Temporary work, agency work or temporary employment means that an employee is hired out by an employer to a third party for remuneration and for a limited period of time. The employer becomes the lender and the third party becomes the borrower. You can find out what you need to consider as a lender or hirer here.
1) Who has to apply for a permit for temporary employment?
If you would like to operate temporary workers on a commercial basis in Germany - i.e. as a hirer, you have to apply for the so-called license for temporary workers as a necessary requirement. Approval for temporary employment must be given before you start business operations and serve customer orders. You apply for the ANÜ permit at your local Federal Employment Agency. Responsibility depends on your company's headquarters.
2) What do I do without my own business address in Germany?
Since the permit for temporary employment is a prerequisite for the operative start as a temporary employment agency, founders usually take care of the application for the license very early on. That is praiseworthy, but at this point often no office space is rented that can be given as a business address in the application.
If the lease agreement for your office space has not yet been signed, you can temporarily submit your application to your private address. Once you have your business rental agreement, change your address.
Our recommendation to you: If you can foresee that you will conclude the rental agreement in the near future, you better wait with the application. Why? Otherwise, you will have to put in a lot of effort subsequently to adapt all of your address data in your documents.
3) Is the temporary employment permit?
In the first three years of your self-employment as a personnel service provider, the permit for commercial leasing is initially limited to one year. You must submit the application for an extension of the license no later than three months before it expires.
It is now the turn of the Federal Employment Agency to grant you a new ANÜ license. After three years in operational business, you have the option of applying for an unlimited permit.
4) What do you have to pay attention to when hiring temporary workers?
If you as a company would like to employ temporary workers, you must ensure that all legal requirements are met. During tax audits, supra-regional audit teams check whether these requirements are met. Important points in connection with temporary employment are for example:
- Temporary employment contract: This regulates all framework conditions for temporary employment and must comply with the Temporary Employment Act. The personnel service provider must state whether he has a permit for temporary employment.
- Personnel service provider: Have current references from the personnel service provider presented to you. How to check whether you are dealing with a reliable partner.
- Principle of equality: It must be ensured that the equality of temporary workers and permanent employees is guaranteed in accordance with the law.
- Minimum working conditions: you must ensure that the temporary workers are correctly grouped. Other important aspects are the granting of minimum wages, remuneration benefits (including for periods of non-employment), vacation, compliance with the minimum wage and the payment of social security contributions.
5) Do I need a permit to hire out workers?
If you as a company want to hire out workers yourself, you need a permit.
A permit is not required for:
- Temporary employment in the same branch of industry in order to avoid short-time work or layoffs, if a collective agreement provides for this
- Delegations to a working group for the production of a work
- intra-group leasing if the employee is not hired and employed for the purpose of leasing
- occasional leasing between employers if the employee is not hired and employed for the purpose of leasing
- a so-called provision of personnel in the public service, which is carried out on the basis of a collective agreement
- Assignments between legal entities under public law, provided that collective agreements under public law or regulations of the public religious communities apply
- Lending abroad in a German-foreign joint venture founded on the basis of international agreements
6) How long does it take to apply for the AüG license?
The official processing time for your application is three months. It can take five months or more until you receive your official certificate and are officially allowed to start hiring out your employees.
Generally speaking, various factors have an effect on the time frame, which often cannot be influenced. On the one hand, it depends on the location of the Federal Employment Agency and the person responsible for you. On the other hand, the time of application can be relevant.
Experience has shown that it can take a little longer towards the end of the year, for example - this is probably related to the vacation time, as in other companies.
Learn more about how we help foreign companies to temporary employee workers in Germany.
