A sole proprietorship is not a business entity. There is zero difference between a sole proprietor business and a person.

I'm not sure how you got this confused, but it sounds like you need to speak to an accountant.

As far as how you pay people, you just transfer them money from your bank account. All of their accounts will have SWIFT or IBAN numbers or both, and you just transfer the funds.

Your accountant will take care of the rest, and they will be responsible for taxes on their end. No, they will not need to be companies, but you will need to pay them as companies, as these individuals will be responsible for their own expenses typically covered by a business (healthcare, union, taxes, etc.)