Payroll in the Cayman Islands

Payroll in the Cayman Islands is worth planning before the first hire, because a company that pays staff there needs someone to run the pay cycle and to keep the contracts, pensions and work permits in step. For a founder abroad the common set-ups are a local payroll run by a provider on the company’s behalf, or a payroll for a handful of directors and managers who are paid through the company.

Ask a firm how it handles employees who are not Caymanian, how it deals with work permit timing and pension contributions, and what it needs from you each pay period. Clarify who signs off the run, who moves the money and what happens when a payment is late. Check the profile for entity types, since a payroll for an operating company differs from one for a fund vehicle that only pays directors.

Accountanty lists 8 firms in the Cayman Islands that offer payroll: 7 corporate services providers and 1 accounting firm. Four are small and four are large networks. Half of them say they work with foreign clients, and English and Spanish are each offered by 3. They name family offices, funds and hedge funds most, so expect payroll for small management teams more than for large workforces. Read the Cayman Islands guide for the legal background, and see how the same firms handle accounting.