Lundi's strongest market in Asia — Manila and Cebu for customer success, executive admin, finance operations, and BD support. Built for US, UK, and Australian companies needing near-universal English fluency, US/UK time-zone coverage, and 60–80% cost reduction versus home market.
The Philippines has built deeper institutional infrastructure for global English-language business services than anywhere outside India. Manila and Cebu employ over 1.4 million in BPO and related sectors. Strong fit for US, UK, and Australian companies hiring for customer success, executive admin, finance operations, BD support, and back-office at scale. Employer-side contributions run roughly 8–12% above gross; all-in cost typically ~20–25% above gross including mandatory 13th-month pay. For companies building teams of 10+, not individual hires.
The Philippines is the global standard for English-language business services. The country has built more institutional infrastructure for international BPO and remote services than anywhere outside India — and the English language fluency, neutral American accent, and cultural alignment with Anglo-Saxon work norms make it different from most Asian alternatives.
Two primary hubs, different specializations.
Metro Manila (Makati, BGC, Ortigas) is the BPO and corporate capital. Concentrix, TaskUs, Foundever (formerly Sitel), Sutherland, and Accenture all run major operations. Senior talent depth is strongest for executive admin, finance operations, customer success management, and B2B sales support. The Big Four (PwC, EY, KPMG, Deloitte) have substantial advisory and audit teams here, providing a steady supply of qualified finance and accounting alumni.
Cebu is the secondary hub with a different culture — typically more retention-stable than Manila, lower cost, strong English, particularly good for customer success engineering, B2B sales, and technical support. Cebu IT Park and Cebu Business Park concentrate the international employers.
Davao, Iloilo, and Clark are tertiary hubs Lundi sources from for specific roles, particularly remote-first arrangements — typically 10–15% below Manila/Cebu cost.
Operating context. The Philippines is on PHT (UTC+8), 13 hours ahead of US East Coast in summer, 12 ahead in winter. Night-shift roles for US business hours are a culturally accepted norm, though attrition is higher on permanent night-shift teams. Day-shift roles for Australian, Asian, or Middle Eastern customers retain better. Philippine English is American-accented, neutral, and grammatically excellent. Internet stability has improved substantially with PLDT and Converge fiber rollout, though typhoon disruption remains a real risk (typically 1–3 days/year impact in Manila). Philippines vs India: Philippines wins on English neutrality, cultural alignment, customer-facing role suitability; India wins on technical depth, scale, and lower senior salaries. Philippines vs Vietnam: Philippines wins on English and BPO ecosystem maturity; Vietnam wins on engineering depth and lower senior cost.
Employer cost reality. Employer-side contributions run roughly 8–12% above gross: SSS (~9.5% capped), PhilHealth (~2.25%), Pag-IBIG fund (~2%). 13th month pay is mandatory — equivalent to one month's salary paid by December 24. Total all-in employer cost typically lands ~20–25% above gross including 13th month and statutory benefits. Mid-level customer success managers run $1,200–$2,500/month all-in; senior CSMs and team leads run $2,500–$4,500/month. Finance and engineering roles run higher — senior engineers $3,500–$6,500/month all-in.
Philippine employment is governed by the Labor Code — protective of employees but generally workable. Termination requires either authorized cause (redundancy, retrenchment, closure) or just cause (serious misconduct, willful disobedience). Severance is calculated at one-half to one month pay per year of service depending on cause.
EOR works well up to 30+ headcount. Lundi's Philippine entity handles compliant employment from first hire onward. SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) registration handled. 13th month pay administered automatically. Statutory holidays (12 regular plus several special non-working), paid sick leave, vacation leave (typically 15 days for >1 year tenure), maternity leave (105 days), paternity leave (7 days), solo parent leave. The EOR ceiling is high in the Philippines — many international employers run hundreds of FTEs through EOR before considering local entity setup.
Local entity makes sense for very large scale (100+ FTE) or when PEZA/BOI incentives matter. A Philippine corporation can register for PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) status — significant income tax holidays and reduced rates on qualifying export-services operations. BOI (Board of Investments) registration provides similar incentives for non-PEZA operations. These structures meaningfully improve unit economics at scale but require PEZA-registered office space and meeting specific export criteria. Lundi's Build–Operate–Transfer pathway can include PEZA/BOI structuring at handover.
TRAIN Law tax treatment. The TRAIN Law (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion, 2018) restructured Philippine personal income tax — the first ₱250,000 of annual income is tax-free, with progressive rates up to 35% on income above ₱8 million. Most Philippine employees fall in the 15–25% effective bracket. Employer is responsible for BIR withholding and quarterly/annual filings.
Why HRBP infrastructure matters. Philippine performance management requires documented coaching, written warnings, and formal hearings (administrative due process) before termination for just cause. Generic EOR platforms typically don't engage with this — leaving you exposed when performance issues need to be addressed. Every Lundi Philippines team includes a named HRBP from day one — culturally fluent, present in your Slack or Teams, running performance management end-to-end.
What it costs to employ someone through Lundi.
Lundi's cost is the all-in cost of the employee — gross salary plus statutory employer contributions plus customary benefits — and a Lundi management fee on top. The management fee depends on team size and scope: smaller teams pay a higher per-head rate, teams of 20+ get materially better unit economics, and Build–Operate–Transfer engagements are structured separately.
The alternative paths look like: setting up your own local entity (meaningful months of legal and accounting work, plus ongoing in-country HR, payroll, and compliance infrastructure), engaging a local recruitment agency on contingency (typically a percentage of first-year compensation, paid once, with no ongoing employment relationship), or hiring as a contractor (lower upfront cost, real misclassification risk in most jurisdictions). Lundi is faster than entity setup, structurally different from contingency recruitment, and lower-risk than contractor arrangements.
Talk to us for specific pricing.
For resignations, employees must provide a minimum of 30 days notice.
The notice period for dismissals over an authorized cause (business or health reasons) is 30 days.
Dismissals over just cause (employee misconduct or neglect) do not require a notice period.
Typical Philippines teams Lundi builds and operates:
Customer Success & Support — Manila or Cebu (15 to 50 people). B2B SaaS customer success managers, technical support engineers, customer onboarding specialists. English fluency near-universal. Mid-level CSMs $1,500–$2,800/month all-in; senior CSMs and team leads $2,800–$5,000/month. Day-shift (Australian, Asian, Middle East) retention is strongest; permanent night-shift US accounts run higher rotation.
Executive Admin & Operations Support — Manila (8 to 25 people). Executive assistants, operations coordinators, scheduling, travel and expense management, light project management for US/UK executives. Mid-level EAs $1,200–$2,500/month all-in; senior chief-of-staff style EAs $2,500–$4,500/month. American-English fluency essential — Philippines is unmatched for this.
Finance & Accounting Operations — Manila or Cebu (10 to 40 people). AP/AR, GL, bank reconciliation, expense management, basic FP&A. Big Four alumni (PwC, EY, KPMG, Deloitte) common. Mid-level accountants $1,500–$3,000/month all-in; senior accountants and finance leads $3,000–$5,500/month.
Sales Development & BD Support — Manila or Cebu (8 to 25 people). SDRs, BDRs, lead research, account research, outbound prospecting for US/UK/AU SaaS companies. Mid-level SDRs $1,500–$3,000/month base plus variable, all-in $30,000–$45,000 per rep annually. Night-shift attrition is the main operational consideration.
Engineering & Technical Operations — Manila or Cebu (10 to 30 people). Backend, full-stack, mobile, DevOps. Strong English. Mid-level engineers $2,500–$5,000/month all-in; senior engineers and tech leads $5,000–$8,500/month. Smaller senior engineering pool than India or Vietnam, but high English and cultural alignment with Anglo-Saxon work norms.
Five things distinguish Lundi from an EOR platform operating in the Philippines:
1. Local recruiters who source from the BPO alumni pool. Lundi recruiters in Manila and Cebu know the major Philippine employers — which Concentrix, TaskUs, Sutherland, and Foundever teams are 18 months in and ready to move; which Big Four alumni are looking for international principal-side work; which Cebu IT Park engineering teams are losing senior people. After placement, the pipeline stays warm — turnover predicted, not reacted to.
2. Dedicated Philippine entity, not a shared employment pool. Lundi employs through its own Philippine corporation, not a co-employed marketplace pool. Where significant scale is in view, we can structure the entity for PEZA or BOI registration for qualifying export-services operations. Build-Operate-Transfer pathway includes entity-level structuring.
3. An embedded HRBP, not a support ticket. Every Lundi Philippines team has a named HRBP — culturally fluent, present in your Slack or Teams, attending standups, running onboarding, managing performance, conducting due-process disciplinary actions when required. Philippine employment law requires documented performance management; generic EOR platforms leave you exposed.
4. Hyperlocal operations. Lundi has physical presence in the Philippines. Workspace from major Manila/Cebu business district coworking spaces through to dedicated fitted floors. Equipment procurement local. Health benefits sourced through Maxicare, Medicard, or Intellicare — Philippine white-collar standard, not generic international cover. Internet redundancy (PLDT + Converge or backup) standard for client-facing roles.
5. Rooted, not distributed. Philippines is one of Lundi's core operational markets. The recruiter network across Manila and Cebu is staffed by Lundi employees, has been built over years, and stays current with the BPO ecosystem dynamics.
Lundi works with companies building teams of 10 or more across business, technical, and operational functions . Not for one-off hires or individual placements.
EOR platforms employ individuals for you. Lundi recruits, employs, and operates concentrated teams — including day-to-day management, HR, and an optional path to your own entity. It's the operating model for companies that have outgrown the EOR ceiling.
