Paying contractors in Ireland and Europe
Payroll
The same payroll service, for contractors placed outside the UK. Income tax follows the work, social security follows separate rules again, and registration obligations attach to whoever pays — which is why a UK scheme cannot compliantly pay a contractor working in Dublin or Rotterdam. We hold an Irish route built for exactly that, with European managed payroll and Employer of Record alongside it.
Free to agencies and contractors; our partners pay us.
01
UK agencyPlaces the contractor02
Irish paying entityEmploys and pays03
Contractor in IE / NL / DEWhere the work is done
Why the UK provider says no
It is not obstruction. A UK payroll company genuinely cannot pay most EU-based contractors compliantly, for reasons that are structural rather than commercial.
Income tax is generally due where the duties are performed. A contractor physically working in Ireland is, in the ordinary case, within the Irish tax net from day one of the engagement. Running them through a UK PAYE scheme does not satisfy that obligation; it creates a second, wrong one.
Which country's social insurance applies is determined by the applicable-legislation rules, not by where the invoice is raised, and it does not automatically match where income tax is due. Getting an A1 or equivalent certificate wrong is its own category of problem.
Paying employees in an EU state usually requires a local registration, a local payroll, local filings on a local calendar, and local statutory entitlements — which differ substantially country by country. A UK provider with a UK scheme and a UK compliance team is not set up for any of that.
Irish law does not have IR35. Ireland has its own employment status tests and Revenue's real-time PAYE reporting regime. Applying UK concepts to an Irish engagement produces confident answers to the wrong question.
What an Irish paying entity actually solves
Irish PAYE, Irish limited company and sole trader, European managed payroll and Employer of Record. Sits beside your UK arrangement; you do not have to move the UK book.
- Ireland
Irish PAYE
Employed in Ireland, paid under Irish PAYE with income tax, PRSI and USC deducted and reported to Revenue in real time. The closest equivalent to UK outsourced PAYE, and the right answer for most Irish placements.
- Ireland
Irish limited company & sole trader
For genuinely independent contractors operating through their own Irish company, or as a sole trader where the engagement truly supports it — with the status analysis that requires, in Irish terms rather than translated from IR35.
- Europe
European managed payroll & EOR
A local employment vehicle in the country the work is done — local registration, local payroll, local filings and statutory entitlements. Common in oil and gas, renewables, marine, civils and large engineering programmes.
- UK + Europe
Where this sits alongside UK payroll
You do not have to move your UK book to solve the EU problem. In most cases the sensible structure is the one you already have for the UK — outsourced PAYE or a managed bureau — with a separate Irish or European route sitting beside it for the placements the UK provider cannot handle.
How it works
01
Assess
We look at the shape of the workforce: sectors, volumes, where people are placed and the risk you carry.
02
Compare
Every route that genuinely fits goes on the table, with liability, administration and cost set out the same way.
03
Introduce
Two or three providers from a panel we have already checked. If none is right, we say so.
Questions to ask a provider
If a provider answers question one with a map of Europe and no detail, you have your answer.
- Which countries can you actually pay in today — not in principle, today?
- What is the legal employing entity in each, and is it yours or a local partner's?
- How do you handle the applicable social security legislation and A1 or equivalent certificates?
- What is the lead time to onboard a contractor in a new country?
- What does the contractor see — payslips, entitlements, filings — and in what language?
- Who carries the compliance risk if a local authority challenges the arrangement?
- How do you handle contractors who move mid-assignment between countries?
- What happens at the end of the assignment — termination, notice, accrued entitlements under local law?
The things people ask before they ring
Because the obligations are territorial. Income tax is generally due where the duties are performed, social security is decided by separate applicable-legislation rules that do not automatically match, and paying employees in an EU state usually requires a local registration, a local payroll and local filings. A UK scheme with a UK compliance team is not set up for any of that, and running an EU-based contractor through UK PAYE creates a second, wrong obligation rather than satisfying the right one.
Two things. It covers Irish work properly — the contractor is employed in Ireland and paid under Irish PAYE with income tax, PRSI and USC deducted and reported to Revenue in real time. And a well-built Irish entity is a workable base for managed payroll and Employer of Record arrangements across other EU states, where the contractor is employed in the country the work is actually done.
No. Irish law does not have IR35. Ireland has its own employment status tests and Revenue's real-time PAYE reporting regime. Applying UK off-payroll reasoning to an Irish engagement produces confident answers to the wrong question, which is why Irish arrangements should be explained in Irish terms rather than translated from UK vocabulary.
No. In most cases the sensible structure is the one you already have for the UK — outsourced PAYE or a managed bureau — with a separate Irish or European route sitting beside it for the placements the UK provider cannot handle. One agency, two routes, contractors paid correctly wherever they are working.
That is the right question to ask any provider, including us, and the honest answer depends on the country and the engagement. Ireland is the route we hold directly. Beyond it, European managed payroll and Employer of Record arrangements are arranged through partners with a local employing entity, which is common in oil and gas, renewables, marine, civils and large engineering programmes. Tell us where the placements are and we will tell you what is genuinely available today rather than in principle.
Read more
Agencies · Ireland & Europe
Placing contractors in Ireland: PAYE, limited company, sole trader and Employer of Record
Placed a contractor in Dublin and discovered UK payroll will not do the job. Irish employed PAYE, Irish limited company, sole trader management and Employer of Record, with the 2026 rates and Revenue obligations.
IrelandAgenciesLimited companySole trader7-minute readAgencies · Payroll
Every payroll option, assessed and matched: choosing payroll routes for a contract book
Provider-employed PAYE, outsourced PAYE, managed bureau, CIS or direct PAYE. How to choose payroll routes for a contract book by sector, volume and client requirement, and what a compliant provider panel looks like.
Outsourced PAYEPayroll bureauPAYE umbrellaAgencies7-minute read
Fifteen minutes will tell you where you stand
Whether you're a contractor after your next job, an agency placing across Europe, or a business that needs people found, paid and funded — start with a conversation. It costs nothing and we'll tell you honestly if we can't help. No form to fill in first.
info@freelancer-supermarket.co.uk