Written contracts in Philippines are effectively mandatory for EOR hiring, and the EOR signs them as the legal employer. Your company signs a separate service agreement.
The contract sets out role, salary in PHP, working time, leave, notice and any restrictive covenants. The EOR is the counterparty to the employee, which is what removes the need for your own entity.
Contracts must be executed in a language understood by the employee. For white-collar, BPO, tech, and EOR remote hires, English is an official national language of the Philippines and serves as the standard legal medium. A local-language (Filipino/Tagalog) or bilingual version is only required by DOLE if the worker cannot read or comprehend English.
Fixed-term contracts are treated cautiously. Repeated renewals can convert an engagement into an indefinite one, and most EORs will default to indefinite terms.