Convert a Contractor to a Full Time Employee

A contractor-to-employee conversion may be appropriate when the working relationship becomes ongoing, closely managed, exclusive, or more integrated into the company.

RemoFirst’s Employer of Record (EOR) service can support this transition in eligible countries. Some information from the contractor profile may be reused, but the worker must still complete the required employee onboarding process.

Important: Confirm EOR availability and the proposed employment terms with your RemoFirst contact before deactivating the contractor.

When to consider a conversion

• Consider reviewing the engagement when:
• The role becomes permanent or central to the business.
• The company directs how and when the work is performed.
• The individual is expected to work exclusively for the company.
• The working relationship resembles employment.
• The individual requires employee benefits or statutory protections.
• The contractor classification risk has increased.
• Both parties agree to transition to employment.

Classification requirements depend on the country and the specific working relationship. Seek appropriate legal or tax advice when needed.

Confirm EOR feasibility

Contact your Contractor Success Manager before starting the conversion. Provide:

• Worker’s legal name and country.
• Role and responsibilities.
• Proposed compensation.
• Intended employment start date.
• Required benefits.
• Any other employment requirements.

RemoFirst will confirm whether EOR employment is available and provide the applicable costs, benefits, requirements, and estimated timeline.

Do not deactivate the contractor until the proposed EOR arrangement has been confirmed.

Prepare for Transition

Once the EOR arrangement and transition date have been agreed:

• Review the current contractor agreement and termination requirements.
• Confirm the final contractor end date and proposed employment start date.
• Complete any outstanding contractor work.
• Review pending timesheets, milestones, expenses, and additional payment requests.
• Generate and fund the final contractor invoice.
• Confirm that the final contractor payout has been completed.
• Ensure that no unresolved payment schedules or disputes remain.
• Communicate the transition plan and onboarding requirements to the worker.

Deactivate the contractor profile

• The contractor must be deactivated before the employee conversion can begin.
• If the contractor is still Active when you select the conversion option, the platform will prompt you to complete the contractor offboarding process first.
• For detailed instructions, see How to Offboard and Deactivate a Contractor.

Start the employee conversion

After the contractor profile has been deactivated:

1. Open the contractor’s profile.
2. Select Convert to employee.
3. Review the information displayed by the platform.
4. Confirm the conversion.
5. Complete the required employee setup.
6. Monitor the worker’s employee onboarding progress.

The platform may reuse eligible information from the contractor profile, but all required employee onboarding steps must still be completed.

After the conversion

Following the conversion:

• A separate employee profile is created.
• Eligible information may be prefilled from the contractor profile.
• The worker begins a new employee onboarding process.
• The contractor’s historical information remains associated with the previous profile.
• The new employee profile is managed through the standard EOR workflow.

Review all transferred information carefully and correct any inaccurate or outdated details before onboarding is completed.

Important Limitations and Considerations

Contractor payment closure

Do not begin processing the same work through both the contractor and employee payment flows. Complete contractor payments before beginning employment payments unless RemoFirst has confirmed a different transition arrangement.

Employment onboarding

The worker must complete all required EOR onboarding steps. Conversion does not automatically activate the employee profile.

Historical information

The contractor and employee profiles represent separate engagement types. Historical contractor information should remain associated with the contractor engagement, while ongoing employment information should be managed through the employee profile.

Conversion limitations

Review the confirmation message carefully before completing the conversion. Contact Contractor Success if you are uncertain about the impact on the contractor profile, account access, or whether the conversion can be reversed.

Need assistance?

Chat with us or use the support option in the RemoFirst Help Center and select Contractor Success.

Include the company name, contractor name, country, proposed employment date, and a clear explanation of the assistance you need.