facts.
Gate 2: approve compensation and contract inputs
Compensation
- Gross salary and pay frequency
- Currency and any FX policy
- Variable-pay formula and approval
- Allowances, equity and expenses
- Required and optional benefits
Employment terms
- Job title, duties and work location
- Start date and working schedule
- Probation and notice terms
- Leave and holiday treatment
- IP, confidentiality and privacy documents
Resolve conflicts between the offer, approval record and local contract before signature. Do not copy terms from another country without local review.
Gate 3: complete worker and payroll setup
- Verify identity and right to work using the country's required process.
- Collect tax, social-insurance, address and bank information through an approved secure channel.
- Enroll benefits and record employee elections.
- Confirm payroll calendar, input cutoff, funding date and first expected pay date.
- Assign the employee record to the correct entity, location and cost centre.
Owner: HR operations and payroll. Evidence: completed onboarding record with restricted access.
Gate 4: prepare day one
- Issue equipment and access according to role and location.
- Provide local policies, safety information, privacy notice and benefits contacts.
- Tell the employee who answers HR, payroll and expense questions.
- Check that manager instructions match the contract's work location and schedule.
- Schedule the first-week check and first-payslip review.
Gate 5: reconcile the first payroll
Compare the approved compensation, payroll register, payslip, funding request and provider invoice. Check salary period, statutory deductions, employer contributions, benefits, leave and one-time items. Record each variance, owner and correction date.
After payroll closes, keep the approval and reconciliation evidence under the applicable retention and access rules. Use the findings to update the next-hire checklist for that country.
A simple go/no-go rule
Do not release a start date if the legal-employer route, right to work, signed local terms or payroll setup is unresolved. Escalate exceptions with a named owner and written decision; do not leave them in chat threads.