Did you know:
- UK businesses can hire full-time back-office employees abroad without visas or sponsorship.
- Local partners, like an Employer of Record (EOR), manage contracts, payroll, and compliance.
- Labour costs can be 30–60% lower while still getting access to skilled people.
- Hiring abroad is often much faster than UK-based recruitment.
- This approach is especially relevant for SMEs, startups, and scale-ups.
Why is this interesting for UK companies
Hiring in the UK has become more difficult in recent years.
Post Brexit visa rules and regulations keep rising, making it expensive for small and medium companies to sponsor foreign staff. At the same time, many sectors face skill shortages, particularly in support functions like (finance) administration, customer service, HR, and marketing.
Post Brexit visa rules and regulations keep rising, making it expensive for small and medium companies to sponsor foreign staff. At the same time, many sectors face skill shortages, particularly in support functions like (finance) administration, customer service, HR, and marketing.
But there is another way: instead of bringing workers to the UK, you can hire them where they already live. This means no visas, no relocation, and certainly no need to set up your own local entity and office abroad.
At Bridgeshore, we live and work in Portugal ourselves. We see every day how international companies benefit from building a remote team here.
What do we mean with a back-office team?
Back-office staff keep a business running smoothly, even if customers rarely see them. Typical roles include:
- Finance & accounting: bookkeepers, payroll support
- HR: recruitment coordination, training assistance
- Administration: scheduling, reporting, data entry
- Customer support: email or chat support
- IT support: helpdesk, monitoring
- Marketing support: content assistants, social media moderation, SEO/SEA specialist
These roles can often be done from anywhere, which makes them ideal for remote hiring.
Why hiring in Portugal makes sense
1. Access to skilled people
Since Brexit, many UK companies struggle to fill roles locally. By looking abroad, you expand your search to highly capable professionals who are motivated to work with international businesses. Portugal, for example, has a strong talent pool with high English proficiency, cultural alignment with Europe, and excellent digital skills. Especially since the area around Lisbon is known to be an ideal location where the quality of work/life balance is high. It works as a magnet for young professionals.
Since Brexit, many UK companies struggle to fill roles locally. By looking abroad, you expand your search to highly capable professionals who are motivated to work with international businesses. Portugal, for example, has a strong talent pool with high English proficiency, cultural alignment with Europe, and excellent digital skills. Especially since the area around Lisbon is known to be an ideal location where the quality of work/life balance is high. It works as a magnet for young professionals.
2. Lower employment costs
In Portugal and other countries with lower living costs, salaries are more affordable compared to the UK. Depending on the role, total costs can be 30–50% less. At the same time, you still get professional, qualified staff who meet international standards. Especially for SMEs, startups, and scale-ups this means saving on the employee costs.
In Portugal and other countries with lower living costs, salaries are more affordable compared to the UK. Depending on the role, total costs can be 30–50% less. At the same time, you still get professional, qualified staff who meet international standards. Especially for SMEs, startups, and scale-ups this means saving on the employee costs.
3. Faster hiring
Recruiting in the UK often takes months. With a partner like Bridgeshore, where local recruitment is part of their services, the whole process – from search, interviews, contract to payroll – can be ready in a few weeks. This is useful for companies that need extra people quickly, for example to handle seasonal demand or new projects.
Recruiting in the UK often takes months. With a partner like Bridgeshore, where local recruitment is part of their services, the whole process – from search, interviews, contract to payroll – can be ready in a few weeks. This is useful for companies that need extra people quickly, for example to handle seasonal demand or new projects.
4. Flexible scale
Building a team abroad gives you more flexibility. You can start small, expand when you need more capacity, and adjust again if your situation changes. There are no long-term obligations like office space or complicated redundancy processes. Bridgeshore offers a great office space close to Lisbon, where your team can sit and work together as a genuine part of your company.
Building a team abroad gives you more flexibility. You can start small, expand when you need more capacity, and adjust again if your situation changes. There are no long-term obligations like office space or complicated redundancy processes. Bridgeshore offers a great office space close to Lisbon, where your team can sit and work together as a genuine part of your company.
5. Same time zone coverage
With a team in Portugal, your support team is available while you work, during UK (and European) office hours. Customer support, IT helpdesk, or finance can be reached directly when necessary. Off course the normal office hours can be extended on request, we can help create a flexible team that thrives for you. This creates efficiency for your company and better service for your customers.
With a team in Portugal, your support team is available while you work, during UK (and European) office hours. Customer support, IT helpdesk, or finance can be reached directly when necessary. Off course the normal office hours can be extended on request, we can help create a flexible team that thrives for you. This creates efficiency for your company and better service for your customers.
The challenges of hiring abroad – and how to solve them
Of course, hiring abroad is not as simple as signing a contract. Every country has its own labour laws, tax rules, and compliance requirements. Misclassifying staff as freelancers can lead to penalties. Payroll is more complex when dealing with different rules and benefits. And if staff handle customer data, GDPR compliance is essential.
This is why a lot of multinational companies work with an Employer of Record (EOR). The EOR is the legal employer in the local country and takes care of contracts, payroll, compliance, and benefits. You, as the business, manage the daily work.
For many SMEs, startups, and scale-ups, hiring abroad can feel like something only big multinationals can manage. But with Bridgeshore’s personal service and our way of working side by side with clients as partners, it becomes very possible. And because employment costs are lower here, it can even be the smarter choice for smaller companies.
Why Bridgeshore believes in this modelWe (Eva de Vette and Hiltje Berghuis) are the founders of Bridgeshore, a boutique agency based in Portugal. We built our own lives here, and this gives us the opportunity to offer a personal approach.We see our clients not as customers but as partners. Our role is to help their remote teams thrive. Because we are small and personal, we can provide more than just a service contract – we make sure the people you hire are supported, connected, and successful.
Conclusion
For UK companies, big or small, building a back-office team abroad is no longer just acost-saving option – it is becoming a smart business strategy.
It solvesskill shortages, reduces overhead, speeds up hiring, and creates flexibility. They work remote, but with Bridgeshore’s EOR and in-office service, they work and sit together as your team.
Portugal is an excellent location to start, with skilled professionals, good language abilities, lower labor costs, and a time zone close to the UK.
With the right support, you can build a reliable team here without the need for sponsorship or a local entity.
At Bridgeshore, we believe this model works because we live it ourselves. We know the value of building bridges across borders and making remote work truly effective.
