Switching EOR Providers: What Happens to Contracts, Seniority and Deposits (2026)

• The old employment ends and a new one starts. The outgoing EOR ends the contract under local law; the new EOR issues its own.
• Ending the old contract can trigger statutory payments: final pay, accrued leave and, in some countries, severance or end-of-service payments.
• Service-based rights can restart unless the new contract recognises earlier service, so ask the new provider to write it in.
• Work permits can be tied to the employer, so a switch can need a new permit before the person moves.
• Check the exit terms in your current contract: notice to end the service, and when your deposit is returned.

Whether a payment is due also depends on how the old employment ends (dismissal, resignation or agreement), so agree the route and who pays with both providers. Compare all countries in severance pay by country and notice periods by country.

• Colombia: However the contract ends, the employer must pay pending salary, the prima for the time worked in the half-year, cesantías not yet deposited in the fund with their interest, and untaken vacation paid in cash in proportion to the time worked (Law 995 of 2005).
• Brazil: Dismissal without just cause is permitted, but the employer must pay notice (or pay in lieu) and deposit a penalty of 40% of all FGTS deposits made during the employment, updated with interest, into the employee's FGTS account, plus accrued 13th salary and vacation.
• India: 15 days' wages for each completed year of service (or part above six months), payable on leaving after 5 years of continuous service, capped at ₹20 lakh. Because it depends on five years of continuous service, ask whether the new contract recognises earlier service.
• United Arab Emirates: For expatriates with at least one year's continuous service: 21 days' basic salary for each of the first 5 years and 30 days for each year after, pro-rated for part years, capped at 2 years' wages and paid within 14 days of the end of employment.

Where a work permit is tied to the employer, the new EOR may need a new permit before the person can start with it. In Canada, for example, most work permits are tied to one employer, and changing employer needs a new permit; in Poland, a work permit is issued for the employing entity. Check before you give notice. See EOR visa sponsorship by country and Employer of Record in Kraków.

• Notice to end the service. Rivermate, for example, says its contracts are month-to-month with 30 days' termination notice, and that the service ends once the employee's notice period has run.
• Deposits. Playroll takes "a fully refundable security deposit equal to one month's salary when you onboard an employee"; Oyster says it "requires a refundable deposit for EOR team members to start the engagement". Ask when and how the deposit comes back after the last payroll.
• Offboarding and transfer fees. Ask whether the outgoing provider charges to end employment or to transfer records, and get payroll and leave records for the new provider.

• Confirm the new provider can employ in the country, and how: its own entity or a partner.
• Ask the new provider to recognise the employee's earlier service in the new contract.
• Agree with both providers how the old employment ends, what final payments are due and who pays them.
• Check whether a new work permit is needed, and get it before the start date.
• Line up the dates so there's no gap in pay, benefits or pension contributions.
• Give notice under your current contract, and confirm when your deposit is returned.