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Liz Servañez
Liz Servañez serves as Branch Manager in the Philippines.
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Christine Aguilar
Christine Aguilar serves as Head of Operations in the Philippines.
The Philippines continues to be the primary destination for hiring virtual assistants and for a good reason. Filipinos speak excellent English, have a strong customer service culture, and come at a reasonable cost.
Using a virtual assistant is becoming a skill by itself. The role has evolved from simple tasks like booking flight tickets or collecting information from the internet to becoming a natural extension of the executive and helps them get more done.
However, navigating the hiring process can be challenging, especially when considering the various options available.
In this article, we will explore the essentials of hiring a VA in the Philippines, including different options depending on your business objectives.
Ways to Hire a VA in the Philippines
1. Hire a Virtual Assistant from Freelancing Websites
The easiest and the quickest way to get started with hiring a virtual assistant is to use freelance sites such as Upwork. You simply post a job vacancy and will get dozens (or hundreds of candidates) within hours.
Freelance sites are unrivaled when it comes to getting a flexible workforce almost immediately. Let’s say you want a virtual assistant with experience in Twitter account management for 8 hours a week? You’ll likely find someone ready to start tomorrow. No notice periods, job interviews, or employment contracts are involved.
✅ Pros of Hiring a VA from Freelancing Sites:
- Find candidates that are ready to start immediately and work flexible hours
- Ideal for tasks that are well-documented, not mission-critical, and can be delegated with minimum amount of supervision
- Candidates available for any budget
❌ Cons of Hiring a VA from Freelancing Sites:
- It’s not a long-term solution. Most freelancers will quit the moment they get a bigger project or full-time employment somewhere else.
- The quality of freelancers tends to be unreliable
- Lots of candidates to filter through
2. Use an Outsourcing Agency (a BPO)
According to the Philippines Statistics Authority, over 1.2 million Filipinos work in one of the country’s over 1000 business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.
Outsourcing agencies will take care of finding, training, and managing your employees. You state your requirements and a BPO will take care of the rest.
✅ Pros of Hiring a VA using BPO:
- BPOs often have thousands of employees and are most likely able to find you better candidates than you would be yourself.
- BPOs have structured training programs and are great at teaching their employees to deliver specific tasks.
- You don’t need to worry about your assistant leaving the project. The BPO will replace and train a new candidate whenever needed.
❌ Cons of Hiring a VA using BPO:
- You will not have total control over who you hire and how you work with them. BPOs follow a certain structure and most likely will rotate your project between different employees.
3. Hire a Full-time Employee using an Employer of Record Service
An increasingly popular option for hiring Filipino VAs is through Employer of Record (EOR) services. An EOR acts as the legal employer for your VA, handling payroll, benefits, and compliance with local labor laws.
This option combines the flexibility of direct hiring with the compliance assurance of working with an established entity. As a result, you get a dedicated employee and direct control over their day to day operations. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about tax compliance or labor laws as the EOR, being the legal employer, is responsible for ensuring compliance with local regulations.
In other words, an EOR service solves the problems faced by employers with direct hiring or using a BPO.
Furthermore, with EOR partners such as Emerhub, there is the flexibility to bring your current freelancers under an EOR to convert them into full time employees or build a team from scratch.
✅ Pros of Hiring a VA using EOR:
- Choose exactly who you hire and how they work. You define their responsibilities, working hours, etc.
- The virtual assistant becomes part of your company – they’ll get to know you, how you prefer to work, and they can proactively find ways to support you.
- Employer of record service allows you to hire full-time employees without having to manage local taxes, compliance and legal issues.
❌ Cons of Hiring a VA using BPO:
- You need to have a consistent amount of work (40 hours a week) to give to your virtual assistant.
- It will take at least a few weeks to get started since you’ll have to interview candidates, sign contracts, etc.
Important Legal Considerations When Hiring a Filipino VA
When engaging a virtual assistant from the Philippines, foreign employers should be aware of these key legal considerations:
Employment Classification
One of the most critical legal aspects is properly classifying your Filipino VA as either an employee or an independent contractor. This classification has significant implications for taxes, benefits, and legal obligations. Moreover, if you misclassify your employees, it can can lead to penalties and legal issues.
Labor Laws
The Philippines has strict labor laws covering working hours, overtime, rest periods, and termination procedures. For instance, the standard workweek in the Philippines is 48 hours, with overtime pay required for additional hours. Similarly, there are specific rules related to night shifts and working on holidays.
Tax Implications
An important part of hiring talent in another country is understanding the local tax implications. In the case of hiring a Filipino VA, these may include withholding and remitting income tax and various other mandatory contributions.
To stay compliant, it is advisable to partner with local experts such as Emerhub who understand the regulations and navigate the process for you.
Hire VA in the Philippines with Emerhub
Emerhub is a market entry and HR service organization helping businesses expand into Southeast Asian markets and hire remote talent for over 14 years.
Our Employer of Record Service in the Philippines, powered by all-in-one SaaS platform and backed by our local experts, simplifies the entire process of hiring and managing remote talent.
Fill out the form below to book a free consultation and discuss your options with our experts.
