Why companies start with a global platform
Global employer-of-record platforms such as Deel and Remote make a first hire in Pakistan quick: one dashboard, a contract in days, and the same process as every other country. Their published Pakistan fees sit around USD 599 to 699 per employee per month. For one or two people that is a fair price for speed. For a growing Pakistan team it becomes the largest line on the invoice after salary.
Signs it is time to move to a local desk
Your Pakistan headcount has grown past a handful of people, so a per-head fee in dollars outweighs the convenience. Questions take days to answer because the platform routes them to a partner in Pakistan. Provincial details slip: late minimum wage notifications, social security registrations or leave rules handled generically. Your managers want a named contact in Pakistan rather than a ticket queue.
What actually changes for your employees
Done properly, very little. Salaries, allowances, working hours and benefits carry over. The new employer recognises each person's original joining date, so service, leave and gratuity continue. Employees sign a new contract with the new employer of record and keep being paid on the same day.
The switch, step by step
1. Check your notice period with the current platform and agree a cut-over payroll month. 2. Collect the handover file: contracts, salary history, leave and gratuity balances, EOBI and social security numbers, and tax already deducted this tax year. 3. Decide how accrued gratuity moves: paid out by the old provider, or transferred as a funded balance. 4. Issue new contracts recognising original joining dates. 5. Run the first payroll on the usual payday, with nobody missing a salary.
Questions to ask the local provider
Is it the legal employer itself, registered for FBR, EOBI and the right provincial social security body? Does it invoice in your currency without an exchange-rate margin? Is HR administration included in the fee? Who answers employees, and how fast? What does it cost to leave? A good local desk answers all of these in writing before you sign.
Crown takes over Pakistan payroll from global platforms and other providers through its EOR and payroll desk, on a fixed monthly calendar. See also the Pakistan payroll calendar 2027.
Questions employers ask
Can we move employees from Deel or Remote to a local EOR in Pakistan?
Yes. The employees sign new contracts with the local employer of record, their original joining dates are recognised, and salaries continue on the same payday.
Do employees lose their gratuity or leave when we switch?
No, if the transfer is planned. Accrued leave carries over, and gratuity is either paid out by the old provider or transferred as a funded balance.
How long does a switch take?
Usually one payroll cycle: handover in the first two weeks, new contracts and registrations in the next, and the first payroll on the usual date.
Is a local provider cheaper than a global platform?
For teams of more than a few people it usually is, because local fees are lower than the USD 599 to 699 per head published by global platforms.
Continue: EOR & payroll desk · Payroll calendar 2027 · US employers