BEFORE YOUR FIRST EUROPEAN HIRE SIGNS
Build the Employment Documents Your European Team Will Grow On
Your first European clinical, regulatory, quality or operations hire is ready.
Your HR infrastructure may not be.
Europe HR Solutions creates country-specific employment contracts, offer documents and essential HR documentation for early-stage pharma and biotech companies.
You can hire confidently without copying US templates, relying entirely on EOR paperwork or building a full European HR function.
THE FIRST CONTRACT SETS THE PRECEDENT
An urgent first hire can create years of inconsistent employment terms.
Your first European hire is rarely part of a perfectly sequenced HR plan.
A clinical site is opening. A regulatory milestone is approaching. A funding round has released new headcount. A strong candidate is ready, but needs an offer now.
Without established European HR infrastructure, the documents are often assembled from whatever is available:
- A US employment agreement
- An EOR template
- A contract borrowed from another company
- Terms drafted directly with the candidate
- A global policy written for a much larger organization
- Separate documents produced by different local providers
The first employee starts.
Those documents are then copied for the second hire, adjusted for another country and reused without one controlled company standard.
That is when startups discover:
- The offer letter and contract promise different terms.
- Probation, notice, leave and working-time provisions are incomplete.
- Intellectual property and invention language has not been properly localized.
- Bonus and equity arrangements are referenced inconsistently.
- Remote and hybrid working terms exist only in email.
- Privacy notices and onboarding acknowledgements are missing.
- EOR employees and direct hires receive conflicting terms.
- Candidate-specific exceptions have quietly become company precedent.
- Nobody knows which document version is current.
The risk is not just that one document is wrong.
It is that the company starts building its European team on terms it never intentionally chose.
Years of Experience
27+
Countries
NOT A CONTRACT TEMPLATE SERVICE
One startup employment standard, localized for every hiring country.
A template provider can send you a document.
A local advisor can prepare one contract for one country.
Europe HR Solutions builds the documentation system behind your first European team.
We determine:
- What should remain consistent – Confidentiality, intellectual property, compensation principles, company property, data handling and core working expectations.
- What must change locally – Mandatory terms, probation, working time, leave, sickness, notice, termination and execution requirements.
- What your life sciences roles need protected – Sensitive research, pipeline information, clinical data, inventions, regulatory knowledge and other business-critical intellectual property.
- How every document works together – The offer letter, employment agreement, privacy notice, policies and onboarding documents should tell one consistent story.
- How the documents remain controlled – Your team receives approved versions, clear ownership and guidance on what can and cannot be changed.
Where formal legal advice is required, we coordinate with your existing counsel or the appropriate local legal specialist.
ONE FOUNDATION, FOUR STEPS
How We Make Your First European Team Contract-Ready
Scope the Hiring Model
Step 1
We establish how each proposed hire will actually work.
This includes:
- Hiring country
- Role and responsibilities
- Employing entity or EOR
- Reporting line
- Work location
- Remote or hybrid arrangements
- Working pattern
- Compensation and bonus
- Equity participation
- Planned start date
- Clinical, regulatory or operational responsibilities
Output: one clear document-requirements map for the first hiring countries.
Define the Startup Standard
Step 2
We establish the terms that should remain consistent across the European team.
These can include:
- Offer structure
- Role and reporting provisions
- Confidentiality
- Intellectual property and inventions
- Compensation language
- Bonus and equity references
- Data protection
- Remote-working expectations
- Company property
- Policy references
Output: one company-wide European documentation framework.
Localize Each Country Pack
Step 3
We adapt the framework for each hiring country.
The review can cover:
- Mandatory employment terms
- Probation
- Working hours and overtime
- Holiday and statutory leave
- Sick leave
- Notice and termination
- Post-termination restrictions
- Collective or industry requirements
- Employee privacy notices
- Language and signing requirements
Output: ready-to-issue country-specific employment document packs.
Put the System Into Use
Step 4
We organize the documents so founders, finance leaders, fractional HR support or the first People hire can use them confidently.
You receive:
- Approved templates
- A document register
- Version control
- A hiring checklist
- Guidance on candidate-specific changes
- Review triggers
- Support when another country or employment model is added
Output: a repeatable document system for the next stage of European hiring.
Over the past 15 years, we have served 250+ clients
WHAT YOU CAN USE ON DAY ONE
The Core Documents Behind a Confident First Hire
Country-Specific Employment Agreement
A contract aligned with the role, hiring structure and local requirements.
Coordinated Offer and Onboarding Pack
Offer documents, required employee information and onboarding acknowledgements that work together.
Life Sciences IP and Confidentiality Documents
Clear protection for confidential information, inventions, research and other business-critical knowledge.
Hiring Guide and Document Register
Clear instructions showing which documents to use, who approves changes and when templates need review.
BUILT FOR LEAN LIFE SCIENCES TEAMS
Who Brings Us In
Founders and operators making the first European hires
Founders, CEOs and COOs hiring clinical, regulatory, quality, medical or operational talent in Europe without an internal European HR function.
The candidate is ready. The business milestone is fixed. Employment documents cannot become the reason the start date slips.
The first People or legal leader building from zero
The first Head of People, fractional HR lead, General Counsel or finance leader who has inherited no reliable European documentation infrastructure.
They need documents that work for the immediate hire while creating a controlled foundation for the next countries and employees.
Common triggers include: first European employee, clinical-site stand-up, newly funded hiring plan, EOR-to-entity transition, board or investor request and expansion into a second European country.
Build the Foundation Before Hiring Accelerates
SCOPED TO YOUR FIRST HIRING MILESTONE
Three Ways to Build Your European Employment Foundation
Tier 1: First-Country Foundation
Build the documentation behind the first European hire.
Includes:
- Hiring-model and role scoping
- Country-specific employment agreement
- Coordinated offer letter
- Privacy and onboarding documents
- Core confidentiality and IP provisions
- First-hire document checklist
- Senior HR review before issue
For startups entering their first European hiring country.
Tier 2: Multi-Country Hiring System
Create one controlled framework across the first European markets.
Everything in the First-Country Foundation, plus:
- Document packs for multiple countries
- Consistent company-wide core clauses
- Country-specific localization
- Remote and hybrid working documents
- Core working-time and leave policies
- Employee privacy documentation
- Document register and version control
- Guidance for founders, finance and People teams
For startups building teams across two or more European countries.
Tier 3: Documentation Through Early Scale
Keep the foundation controlled as the company grows.
Everything in the Multi-Country Hiring System, plus:
- New-country document packs
- Contract amendments
- Promotion and role-change documents
- Compensation and bonus updates
- EOR-to-entity transition support
- Policy additions as headcount grows
- Ongoing document maintenance
- Continued senior European HR support
For companies that need scalable employment infrastructure before they need a full internal European HR team.
TESTIMONIAL
Trusted by Lean Life Sciences Teams
I’ve been using Europe HR Solutions in countries where the team size doesn’t justify hiring a local HR professional, allowing us to maintain a lean HR organization. This solution has been fantastic, offering a high level of expertise. Not only do I benefit from exceptional support, but the HR consultants also provide valuable insights into best practices. The team is engaged, available, and knowledgeable. I highly recommend their services to any company seeking top-quality HR support.
Anouck Cerdan Boillat
Head of People at BridgeBio
Frequently Asked Questions About European Employment Documents
1. What documents do we need before making our first European hire?
The exact requirements depend on the country, role and employment model.
Most first-hire packs include an employment agreement, coordinated offer letter, required employee information, privacy documentation and relevant onboarding acknowledgements.
We first map the hire and then confirm exactly what must be ready.
2. Can we use our US employment agreement in Europe?
A US agreement can help us understand your commercial terms, compensation structure and preferred company standards.
It should not simply be issued to a European employee. Mandatory terms, intellectual property, working time, leave, notice and other provisions must be adapted to the hiring country.
3. How should intellectual property and invention rights be documented?
The approach depends on the employee’s role and hiring country.
For life sciences companies, it is especially important to document confidentiality, inventions, research outputs, clinical information and ownership expectations clearly. Country-specific legal review may also be required.
4. Can you support both EOR employees and direct hires?
Yes.
We can review how EOR documentation fits with your company documents and prepare country-specific packs for employees hired through your own local entities.
The goal is to avoid unnecessary inconsistencies between people performing comparable roles.
5. How quickly can the first-hire documents be prepared?
Timing depends on the country, role, hiring model and complexity of the proposed terms.
Urgent packs can be prioritized once the required company and candidate information is available. Any local legal review must also be included in the timeline.
6. What happens when we hire in another European country?
We use the approved company framework as the starting point and localize it for the new country.
This makes expansion faster and more controlled than rebuilding the documentation from zero each time.
Get Your First European Hire Contract-Ready
Europe HR Solutions helps early-stage pharma and biotech companies create the employment documents needed to begin hiring in Europe.
We work with founders, operators, People leaders, legal teams and finance leaders who need country-specific documents without building a full internal European HR function.
Consider this…
- Is your first European candidate ready for an offer?
- Are you relying on a US agreement or an EOR template?
- Are you hiring clinical, regulatory, quality or medical roles?
- Do you know which employee documents are locally required?
- Are intellectual property, privacy and remote-working terms properly documented?
- Will the first contract still work when the fifth employee joins?
Learn more about the services offered by Europe HR Solutions.
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