Employment Hero
Employment Hero helps SMEs recruit, pay, and manage distributed workforces globally.
Employment Hero is an AI-powered Employment Operating System that automates the entire employee lifecycle—from recruitment and onboarding through payroll, benefits, and compliance management. Built by an employment lawyer and product technologist, it serves 300,000+ businesses managing 2 million employees globally, including EOR capabilities through Global Teams. Unlike traditional HRIS platforms that act as systems of record, Employment Hero functions as a system of action, with AI automating manual workflows and triggering next moves autonomously. The company differentiates through Swag, a consumer-facing superapp that serves employees alongside employers.
Problem solved
Fragmented HR and payroll systems force businesses to manually manage recruitment, onboarding, pay cycles, compliance updates, and employee engagement across disconnected tools, consuming significant time and resources.
Target customer
Small to mid-market businesses (SMEs) with 10-5,000 employees needing integrated HR, payroll, recruitment, and compliance management; particularly strong in Australia, UK, and Canada with expanding global presence.
Founders
B
Ben Thompson
CEO & Co-Founder
Employment lawyer with 20 years of experience in employment law and HR compliance.
D
Dave Tong
Chief Product & Technology Officer & Co-Founder
Product and engineering leader with over a decade building products and teams at scale; known for delivering customer-first technology and cloud architecture innovation.
Funding history
Series A
Unknown
November 14, 2016
Led by AMP
Series B
Unknown
March 26, 2018
Led by SEEK, AMP
Series C
$22M
Unknown
Led by Unknown
Series D
Unknown
March 1, 2021
Led by Salesforce Ventures
Series E
$140M
July 2021
Led by Insight Partners
Series F
$263M AUD
October 23, 2023
Led by TCV
· Insight Partners, AirTree, One Ventures, SEEK
Secondary Market
$60.4M
February 17, 2025
Led by Unknown
Total raised:
$460M
Pricing
Tiered model with public pricing for EOR ($399/employee/month), recruitment ($249-$2,388/year depending on interview volume), and HR/payroll (minimum $100/month). Core HR/payroll offerings available in Lite, Plus, and Unlimited plans; full pricing requires demo with sales team.
Notable customers
Over 300,000 businesses globally, 20,000 SME customers in UK, processing payroll for 2.5 million employees, handling A$100B+ in wages annually across 144 countries
Integrations
Salesforce, Xero, ATO (Australian Taxation Office), CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), provincial tax authorities, Swag (consumer app)
Website
Competitors
Rippling
Broader platform combining HR, IT, and finance management with stronger administrative automation; entered Australian market in 2025 but lacks Employment Hero's depth in Australian award interpretation.
HiBob HRIS
Competitor in HRIS space; Employment Hero offers more integrated payroll and EOR capabilities.
BambooHR
Core HR focus without native payroll integration; Employment Hero provides end-to-end employment lifecycle automation.
Gusto
SME-focused with premium UX but relies on Xero partnership for Australian payroll rather than native capabilities; higher pricing reflects different positioning.
Dayforce
Enterprise-focused competitor; Employment Hero specializes in SME segment with more cost-efficient approach.
Why this matters: Employment Hero has grown to manage $100B+ in annual wages across 144 countries with 2.5M+ employees on its platform, making it one of the largest employment operating systems globally. The February 2025 acquisition of Canadian platform Humi for CAD$100M+ signals aggressive expansion into North America, while recent $250M+ ARR milestone demonstrates strong product-market fit that rivals well-funded competitors like Rippling.
Best for: SMEs in Australia, UK, Canada, and expanding markets that need a unified platform to handle recruitment, payroll, compliance, and employee engagement without piecing together multiple vendor solutions; especially valuable for companies managing distributed or global teams.
Use cases
Autonomous payroll processing across multiple markets
A 500-person company with employees in Australia, UK, and Canada uses Employment Hero to automate complex pay cycles that previously required manual intervention for tax compliance, award interpretation, and statutory reporting. The platform handles 2.5M+ employee payrolls automatically, reducing payroll team workload by 70% and ensuring 100% compliance with local regulations.
Unified recruitment to onboarding workflow
A growing tech startup uses Employment Hero's AI to shortlist candidates automatically, route them through screening, and trigger onboarding workflows—from document collection to benefits enrollment to first-day setup. What previously took 3-4 weeks now completes in 5-7 days with zero manual handoffs.
Global workforce management through EOR
A SaaS company wants to hire engineers in 6 new countries without establishing legal entities. Employment Hero's Global Teams EOR service handles all employer obligations, compliance, and payroll while the company manages employment through a single platform, enabling market entry in weeks instead of months.
Alternatives
Rippling
Choose Rippling if you need IT management and device orchestration alongside HR and payroll; better for tech-forward teams but less specialized in payroll complexity.
Gusto
Choose Gusto if premium UX and employee experience are top priorities; better for US-focused companies but more expensive and less integrated than Employment Hero.
BambooHR
Choose BambooHR if you only need core HR features and plan to integrate payroll separately; lighter-weight than Employment Hero for companies with simpler needs.
FAQ
What does Employment Hero do? +
Employment Hero is an AI-powered Employment Operating System that automates the entire employee lifecycle—recruitment, onboarding, payroll, benefits, tax compliance, and performance management. It serves over 300,000 businesses globally, including an EOR (Employer of Record) service called Global Teams for managing internationally distributed workforces across 144 countries.
How much does Employment Hero cost? +
Employment Hero uses a tiered, usage-based pricing model. EOR services start at $399/employee/month. Recruitment pricing starts at $249/month for 50 interviews or $2,388/year with volume discounts. HR and payroll modules have a minimum of $100/month. Full pricing details require a demo with the sales team, which assesses your specific needs.
What are the main alternatives to Employment Hero? +
Top alternatives include Rippling (broader HR, IT, and finance platform), Gusto (SME-focused with premium UX, stronger in US), BambooHR (HR-only, less integrated payroll), HiBob HRIS (core HR competitor), and Dayforce (enterprise-focused). Employment Hero differentiates through deeper payroll automation, stronger compliance in ANZ markets, and integrated EOR capabilities.
Who uses Employment Hero? +
Employment Hero serves 300,000+ businesses globally, with particular strength in Australia (20,000+ SME customers), the UK, and Canada, processing payroll for 2.5 million employees. Target customers are SMEs with 10-5,000 employees needing integrated HR, payroll, and compliance management, particularly those with distributed or international teams.
How does Employment Hero compare to Rippling? +
Both platforms automate employment workflows, but Rippling focuses on broader administrative automation (HR, IT, finance), while Employment Hero specializes in depth across recruitment, payroll, compliance, and EOR. Employment Hero excels in market-specific payroll complexity (Australian awards, tax compliance), whereas Rippling offers more comprehensive administrative orchestration. Rippling targets tech-forward companies; Employment Hero targets cost-conscious SMEs.
Tags
HRIS
payroll automation
recruitment
EOR
compliance
AI automation
SMB
distributed workforce
employment operating system
global expansion