In this article
Key takeaways
An agency worker's hourly rate starts from your pay for comparable work, because the worker must be paid under your collective agreement and internal rules. On top of gross pay, the law adds 17.10% employer contributions, a holiday allowance of at least one minimum wage, paid leave, public holidays, shorter sick leave and meal and commuting allowances. Offers differ mainly on accommodation, travel, equipment, supplements, minimum volume and the agency's service, so compare them on the same points.
An agency worker's hourly rate is made up of the pay your company gives for comparable work, plus the employer's legal costs and the agency's service.
This guide explains which part of the hourly rate the law sets, which part is negotiated and how to compare two offers on the same basis. We do not quote our own price, because we agree it for each assignment. If you already know how many workers and which trades you need, you can send a request for workers right away.
The rules apply to a Slovenian agency that employs the workers and assigns them to you. Slovenian law calls this agency work (zagotavljanje dela delavcev uporabniku). They also apply when the workers work in Austria or Germany.
What is an agency worker's hourly rate made of?
Every serious offer adds up the same components. Once you know them, you can see where offers really differ.
- Gross pay for comparable work at your company, with supplements for night work, overtime, Sundays and public holidays.
- Employer contributions: 17.10% of gross pay.
- Paid hours without work: annual leave, public holidays and shorter sick leave.
- Holiday allowance (regres), at least one minimum monthly wage a year.
- Reimbursements for meals during work and commuting.
- Posting costs when the work is far from home or abroad: travel, accommodation, daily expenses.
- The agency's service: finding and selecting workers, payroll, records, replacements and its margin.
The law and the collective agreement fix the first five. Agencies differ on the last two, so that is where you compare offers.
Pay: your own pay scale is the starting point
An agency worker must get the pay set by the collective agreement and internal rules that bind your company. This is Article 61 of ZDR-1, the Slovenian Employment Relationships Act. The worker is also entitled to the benefits you give your own staff (Article 63 ZDR-1).
For you, this means the agency starts its price from your pay for a comparable job. A good agency will therefore ask about your pay scale, supplements and working hours before it quotes. If it does not ask, the offer is not based on the pay the worker must receive.
The collective agreement for your sector sets the supplements for night work, overtime, Sundays and public holidays (Articles 127 and 128 ZDR-1). Overtime is capped at 8 hours a week, 20 hours a month and 170 hours a year, or up to 230 hours a year with the worker's written consent (Article 144 ZDR-1). If you plan a lot of overtime, the offer should say how it is charged. What you answer for yourself as the user company is explained in our article on the user company's duties with agency workers.
What the law adds on top of gross pay
Above gross pay come costs that every employer carries. The agency pays them as the employer and includes them in the price.
- Employer contributions: 17.10%. That is 16.10% for pension, health, parental, unemployment and work-injury insurance, plus 1% for long-term care, payable since 1 July 2025. On the 2026 minimum wage of €1,481.88 gross, this comes to €253.40 a month.
- Holiday allowance (regres) of at least one minimum wage, so at least €1,481.88 for 2026. The agency must pay it by 1 July (Article 131 ZDR-1).
- Annual leave of at least four weeks a year (Article 159 ZDR-1) and public holidays, for which the employer pays wage compensation (Article 137 ZDR-1). These hours are paid although the worker does not work.
- Sick leave: the employer pays wage compensation for shorter absences from its own funds. Only longer absences are paid by health insurance (Article 137 ZDR-1).
- Meals during work and commuting: the employer reimburses them at the amount set by the sector's collective agreement or by government regulation (Article 130 ZDR-1).
- Time without work: when the agency has no work for a worker on an open-ended contract, it pays compensation. This is at least 80% of the worker's average pay over the last three months (Articles 61 and 137 ZDR-1).
The agency spreads paid leave, public holidays and sick leave over the hours actually worked. That is why the hourly rate is always higher than gross hourly pay plus contributions. This is not the agency's margin; you would carry the same cost with your own employee.
Costs that are a matter of agreement
The law does not assign some costs. The offer and the contract decide who carries them and whether they are in the hourly rate. This is where offers differ most.
| Cost | What to ask the agency |
|---|---|
| Accommodation | Whether it is provided, who pays for it and whether it is in the hourly rate. |
| Travel to the site | Who pays for travel and whether travel time counts as working time. |
| Personal protective equipment | What the worker brings and what they get from you. |
| Medical examination before deployment | Who arranges it and whether the cost is in the price. |
| Safety training | Who gives the general training and who the training for the specific workplace. |
| Finding and selecting workers | Whether the offer includes a separate fee or commission. |
At Evroproces there is no separate search or placement fee, because the workers stay employed by us. We arrange the medical examination before deployment. We give the general safety training, and you as the client give the training for the specific workplace. Accommodation and protective equipment are agreed for each assignment.
Work in Austria or Germany: what changes
When a Slovenian agency posts a worker abroad, the worker stays employed and insured in Slovenia. The A1 certificate proves this. Pay, however, must reach at least what applies in the country of work.
- Austria: for the time of the posting, a posted worker is entitled to at least the pay that law or collective agreement gives comparable workers at the place of work. This is § 3 of the Austrian Wage and Social Dumping Act (LSD-BG). What this means in construction is explained in our article on the 2026 Austrian construction minimum wage.
- Germany: while working for you, an agency worker must get the same essential working conditions and pay as your comparable employee. This is § 8 of the German Temporary Agency Work Act (AÜG). A German collective agreement for agency work may depart from this. It may not go below the minimum hourly rate for agency work set by regulation, and on pay it applies as a rule only for the first nine months with the same hirer (§ 8(2) and (4) AÜG). The German minimum wage is €13.90 gross an hour from 1 January 2026.
Construction work in Germany always runs with us as project work by EP Montaža d.o.o. under a contract for work (Werkvertrag), not as labour leasing. The difference between the two models is explained in labour leasing or contract for work in Germany.
For work abroad, also check whether travel, accommodation and daily expenses are in the hourly rate. Ask, too, who files the registrations the country of work requires before work starts.
How to compare two offers
Two hourly rates can only be compared once they mean the same thing. Put the offers side by side and check these six points in each.
- Unit: is the price per hour worked at your site, or per paid hour, including leave and public holidays?
- Supplements: how are overtime, night work, Sundays and public holidays charged?
- Minimum volume: does the offer require minimum weekly hours or a minimum duration, and who pays for time without work?
- Posting: are travel, accommodation and daily expenses in the hourly rate or charged separately?
- Equipment and training: who provides protective equipment, the medical examination and which training?
- Replacement and termination: how fast, and at whose cost, does the agency replace a worker, and what is the notice period?
Be careful with a price far below the others. If the agency does not pay the worker, the worker can claim the pay for work done for you from you. As the user company, you carry subsidiary liability (Article 62 ZDR-1). How to check an agency before you sign is covered in our article on choosing a staffing agency.
How to get a concrete offer
Evroproces does not publish a price list. The price depends on the trade and certificates, the place of work, the duration, the number of workers and shift work, so we agree it for each assignment.
For an exact offer, send us the trade and certificates you need, the number of workers, the place of work, the planned start and duration, and the working hours and shifts. If you have a collective agreement or pay scale for comparable work, mention it, because it is the starting point for pay. We answer enquiries within 24 hours. You can send your request on our page for hiring workers.
Sources & further reading
- 01Zakon o delovnih razmerjih (ZDR-1), PISRS, prečiščeno besedilo (zadnja sprememba Uradni list RS 70/25) — 61., 62., 63., 126.–128., 130., 131., 137., 144. in 159. člen (prebrano 16. 10. 2026)pisrs.si
- 02Minimalna plača — gov.si (2026: 1.481,88 EUR bruto; prebrano 16. 10. 2026)gov.si
- 03Prispevki za socialno varnost — SPOT (stopnje in prispevek za dolgotrajno oskrbo; stran spremenjena 6. 10. 2026)spot.gov.si
- 04Lohn- und Sozialdumping-Bekämpfungsgesetz (LSD-BG) § 3 — RIS (Fassung vom 16. 10. 2026)ris.bka.gv.at
- 05Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz (AÜG) § 8 Grundsatz der Gleichstellung — gesetze-im-internet.de (read 16. 10. 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
- 06Fünfte Mindestlohnanpassungsverordnung (MiLoV5) § 1 — gesetze-im-internet.de (read 16. 10. 2026)gesetze-im-internet.de
