Temporary staffing or contract for work: which model fits your company?

Anyone who needs staff at short notice faces the same question: which contract model fits? Four routes are available, and they differ not only in price but in their legal consequences. Temporary staffing and staff leasing bring flexibility, direct placement leads to a permanent hire, contracts for work and subcontracting deliver defined work packages. The choice determines who gives instructions, who carries the employer obligations and what an audit will look at.

In staff leasing, legally temporary staffing (German AÜG, Arbeitnehmerüberlassung), the workers are deployed at your company for exactly the period you need reinforcement. The lender and employer is a licensed partner company that carries the employer obligations: minimum wage, collective agreements, social insurance and payroll tax all run through that company. Arbeitina acts as intermediary and coordinator, and your company remains the client site with the duties that arise there. Semi-skilled workers and production helpers, including licensed forklift drivers, cost €22.50 net per hour, skilled helpers for assembly and metalwork from €26.90, certified welders from €31.00; these are indicative rates, binding in the quote. Accommodation, vehicle and transport costs as well as overtime without surcharges are included as per quote.

Direct placement is the route to a permanent hire. You employ the worker yourself, while we find, vet and place them. The process covers the requirement analysis, candidate selection with CV screening, references and a personal interview, contract and document coordination as well as integration at your location. EU citizens are often ready to work within a few days; depending on the profile, recruitment usually takes 2 to 6 weeks.

A contract for work (Werkvertrag) works on a fundamentally different basis: you order a result, that is a work package, a quantity or a finished section. Three characteristics draw a clean line to temporary staffing. The contractor works independently and organizes the crew itself, there are no instructions from your company, and payment is a lump sum or by milestone rather than by the hour. That lets you hand over entire work packages without managing additional staff.

Subcontracting is the answer when orders grow faster than your own workforce. Before we place a subcontractor, it has to submit these documents to us: trade and tax registration, A1 certificates where required, work and residence permits of the workers deployed, contracts with a clear scope and references from comparable projects. These teams work in building and interior works, in industrial and plant assembly, and in warehousing and handling logistics.

One point decides more often than people expect: where the workers come from. Temporary staffing is reserved for workers with an EU passport. Staff from Vietnam, India, Nepal, Pakistan or Central Asia are therefore deployed through service, contract-for-work and subcontracting models, not as temporary staffing. Anyone recruiting internationally chooses the model not only for flexibility but for the legal framework.

Our recommendation therefore follows the project situation and the contractual arrangement, never a sales interest. We design every model so that it is clearly separated from bogus self-employment and disguised labor leasing; the legal assessment in the individual case remains with your company. Describe the assignment, the number of workers and the period, and you will receive an honest assessment of which model holds up commercially and contractually.