Employer of Record in Nigeria
Betternship is an employer of record in Nigeria for foreign companies. We legally employ your team members in Nigeria, run naira payroll, deduct PAYE, pay pension and other statutory contributions, and keep every contract compliant, so you can hire full-time staff in Nigeria without setting up a local company.
What our employer of record in Nigeria handles
When you use Betternship as your employer of record in Nigeria, the employee works for you, follows your processes and joins your team meetings. We take on the legal employment and everything that comes with it:
Compliant employment contracts
Contracts written for Nigerian law, with probation, notice, leave, confidentiality and IP assignment clauses that protect your company.
Naira payroll
Our Product Managers are experienced with remote workflows, agile teams, asynchronous communication, and know how to collaborate across time zones and sprint cycles.
No Tax or Compliance Stress
We take care of international tax filings, cross-border, and local labor laws. You also get ongoing support with performance tracking, communication, and conflict resolution.
Flexible Hiring Models
Need interim product leadership, feature-focused execution, or support scaling a team? We fit your context.
Many EOR providers only handle the employment side. We can also recruit for you. If you have not found your hire yet, we source and vet candidates, then employ the one you choose. Fewer than 10% of applicants make our shortlists, after a skills assessment, live interview, culture-fit check and reference checks.
Trusted by companies across the globe
Employer of record in Nigeria pricing
Our employer of record in Nigeria fee is 15% of the employee’s gross salary, payable at the start of each month. On top of the fee you pay the employee’s salary and the statutory employer contributions, which every employer in Nigeria pays. You do not pay to set up or run a Nigerian company.
What a hire actually costs: two examples
| Cost item | Senior developer on a local salary | Mid-level hire on a remote-market salary |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | ₦1,500,000 a month (₦18,000,000 a year) | $3,000 a month ($36,000 a year) |
| Employer pension (10%) | ₦1,800,000 | $3,600 |
| NSITF (1%) | ₦180,000 | $360 |
| ITF (1%) | ₦180,000 | $360 |
| Betternship EOR fee (15%) | ₦2,700,000 | $5,400 |
| Total yearly cost | ₦22,860,000 (about $16,900) | About $45,700 |
These are upper estimates: pension is calculated on basic salary plus housing and transport allowances, which is usually less than total gross pay. Group life insurance, health insurance (HMO) and any 13th-month bonus are extra if offered. PAYE is deducted from the employee’s pay, not added to your cost. Converted at ₦1,350 to $1 (October 2026).
For a full comparison of entity setup, contractor and EOR costs, see how much it costs to hire someone in Nigeria.
Want a cost for your role? Tell us the role and salary, and we will send a full monthly cost breakdown. Get a cost breakdown
Employer of record vs a Nigerian company vs contractors
There are three legal ways for a foreign company to work with people in Nigeria. An employer of record in Nigeria suits most companies hiring their first one to twenty full-time staff.
| Employer of record in Nigeria | Your own Nigerian company | Independent contractors | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to hire | Days | Weeks to months for registration | Days |
| Local entity needed | No | Yes | No |
| Payroll, PAYE and pension | Handled for you | You run it, or pay a provider | The contractor handles their own tax |
| Misclassification risk | None | None | High if they work full time, set hours, only for you |
| Best for | Full-time staff without a local company | Large, long-term teams | Short or genuinely independent projects |
If you already work with Nigerian contractors who now work like employees, we can move them onto proper employment contracts. See EOR vs direct hire in Nigeria and, for US companies, W-2 vs 1099 vs EOR.
Nigerian employment rules your employer of record handles (2026)
These are the main rules that apply when you employ someone in Nigeria. As your employer of record in Nigeria, we build them into every contract and payroll run.
| Area | The rule in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Minimum wage | ₦70,000 a month (national minimum) |
| Income tax (PAYE) | Nigeria Tax Act 2025, in force from January 1, 2026: 0% on the first ₦800,000 of taxable income, then 15%, 18%, 21%, 23% and 25% bands. Deducted from the employee’s pay |
| Pension | At least 10% from the employer and 8% from the employee, on monthly emoluments (basic, housing and transport) |
| NSITF | 1% of total payroll, paid by the employer, for workplace injury cover |
| ITF | 1% of annual payroll for employers with five or more staff or ₦50 million turnover |
| National Housing Fund | 2.5% of income, now voluntary for private-sector employees |
| Group life insurance | Cover of at least three times each employee’s annual emolument |
| Annual leave | At least 6 working days after 12 months under the Labour Act; most professional contracts give about 20 days |
| Maternity leave | 12 weeks under the Labour Act, with at least 50% pay for employees with six months’ service; many employers pay in full |
| Sick leave | Up to 12 paid working days a year under the Labour Act |
| Public holidays | 11 national public holidays a year, plus extra days declared by the government. See our African public holidays guide |
| Probation and notice | Set by the contract, usually 3 to 6 months’ probation and one month’s notice for professional staff |
| Data protection | The Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 covers employee personal data |
The Labour Act’s leave rules apply to “workers” (mainly manual and clerical staff); professional and managerial staff get their entitlements through their contract. This table is general information, not legal advice. Sources: Nigeria Labour Act, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (May 2026) and DLA Piper Africa (August 2026).
For more detail, see our Nigeria guides to minimum wage, probation periods and terminating an employee.
How it works
1. Tell us who you need
Share the role, salary range and start date, or the details of someone you have already chosen. It takes about 10 minutes.
2. We find or onboard them
Need a candidate? You get a vetted shortlist within 48 hours. Already have one? We issue a compliant contract and collect their documents.
3. They start working for you
We run payroll, PAYE and pension every month. You manage the work, and we handle everything employment-related.
Why companies hire in Nigeria
- Working hours that fit the UK and US. Nigeria is on West Africa Time (UTC+1): the same as UK time in summer and one hour ahead in winter, with afternoons that overlap the US East Coast morning.
- English-speaking, common-law business culture. English is Nigeria’s official language of business and government, and its legal system is based on English common law, so contracts and working norms feel familiar to UK and US teams.
- Africa’s best-known fintech talent. Lagos produced Paystack, bought by Stripe in 2020, and Flutterwave, so many Nigerian engineers, product and operations staff have built payment systems at scale.
- A large, young talent pool. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with strong pipelines in software, customer support, sales, finance and operations.
- Lower cost without lower standards. Even with competitive salaries and our fee, a full-time hire in Nigeria often costs a fraction of a US or UK hire. Our developer salary guide has the numbers.
Wondering about power, internet and payments? Read is it safe to outsource to Nigeria for the risks and how we manage them.
Beyond Nigeria
Nigeria is where our employer of record service is live today. Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa are coming soon. For roles in other African countries, we can recruit the talent and help you hire them as contractors or through your own entity. See employer of record in Africa for current coverage.
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