As someone who has been working with international expansion and workforce strategy for decades, I have seen firsthand the evolution of public sector procurement in Europe. Governments are more focused now than ever on compliance, labor relations, and risk management, while demanding flexibility and speed from their suppliers. There’s one trend that stands out as a linchpin in modern B2G partnerships: Employer of Record (EOR) solutions. The right use of EOR is quietly becoming a major advantage for organizations chasing public contracts across European borders. In this article, I’ll share how EOR unlocks opportunities for public sector tenders, why it matters, and what you should consider on your journey.
Competing for public contracts in Europe is rewarding yet demanding. The process requires not only impressive service delivery, but also careful compliance with strict legal, social, and labor frameworks. From my research and experience supporting clients, several patterns emerge.
The OECD reports that union density in the public sector dwarfs the private sector (41.3% vs 10.1%). This highlights the extra weight placed on labor relations, permanent hiring, and benefits—issues that often trip up new entrants or foreign businesses. Another relevant datapoint from an OECD survey shows 91% of central government staff hold permanent contracts, while 93% work full-time. Flex workers or temporary contracts are rarely the norm in government tenders.
Because of this, employers who struggle with contract types, hiring procedures, or compliance find themselves at a disadvantage. Here is where EOR solutions, such as those offered by EWS Limited, change the game.
In my experience, many decision-makers first hear the term “Employer of Record” just as they prepare for their first cross-border public contract bid. Clarity is key, so I like to explain:
An Employer of Record (EOR) legally employs workers in a given country on your behalf, handling payroll, contracts, local hiring compliance, and employee management—even when your company has no local legal entity.
The EOR becomes the legal employer, but you direct the work, set objectives, and manage your team’s performance. For public sector contracts, this means you can demonstrate full compliance with local labor laws, tax requirements, and social security, without the long setup time and cost of opening a branch or subsidiary.
This model is especially useful in:
Using EOR for these contracts aligns your offer with the expectations of European departments and ministries.
When studying tender documents and feedback from procurement authorities, I have seen that public buyers value more than price and technical quality. They expect their suppliers to set an example in the way they treat employees. For HR Directors, Partner Managers, and C-levels, this reality shapes every aspect of the proposal.
Winning a European public sector contract means passing a credibility test with your workforce.
Here’s what public sector evaluators expect:
EOR providers are built to offer each of these. They maintain local registrations, pay employees according to current regulations, support social security, and partner with unions where required. Companies that skip these steps or try to “remote manage” without presence are often less trusted by procurement managers.
I frequently reference the EURES statistics highlighting the broad engagement of employers and strict rules in different countries. By using EOR, your company fits seamlessly into this established system—precisely what buyers seek.
The European public sector is famous for high entry barriers. Some common hurdles I’ve encountered include:
On top of this, delays in mobilizing a workforce can cause missed opportunities. While opening a local subsidiary can take months, a good EOR can activate employment much quicker. At EWS Limited, for example, our global mobility and payroll outsourcing services are designed to get teams in place while you focus on project delivery and compliance.
Let’s say a tech company is bidding for a government software project in the Nordics. The tender may require you to have employees under national employment law, with payroll running in the local currency and collective agreement coverage.
With an EOR, you can tick all these boxes, whether it’s hiring under Danish, Swedish, or Norwegian rules. You can read more about these specific solutions for countries like Denmark, Sweden, and Norway and how they improve your workforce compliance in tenders.
I often field questions from Partner and Relationship Managers about minimizing risk in cross-border tenders.
EOR arrangements drastically reduce the risk of misclassification, non-compliance, or fines in complex public contracts, providing a single point of accountability for all HR matters in the host country.
This single point of accountability is not just convenient—it also becomes a strong part of your “risk management” narrative during tender evaluation. Instead of describing a patchwork of consultants or contractors, you can show a clean, auditable process for hiring, payroll, social charges, and even exit procedures.
These benefits resonate deeply with government evaluators, who have a responsibility to minimize legal and reputational risk in awarding contracts. Having a stable workforce, processed through a locally compliant entity, stands out.
Time pressure is a common feature in tenders. If your offer wins, the contract start date may be in a few weeks. Establishing a branch office is rarely fast enough. This is where I have seen EOR services like those from EWS Limited make a real impact: they can employ your chosen talent in days, with country-specific contracts and local onboarding even under tight timelines.
Tender timelines demand fast, legal solutions—you cannot always wait for a subsidiary.
The difference in responsiveness is significant. HR Directors and C-levels notice that:
Labor relations play a special role in public sector work in Europe. The OECD union membership statistics confirm the strength of collective agreements.
Union recognition and collective bargaining agreements are often not optional for winning tenders—they are enforced by law or administrative practice in many public procurement settings.
If your approach is not aligned with local norms, your proposal could be excluded or face extra scrutiny. An EOR maintains ongoing relationships with unions, ensures correct application of sectoral agreements, fulfills reporting duties, and regularly updates on changing requirements.
The alternative—attempting to catch up on these requirements at the last minute—rarely makes a positive impression with procurement officers. EOR solutions bring you to the required standard, especially in active labor countries like Germany and France.
From my work with IT companies and startups seeking their first or next public sector contract, I noticed that payroll complexity is often underestimated. Tender rules typically require:
Each country has its own intricacies—sometimes requiring payment of extra local charges or “13th month” pay, for example. An EOR solves these problems by running payroll in-country, ensuring employees, authorities, and auditors all see correct, legal compliance. For instance, EWS Limited’s focus on multi-currency payroll and tailored solutions can be a timely answer for tenders with varying scope across Europe.
Over the years, I’ve seen all kinds of tender requirements, and it’s the EOR-driven teams that often stand out in evaluating panels’ risk assessments. At EWS Limited, our approach is straightforward. We become your single point of contact, centralizing employment, payroll, local compliance, union relations, and reporting. Our commitment is to help your company move quickly while ticking every compliance checkbox—something public sector clients value highly.
Our coverage includes over 100 countries, but we have deep experience with European workforce law, social benefits, and collective labor landscapes. Whether you need to set up in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, or elsewhere, we help you present the evidence public clients want to see.
Let me share a situation: A Series B software company, growing rapidly in Western Europe, spots a large Ministry of Health digitalization tender in Sweden. The challenge? The tender strictly requires:
The company has no Swedish entity and only two months to start if successful.
By partnering with EWS Limited through our Employer of Record Sweden offering, they:
The result? They scored top marks for HR and compliance, and were able to start faster than their competition, with no local setup risk.
In my work advising startups and established companies, I recommend building your tender plan around these simple questions:
If you answer ‘no’ or ‘not sure’ for any of these, EOR is worth serious consideration.
After guiding many organizations through public procurement processes, I can say with confidence:Public sector buyers in Europe reward companies that combine service excellence with compliance, local presence, and transparent worker relations.EOR is the shortcut to delivering all of this on your very first contract or in new geographies.
With EWS Limited as your partner, you gain focused support covering every aspect of legal employment, payroll, and employee relations—removing barriers, reducing risk, and leaving you free to concentrate on the core work. If you’re bidding for a tender in Europe, or just want to unlock new opportunities, I invite you to get in touch to learn how EOR can help make your next bid a success.
EOR, or Employer of Record, in the context of public tenders means a service where a third-party company employs staff in a specific country for your business, handling all legal, payroll, and compliance aspects on your behalf.This is especially helpful for meeting the employment and labor standards strict in European public sector contracts.
EOR helps companies present themselves as fully compliant with local labor regulations, payroll obligations, and union agreements. By using EOR, your company can quickly show evaluators that you meet employment and reporting requirements with no local legal gaps or delays. This directly improves your scoring on HR and compliance sections of many tenders.
Many public tenders in Europe demand evidence of local hiring, payroll tax remittance, and sector-specific agreement compliance. EOR removes the burden of setting up a company and ensures you can respond to these strict requirements immediately, improving your credibility and saving valuable time during the bidding process.
While not always mandatory, EOR is extremely useful for tenders that ask for in-country employment contracts, union compliance, or social security contributions. If you do not have a local entity, EOR is often the only way to satisfy these requirements and avoid disqualification.
EOR services are typically priced as a percentage of the employee’s salary or a flat monthly fee per employee. Costs depend on the complexity of the employment location, benefits, and specific legal requirements.Transparent pricing lets you plan the overall cost of staffing for your tender, often saving money by avoiding the time and expense of entity formation.
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