Frequently asked questions

South Africa is a strong option when you want English-language delivery and close UK working-hours overlap. India and the Philippines can suit large delivery teams or Asia-Pacific hours; Poland can suit EU-based delivery; Latin America often offers closer US daytime overlap. Those are location considerations, not guarantees about individual people. We compare your role, language needs, timezone, security requirements and total cost before recommending South Africa. For full US daytime coverage, we must plan later shifts.

We work under strict non-disclosure agreements. Clients are welcome to say they use Newclearus for workforce management, but we do not disclose their identity or arrange a reference without their express written sign-off. Ask us for a reference and we will seek permission. A reference call depends on client consent and availability; we do not publish an unapproved client list.

We use one 36-month contract. Published service rates stay fixed for 36 months. Employee pay, statutory costs, taxes and approved out-of-scope work remain separate. Any renewal or scope change requires agreement.

Your signed agreement sets the notice period, minimum commitments and any outstanding charges. The exit plan should cover access removal, data and documentation handover, transition support and deletion or retention of records. For EOR, ending the service is separate from ending an employee’s employment: consultation, notice, accrued leave or other lawful costs may apply. We set out those responsibilities before you commit.

Under EOR, you own your business data and project documentation, and the agreement should secure your rights to the employee’s deliverables. Newclearus must retain employment and payroll records where the law requires it; employees retain their privacy rights. Under ICT and software services, ownership, licences, deliverables and handover are agreed per project. Background IP and third-party software need explicit treatment.

The signed agreement specifies governing law, the court or arbitration forum and the escalation process. We do not assume the same forum for every UK, US or South African engagement. South African employment obligations still apply to South African hires, regardless of the commercial contract’s chosen law. Confirm jurisdiction and dispute costs before signing.

It can be, but there is no blanket permission. Identify the data, purpose, controller and processor roles, access locations and applicable restrictions first. UK restricted transfers require a valid transfer route. US requirements vary by state, sector, contract and data type, including sensitive data restrictions. We must confirm the legal route and safeguards before access begins; an NDA alone is not sufficient.

We agree storage regions, processing locations, remote access and subprocessors in the service design and data processing terms. Keeping a cloud tenant or repository in the UK or US may be possible, subject to the chosen provider and tools. Access by staff in South Africa can still count as an international transfer even if files never move out of your region. Region-only storage is not a promise of region-only processing.

Not at this stage. We are working towards independent security assurance, but no issued ISO 27001 or Cyber Essentials certification or completed SOC 2 report is claimed here. SOC 2 is an attestation report, not a certification. Ask for the current programme, scope and available evidence. Work in progress is not equivalent to a completed audit, and we do not promise a completion date.

The incident plan must name the contacts, escalation path, containment steps, evidence handling and update schedule. Where we act as your UK GDPR processor, we must notify you without undue delay after becoming aware of a personal data breach. The controller’s notifiable-breach deadline is generally 72 hours, which is not a permission for us to wait 72 hours. POPIA has its own notification duties. Your contract should set a specific initial notification target and reporting responsibilities; no fixed hourly guarantee is published here.

South Africa stays at UTC+2. It is one hour ahead of the UK during British summer time and two during winter; six or seven hours ahead of US Eastern; and nine or ten ahead of US Pacific. As an example, 09:00–17:00 South African hours cover 08:00–16:00 UK summer or 07:00–15:00 UK winter, 03:00–11:00 or 02:00–10:00 Eastern, and 00:00–08:00 or 23:00–07:00 Pacific. US daytime work therefore needs an agreed later shift. Exact coverage follows your service timezone and daylight-saving dates.

We offer scoped coverage options from 8×5 business hours through 12×5, 16×5, 24×5 and 24×7. Coverage, staffing, escalation and the service timezone must be confirmed in the proposal. The coverage fee extends the service window, not the included monthly support labour. Weekend cover is not included in the standard 8×5 retainer.

Power or network loss can disrupt calls, remote sessions and access. We assess the proposed location and role, then agree backup power, connectivity and escalation measures appropriate to the service. A continuity plan reduces risk; it does not make an outage impossible. Any residual risk and SLA treatment should be visible before onboarding.

The advertised support retainers cover remote services. Cabling, CCTV, access control and physical installation work are separately scoped South African projects. They are not included in a remote retainer, and we do not imply an onsite field team in every country.

Tell us your stack, versions, integrations and support requirements. Microsoft 365, identity, endpoints, networks and cloud operations can be scoped as part of the service. Google Workspace, AWS and specialist applications require confirmation of the skills, vendor access and responsibilities needed. A vendor or application list is not a guarantee that every product or configuration is covered.

We agree an approved remote-support tool, authorised devices and permitted access before connecting. The access design should use named accounts, MFA, least privilege, session logging and time-limited permissions where supported. Screen access can expose what is visible, so sensitive information and unattended access need explicit controls. We do not ask you to post passwords in a ticket or ordinary email.

Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and AI licences are available at market rates with no markup or provisioning fees. Our industry partnerships sometimes allow discounts, subject to availability. Ongoing IT management and support are separate services. The calculator excludes licence costs. We confirm your requirements and supplier pricing during consultation, and you can retain eligible licences you already own. The final proposal identifies who purchases and owns each subscription.

Code ownership and assignment must be written into the statement of work and contract. Specify what transfers, when it transfers, and any payment conditions. Identify pre-existing tools, reusable components, open-source obligations and third-party licences separately. Do not assume every ICT project transfers all IP automatically; EOR employee-created deliverables also need suitable contractual assignment.

Absolutely. You choose who joins your team, including interviewing and approving candidates before an offer. We coordinate the employment setup under the agreed EOR model. Your choice remains subject to lawful hiring, right-to-work checks and agreed employment terms.

The EOR model places employment with the South African employing entity identified in your agreements; you direct the agreed day-to-day work. We confirm the exact legal entity before signing. Employer duties, client responsibilities, indemnities, insurance and liability allocation must be written down. An EOR does not remove every risk from your business or permit unlawful instructions.

Yes, risk can remain. It depends on activities in South Africa, authority to negotiate or conclude contracts, management, premises and the relevant tax treaty. EOR use is not an automatic exemption from corporate tax or permanent establishment rules. Obtain advice for your specific operating model before hiring; payroll compliance and corporate tax exposure are different issues.

Budget for gross salary, applicable employer contributions, agreed benefits, recruitment, the EOR fee, equipment and service add-ons. Also allow for overtime or shift premiums, leave cover, agreed bonuses, salary reviews and lawful exit costs. Severance is not a monthly wage component, but may be a future liability. Our calculator shows service fees only. Your agreed employee pay and statutory employment costs remain separate.

Our website shows GBP and USD estimates. Confirm accepted invoice currency, payment method, bank fees and exchange rules in the proposal. Fixed service fees and rand-funded employee costs may have different currency treatment. The contract must state the allocation of exchange risk; neither party should infer it from the calculator alone.