In this article
Key takeaways
A leased worker in Germany is entitled to equal pay from day one; a collective agreement for agency work can usually defer it on wages for only nine months, and with step-by-step increases for at most 15 months. The same worker may work for you for no more than 18 consecutive months, and earlier assignments count if the gap was no longer than three months. If the cap is exceeded, the worker is deemed to be your employee; with an agency from Slovenia, the German permit, the construction ban and the twelve-month rule of the AEntG apply as well.
In Germany a leased worker is entitled from day one to the same essential working conditions and the same pay as your comparable employees. A collective agreement for agency work can usually defer equal pay for only the first nine months, and the same worker may work for you for no more than 18 consecutive months.
Both rules are in the AÜG (Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz), Germany's Temporary Agency Work Act. They also apply when the staffing agency is based in Slovenia. This guide shows how the periods are counted, what you must do yourself as the user company, and what happens if you overrun. For how labour leasing works as a whole, see our page labour leasing explained.
When does equal pay apply to agency workers?
Equal pay applies from the first day of the assignment. For the time with you, the agency must give the worker the essential working conditions, pay included, that apply to your comparable employee (§ 8(1) AÜG, the equal treatment principle). If the agency pays the collectively agreed wage your comparable employee receives, the pay is presumed to be equal.
There is one exception, and it has fixed limits:
- Collective agreement for agency work: it may deviate from equal treatment (§ 8(2) AÜG). If the agency is not bound by it, the agency and the worker can agree to apply it within its scope.
- Nine months: on pay, the agreement may deviate only for the first nine months of an assignment to the same user company. From the tenth month, equal pay applies, unless the agreement meets the 15-month rule below (§ 8(4) AÜG).
- Up to 15 months: a longer deviation is allowed only if the agreement raises pay in steps after an induction of no more than six weeks. After 15 months at the latest, pay must reach the level the agreement defines as equivalent to the collectively agreed wage in your industry.
- Former employees: if the worker was employed by you or your group in the last six months, no deviation applies. They get equal pay from day one (§ 8(3) AÜG).
- Floor: no agreement may go below the minimum hourly pay for agency work that can be set by ordinance under § 3a AÜG. Separately, the German statutory minimum wage applies: €13.90 gross per hour since 1 January 2026.
Earlier assignments of the same worker with you count towards the nine months, even if a different agency sent them. This applies as long as no gap between assignments is longer than three months (§ 8(4) AÜG).
What the user company contributes to equal pay
The agency pays the wage. But it can only pay equally if it knows what your comparable employee earns. That is why you must state three things in the leasing contract (§ 12(1) AÜG):
- the particular features of the job,
- the professional qualification it requires,
- the essential working conditions, pay included, that apply to a comparable employee in your business.
You can leave out the third item only where a collective agreement for agency work lawfully deviates under § 8(2) and (4) AÜG. If you give your staff benefits in kind, such as meals or a company car, the agency may compensate their value in euros (§ 8(1) AÜG).
In practice: give the agency your pay scale and the supplements for the job before it quotes. A quote made without them is not based on the wage the worker must receive. How pay drives the hourly rate is explained in our article what the price of agency workers covers.
How long can an agency worker stay with you?
For no more than 18 consecutive months (§ 1(1b) AÜG). The limit applies per worker and per user company, not per project and not per agency. It binds both sides: the agency may not assign the worker for longer, and you may not let them work for longer.
- Earlier assignments count: previous assignments of the same worker with you count in full, also through another agency, if no gap between them is longer than three months. Changing agency does not restart the clock.
- Fresh start: if more than three months pass between two assignments, the count starts again.
- A different cap: a collective agreement in your industry may set a different maximum. If you are not bound by it, you can adopt that rule within its scope through a works agreement (Betriebsvereinbarung), a written agreement between you and your works council (Betriebsrat). Where the collective agreement allows the cap to be set this way, a business not bound by it may go up to 24 months, unless the agreement sets a different limit for that.
- No chain leasing: only an employer that employs the worker itself may assign them (§ 1(1) AÜG). An agency may not pass on workers that were themselves leased to it.
What happens if the 18 months are exceeded?
The employment contract between the agency and the worker becomes void (§ 9(1) no. 1b AÜG). Instead, an employment relationship between you and the worker is deemed to exist (§ 10(1) AÜG). You become their employer without having signed an employment contract.
The worker can prevent this. Within one month of the overrun, they must declare in writing that they want to stay with their agency (Festhaltenserklärung, a declaration that they keep their contract with the agency). They must first present it in person at a German employment agency (Agentur für Arbeit), and it must reach the agency or you by the third day after that (§ 9(2) AÜG).
The same consequence follows if the agency has no permit. It also follows if the contract does not expressly call the arrangement labour leasing (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung) or does not name the worker before the assignment starts (§ 9(1) nos. 1 and 1a AÜG).
Fines come on top. An agency that assigns a worker beyond the cap faces up to €30,000. An agency that does not grant equal working conditions faces up to €500,000 (§ 16 AÜG).
You can be fined up to €30,000 yourself (§ 16(1) nos. 1a, 1c, 1d and 1f AÜG). This applies if you use workers from an agency without a permit, or if the contract does not call the arrangement labour leasing or name the worker in time. It also applies if leased workers do manual work in your construction business.
What changes when the agency is based in Slovenia
For an agency based in Slovenia, equal pay and the 18 months apply in the same way. Four further points should be settled before the first assignment.
- German permit: an agency from abroad also needs the labour leasing permit of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) (§ 1 AÜG). In the contract it must state whether it holds one (§ 12(1) AÜG). Evroproces d.o.o. has held this permit since 30 April 2025, extended to 29 April 2027. Which other documents to check is set out in our checklist for a Slovenian staffing partner.
- Contract in text form: the leasing contract must be in text form, for example an email; a handwritten signature is not required (§ 12(1) AÜG). It must expressly call the arrangement labour leasing, and each worker must be named with reference to the contract before the assignment.
- No leasing into construction: workers may generally not be leased into construction businesses for work usually done by manual workers (§ 1b AÜG). That is why we always carry out construction work in Germany as project work by EP Montaža d.o.o. under a contract for work (Werkvertrag). The difference is explained in labour leasing or contract for work.
- A second deadline at twelve months: § 13b AEntG, the Posted Workers Act, sets a second deadline for employers based abroad, leasing included. After twelve months of work in Germany, the worker also gets the working conditions that German law and generally binding collective agreements set at the place of work. Two things are excluded: the rules on concluding and ending the contract, and company pensions. If the employer notifies German customs of the reasons before the twelve months end, this applies only after 18 months. How that notification works is explained in extending a posting in Germany from 12 to 18 months.
Timeline for a long assignment
For the same worker whose assignment with you is never interrupted for more than three months, the timeline looks like this:
| When | What applies | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Before day one | Contract in text form, called labour leasing, worker named; your details on the job, qualification and comparable pay | Agency and you |
| From day one | Equal pay, unless a collective agreement for agency work lawfully deviates | Agency |
| From the tenth month | Equal pay, unless an agreement with step-by-step increases applies | Agency |
| After twelve months | Additional German working conditions under § 13b AEntG; after a notification to customs, only after 18 months | Agency as employer |
| After 15 months at the latest | Equivalent pay as defined in the agreement | Agency |
| After 18 months | The assignment ends, unless a collective rule in your industry allows longer | Agency and you |
Before you sign, settle these points in writing with your agency:
- which pay rule applies, equal pay from day one or a collective agreement for agency work, and if so which one,
- who counts the months per worker, including earlier assignments with you through other agencies,
- how a worker is replaced before the cap is reached.
Next step
If your assignment may last longer than nine months, give the expected duration in your enquiry. Then the pay rule and the deadlines can be settled before the quote, not during the assignment.
For a quote we need the trade and the certificates required, the number of workers, the place of work, the start date and duration, and your pay scale for comparable work. We reply to enquiries within 24 hours. You can send your request on the page hire workers.
This article describes the law as of 20 October 2026. It is not legal advice for an individual case.
Sources & further reading
- 01Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz (AÜG) § 1 — Erlaubnispflicht, Überlassungshöchstdauer (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 02AÜG § 1b — Einschränkungen im Baugewerbe (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 03AÜG § 8 — Grundsatz der Gleichstellung (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 04AÜG § 9 — Unwirksamkeit, Festhaltenserklärung (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 05AÜG § 10 — Rechtsfolgen bei Unwirksamkeit (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 06AÜG § 12 — Rechtsbeziehungen zwischen Verleiher und Entleiher, Textform (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 07AÜG § 16 — Ordnungswidrigkeiten (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 08Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (AEntG) § 13b — Langzeitentsendung (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 09Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (AEntG) § 2 — Allgemeine Arbeitsbedingungen, Abs. 2 Überlassung (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 10Fünfte Mindestlohnanpassungsverordnung (MiLoV5) § 1 — 13,90 € ab 1. Januar 2026 (gesetze-im-internet.de, read 20 October 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
