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Senior HR Compliance & Escalations Specialist – EMEA

RemotePeople

Fully Remote
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antarctica, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the, Cook Islands, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czechia, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Southern Territories, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Holy See (Vatican City State), Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Palestine, State of, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Åland Islands
South Africa
US hours

Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants

This fully remote full time position at RemotePeople explicitly welcomes applicants based in South Africa. This role is suited for senior-level professionals. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.

Job Description

AboutRemote PeopleAtRemote People, we're building theinfrastructure to power borderless teams. By handling global payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance, our technology enables businesses to hire anyone anywhere compliantly at the push of a button.If you're interested in adding toour vision of enabling people to work in dream jobs, for every company, and from anywhere in the world, apply now!We're committed to building a global, diverse team representing different and varied backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We welcome applications from everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, civil or family status, age, or disability. Being part ofRemote Peoplemeans being part of a growing, international family.

AboutRemote People

AtRemote People, we're building theinfrastructure to power borderless teams. By handling global payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance, our technology enables businesses to hire anyone anywhere compliantly at the push of a button.

If you're interested in adding toour vision of enabling people to work in dream jobs, for every company, and from anywhere in the world, apply now!

We're committed to building a global, diverse team representing different and varied backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We welcome applications from everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, civil or family status, age, or disability. Being part ofRemote Peoplemeans being part of a growing, international family.

About the RoleRemote Peopleis looking for a Senior HR Compliance & Escalations Specialist to join our EMEA Support team.This is a senior, employee- and client-facing HR Operations role for someone who enjoys solving complex employment challenges, not simply routing questions to other teams. You will be the escalation point for high-priority cases that require sound judgement, strong compliance knowledge and calm, clear communication.You will support a broad range of employee lifecycle matters, including contracts, leave, payroll and benefits queries, employee relations and offboarding. A key part of the role is being able to assess the situation, understand the local employment risk and provide a practical answer or recommendation directly. While you will partner closely with Payroll, Legal, Compliance and local providers when needed, you will take ownership of driving cases through to resolution.You will also help strengthen the wider Support function by identifying recurring issues, improving processes and creating clear guidance that enables the team to prevent avoidable escalations.This role is ideal for a hands-on HR Operations professional with strong multi-country EMEA compliance experience, particularly across Spain, France and German, who can confidently de-escalate sensitive employee or client concerns and deliver an excellent support experience in a fast-paced, remote environment.Job ResponsibilitiesAct as the senior escalation point for complex employee and client HR queries across EMEA, taking ownership from initial assessment through to a clear, compliant resolution.Provide practical, accurate guidance on employment compliance, contracts, leave, benefits, payroll-related queries, employee relations and offboarding.Independently assess risk and resolve high-priority cases wherever possible, reducing unnecessary reliance on external providers or internal specialist teams.Apply strong working knowledge of employment practices across key EMEA countries—particularly Spain, France and Germany—to provide timely, actionable answers.Lead sensitive employee and client conversations by phone or video when written communication is not sufficient, using empathy and sound judgement to de-escalate concerns and restore trust.Work closely with Payroll, Legal, Compliance, Operations and local providers when specialist input is required; provide clear case context, recommendations and next steps to drive resolution efficiently.Manage a varied case queue through tickets and email, prioritising urgent issues and ensuring cases are documented accurately and resolved within agreed service levels.Identify recurring case themes, investigate root causes and create practical SOPs, knowledge-base guidance and process improvements to prevent repeat escalations.Support and coach junior support team members on complex cases, compliance principles and best practices for case ownership and communication.Maintain clear, audit-ready case documentation, including risk considerations, decisions taken, stakeholder input and employee/client communications.Key Qualifications5+ years of progressive HR Operations, Employee Relations, EOR, PEO, HR shared services or employment-compliance experience in a multi-country EMEA environment.Strong hands-on knowledge of employment compliance and employee lifecycle processes, with direct experience supporting Spain, France and Germany strongly preferred.Demonstrated experience independently resolving complex esca

Tips for South African Applicants

Timezone Advantage

South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.

Salary in Context

Even without a listed salary, international remote roles typically pay 2-3x more than equivalent local positions in South Africa due to the exchange rate advantage.

Application Tips

Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.

Load Shedding Preparedness

If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.

About RemotePeople

RemotePeople is a company in the Human Resources industry that hires remote workers from South Africa. They currently have 3 open positions on Hirezar. View all RemotePeople jobs →