Template
EOR RFP Template: Questions to Ask Every Employer of Record
Employer of record
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Choosing the wrong Employer of Record (EOR) can mean missed payroll, compliance violations, and a poor experience for your team members from day one. A structured Request for Proposal process changes that. It forces every provider to address your specific requirements — on global hiring, payroll and taxes, data protection, local employment laws, and implementation — so you can compare vendors on substance rather than sales pitches.
Deel's free EOR RFP template gives you a comprehensive, ready-to-use framework built by our in-house legal, tax, and HR experts. Download it, share it with your shortlisted providers, and make the right decision faster.
What's included in the template
The template covers every dimension you need to evaluate when partnering with an EOR, organized into seven sections:
- Supplier overview — company structure, track record, country-specific coverage, and in-house expertise on compensation, benefits packages, and the cost of hiring in new markets
- Data protection and access — how providers keep employee data secure, GDPR compliance, encryption standards, and breach notification procedures
- Security — penetration testing, vulnerability management, cryptographic frameworks, and incident response plans
- Policies and standards — information security programs, background verification, and business continuity planning
- Supply chain and fourth parties — whether the EOR uses sub-contractors to legally employ workers in certain countries, and how those relationships are governed
- Compliance — external audits, SOC 2 and ISO-27001 certifications, and whether the provider shares customer data with third parties
- Implementation — onboarding timelines, country-specific rollout coordination, and what's expected of your team throughout the process
Why use an RFP when choosing an EOR?
Partnering with an EOR means handing over legal employment responsibilities — compliant employment contracts, payroll processes, workers' compensation, tax regulations, and local regulations in every country you hire from. That's a significant level of trust. An RFP ensures you're not relying on demos or brochures to make that call.
A well-structured RFP helps you verify a provider's track record on ensuring compliance with local employment laws, understand exactly how they keep employee data secure across jurisdictions, assess whether their legal entities are wholly owned or rely on in-country sub-contractors, and surface hidden costs or implementation risks before you sign.
Who this template is for
- HR and people operations teams evaluating EOR services for the first time or switching providers
- Finance and legal teams responsible for due diligence on global hiring partners and data protection obligations
- Procurement teams running a formal vendor selection process across multiple countries
- Business leaders at enterprises and mid-market companies ready to expand globally without the complexity of establishing their own legal entities
FAQs
What is an EOR RFP, and why does it matter?
An EOR RFP is a structured document that invites Employer of Record providers to respond to your specific global hiring requirements. It ensures every vendor addresses the same questions — on payroll and taxes, compliant employment practices, data protection, benefits packages, and implementation — so you can evaluate them consistently and reduce the risk of choosing the wrong partner.
What are the most important areas to cover when choosing an EOR?
The highest-risk areas to probe are compliance and legal entity structure (does the provider own its entities or sub-contract?), data protection and security practices, country-specific expertise on local employment laws and tax regulations, the quality of hire and onboarding processes, and implementation track record. Pricing transparency — including any fees beyond the headline per-employee cost — is also critical.
How does Deel's EOR differ from other providers?
Deel's EOR operates owned legal entities across 150+ countries and employs workers directly, rather than routing employment through in-country sub-contractors. Its in-house teams handle everything from compliant employment contracts and workers' compensation to payroll and taxes and immigration support — all from a single platform with robust data protection and security standards built in.
Does the RFP template cover data security and protection?
Yes. Two full sections of the template are dedicated to data protection and security, covering encryption in transit and at rest, multi-factor authentication, penetration testing, incident response, GDPR compliance, and the conditions under which customer data may leave production systems. These are essential questions for any organization entrusting an EOR with sensitive employee information.
Can I use this template if I'm evaluating EOR services for the first time?
Absolutely. The template is designed to guide you through every relevant dimension of vendor evaluation, whether you're new to global hiring or switching from an existing provider. It's available as a Google Drive file for easy sharing and collaboration with your team, and can be downloaded as an Excel file for offline use.
What's the difference between an EOR and a PEO for global hiring?
A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) operates under a co-employment model and typically supports domestic hiring in the US. An Employer of Record becomes the sole legal employer in each country, taking on full responsibility for local employment laws, payroll processes, tax regulations, and statutory benefits — making it the right choice for organizations expanding into multiple countries without establishing their own entities.