How Gloroots Helps You Hire in India: A Complete Guide (2026)

India is the world's largest tech talent market but it is also one of the most regulation-heavy countries to employ in.

This guide walks through exactly how Gloroots runs India employment end-to-end, from offer to ongoing compliance.

• The hiring models Gloroots supports in India employer of record and contractor management
• The exact statutory obligations Gloroots manages on your behalf EPF, ESI, TDS, gratuity, and professional tax
• The onboarding, payroll, and compliance workflow you actually get when you hire employees in India without a local entity for US companies
• Pricing posture and who Gloroots is the right fit for in India

This guide is product-led. Read it as a transparent operator breakdown, not a sales page.

By the end, you should know whether Gloroots fits your India hiring plans before you book a demo.

Why Is Hiring in India Harder Than It Looks?

India layers central labor law, state-specific regulations, and independent statutory bodies EPFO, ESIC, and state Labour Departments on top of every single payroll cycle. A single hire triggers obligations across at least four distinct regulatory systems.

Setting up your own legal entity takes two to three months through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Separate registrations with EPFO, ESIC, GST, and state labor departments follow.

Pay structures themselves are regulated. The basic wage must equal at least 50% of CTC.

Mistakes compound fast employee misclassification, under-contribution, or filing delays each carry separate penalties. EPFO penalties reach INR 100 per day per employee. ESI penalties can reach triple the unpaid contribution amount.

What Does Gloroots Do for You in India?

Gloroots is the registered employer of record in India. You direct the work. We run the employment, payroll, and compliance layer entirely.

Hires are onboarded under our Indian entity, paid in INR, and covered for every statutory obligation EPF, ESI, TDS, professional tax, and gratuity from day one.

No entity setup. No multi-vendor coordination. No internal payroll team needed.

The entire India employment lifecycle runs through one platform with centralized visibility across headcount and compliance.

This works for full-time employees under the EOR model and for contractors managed through our agent of record (AOR) model.

How Does Gloroots Hiring Work in India: End-to-End?

Every India hire follows the same six-step workflow. Each step is owned by Gloroots, with clear handoffs to your team at defined points.

Step 1 — Candidate Sourcing or Onboarding

You bring the candidate, or use our recruitment support in select markets. We run employee background checks in India verifying identity through PAN and Aadhaar, employment history, and education credentials.

Step 2 — Locally Compliant Offer and Contract

The employment contract is generated under Indian Labour Codes. State-specific clauses apply for Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, or wherever the employee resides. Notice periods and gratuity provisions reflect local rules.

Step 3 — Statutory Registration

We enroll the employee with EPFO, ESIC (if salary is below INR 21,000 monthly), and the relevant state professional tax authority. PAN, UAN, and bank details are validated and linked.

Step 4 — Payroll Setup and First Cycle

Salary structure is configured to meet the 50% basic-wage rule. First payroll management cycle runs within the first month, in INR, on a fixed schedule between the 25th and 28th.

Step 5 — Ongoing Statutory Filings

EPF, ESI, professional tax, and TDS filings happen monthly through our in-country compliance team. Returns are filed on schedule — EPF by the 7th, ESI by the 21st, TDS by the 7th.

Step 6 — Lifecycle Events and Offboarding

Salary revisions, role changes, leave administration, and full-and-final settlement on exit all handled under Indian law. This includes gratuity calculation and Form 16 issuance.

What India-Specific Compliance Does Gloroots Handle?

India has more statutory obligations than most markets. Each is managed by Gloroots without escalation to your HR or Finance team.

EPF (Provident Fund)

Employer contributes 12% of basic salary plus dearness allowance toward EPF. Gloroots calculates, deducts, and remits monthly through the EPFO portal by the 7th of each following month. Penalties for late deposit start at INR 100 per day per employee.

ESI (Employee State Insurance)

Employer contributes 3.25% for employees earning under INR 21,000 per month. Filings, worker enrollment with ESIC, and monthly contribution deposits by the 21st all sit with us.

TDS (Income Tax Withholding)

Monthly TDS is calculated under the Income Tax Act, deducted at source, and remitted to the Income Tax Department by the 7th of the following month. Form 16 is issued annually per employee showing total income and tax withheld.

Professional Tax (State-Level)

Professional tax rules differ across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and other states. Karnataka levies INR 200 monthly on salaries exceeding INR 10,000. Maharashtra applies graduated rates. Gloroots applies the correct rate per employee location.

Gratuity

Gratuity provisioning at 4.81% of basic salary is tracked monthly. Payment applies on completion of five years of service, subject to a maximum of INR 20 lakhs.

Locally Compliant Salary Structures

We configure salary to ensure basic wage meets the 50%-of-CTC rule. HRA, dearness allowance, special allowance, and other components are structured for global payroll compliance and tax efficiency.

How Do Employment Contracts Reflect State Variations?

Contracts reflect Indian Labour Codes plus state-specific rules written contracts are mandatory in Karnataka, Delhi, and other jurisdictions. Each contract specifies notice periods, termination provisions, and leave policies applicable to the employee's state.

What Hiring Models Does Gloroots Support in India?

Employer of Record (EOR) for Full-Time Employees

Gloroots employs the worker on our Indian entity. You direct day-to-day work. We handle statutory contributions, payroll, taxes, and offboarding checklist requirements.

Best fit for full-time hires under ongoing scope. Onboarding completes in 1–2 days versus 2–3 months for entity setup a critical difference when hiring international employees without an entity.

Contractor Management (AOR) for Project-Based Work

For genuine independent contractors, Gloroots manages contracts, invoices, payments, and tax documentation under our agent of record model. This covers contract generation, payment processing, and Form 16A issuance.

This reduces employee and independent contractor misclassification exposure while keeping the contractor relationship flexible for short-term or project-based engagements.

Contractor-to-Employee Conversion

When a contractor relationship matures and reclassification risk rises, Gloroots converts the engagement to compliant employment in 1–2 days. Learn more about how to extend your independent contractor agreement to a full time opportunity.

What Can You Hire For Through Gloroots in India?

India's talent depth is strongest in technology, AI/ML, data, finance, and operations. Gloroots supports hiring across all these functions and more.

Gloroots handles hires across all major Indian tech hubs and tier-2 cities. Payroll management and compliance reflect state-specific requirements for each employee location.

How Does Gloroots Pricing Work for India?

India pricing is fixed per employee, per month. No percentage-of-salary fees. No compliance add-on charges. No setup or contractor onboarding fees on top. Understand full employer of record cost before you commit.

This makes Finance planning clean. You forecast India headcount cost the same way you forecast any other line item predictable, country-specific pricing.

Contractor management runs at a separate, lower flat fee per contractor per month. This covers contract generation, payment processing, tax documentation, and withholding tax management through the AOR model.

Who Is Gloroots in India Built For?

Growth-Stage Companies Hiring 1–50 People in India

Companies hiring their first India employees, or scaling a small Indian team, where entity setup is not yet justified by headcount or timeline. The benefits of hiring employees from India are accessible without infrastructure investment.

GCCs and Offshore Capability Centers Building From Scratch

Teams setting up an India delivery center but needing employment, payroll, and compliance handled while operations stabilize. Gloroots supports the ramp before entity commitment, reducing benefits and challenges of expanding into new markets.

Companies Cleaning Up Contractor Risk

Organizations with existing Indian contractors where reclassification exposure is rising and conversion to compliant employment is the right move. Employee misclassification penalties make this a time-sensitive decision.

Distributed and Remote-First Teams

Companies hiring remote employees Indian engineers or operators alongside teams in other countries who need centralized governance across geographies from a single platform.

Why Do Companies Choose Gloroots Over Alternatives for India Hiring?

Most global EORs in India operate through partner networks. Gloroots owns its Indian entity, which preserves visibility, execution consistency, and reduces liability transfer risk.

Pricing is fixed per employee, per country. Percentage-of-salary models become unpredictable at scale and reward the wrong incentives platform revenue grows with salary increases, not service quality.

Support is human-led with retained account context not ticket-based queues that reset every time a question arrives. India compliance is handled by country-specific experts, not generic global support teams.

Onboarding takes 1–2 days. Documentation is accessible through a single dashboard alongside any other country in your workforce.

Pricing, contracts, statutory filings, and audit-ready records sit in one place reducing the operating overhead of running India employment at scale. See how this compares with the pros and cons of employer of record EOR.

Talk to Gloroots about how to hire employees in India fixed per-employee pricing, owned Indian entity, and onboarding in 1–2 days.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring in India With Gloroots

How quickly can Gloroots onboard an employee in India?

Onboarding typically completes in 1–2 working days once the candidate accepts the offer and submits PAN, Aadhaar, and bank details.

Compare that to 2–3 months to register your own Indian entity. The speed difference matters when first hires are time-critical and you need to onboard international employees fast.

Does Gloroots handle EPF and ESI contributions for Indian employees?

Yes. EPF, ESI, and professional tax contributions are deducted, remitted, and filed monthly by our in-country compliance team.

We also issue annual Form 16 documents, handle gratuity provisioning at 4.81% of basic wages, and manage statutory filings under EPFO and ESIC throughout the employment lifecycle.

Can Gloroots convert my existing Indian contractors to employees?

Yes. Conversion typically completes in 1–2 working days once the contractor agrees to the new employment terms and submits identification documentation.

This removes employee and independent contractor misclassification exposure going forward. Historical contractor periods remain a separate risk that should be assessed before conversion.

Do I need to set up an Indian entity to use Gloroots?

No. Gloroots is the registered employer of record on its own Indian entity. You hire compliantly without local incorporation entity-free employment through a true EOR vs entity advantage.

When headcount eventually justifies entity setup, we support the transition by moving employees from our entity to yours cleanly, with no break in compliance.

How is Gloroots different from a domestic Indian payroll provider?

Domestic payroll providers assume you already have an Indian entity. They run payroll, but you carry employment liability and compliance risk.

Gloroots is the legal employer. Liability, contracts, statutory filings, and audit-ready records sit with us not on your HR or Legal team. That is the core difference between HR and payroll outsourcing and full employer of record coverage.