Work in Germany via a Slovenian Agency: Who Pays for What

Legally this is a posting. The agency signs an employment contract with you under Slovenian law, obtains an A1 certificate from the Slovenian Health Insurance Institute (ZZZS) and posts you to a German client, whose instructions you follow on site. Slovenia's Cross-Border Provision of Services Act (ZČmIS-1) allows only an employer that genuinely operates in Slovenia to post, and requires the A1 application to be filed no later than your first day of work; the ZZZS issues the certificate if you were continuously insured in Slovenia for at least 30 days before the posting.

If the agency hires you out to the German company as an agency worker (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung in Germany), it needs a German permit under the AÜG on top of its Slovenian register entry. Evroproces holds both: entry no. 111 in the MDDSZ register of labour-provision agencies and an AÜG permit extended to 29 April 2027.

None of the rules on posting oblige the employer to pay for accommodation. Directive 2018/957 and the Slovenian ZČmIS-1 say something different: when the employer provides accommodation, its conditions must meet the rules of the country you are posted to, so German rules. Whether the employer pays, you pay, or you share the cost is a matter for the contract, which is exactly why ZDR-1 requires a contract for work abroad to list all cash and in-kind benefits.

Two safeguards apply regardless. First, the German minimum wage is paid in money. German customs (Zoll), which enforces it, states that payment in kind is not permitted; the only exception, for board and lodging, covers seasonal workers under the Minimum Wage Act, not the Posted Workers Act (AEntG) and not agency work under the AÜG. An offer that deducts so much for a room that you receive less than €13.90 gross per hour is unlawful. Second, a posting allowance counts as pay unless it reimburses actual travel, board and lodging costs; if the contract does not say which part is reimbursement, the Directive and § 2b AEntG deem the whole allowance reimbursement, so it cannot stand in for the minimum wage.

At Evroproces the answer is short: on field work in Germany and Austria, accommodation near the site is provided and paid for by us. This applies to every offer of field work in Germany or Austria that you receive from us and is written into the advert for the currently open production-worker vacancy in Hettingen.

The German Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV, Annex 4.4) requires the employer to provide adequate accommodation whenever shared accommodation was promised at recruitment or posting and the worker would not otherwise have taken the job. The employer remains responsible for its adequacy even when the rooms are rented through a third party. The technical rule ASR A4.4 turns that promise into numbers:

That list is the yardstick for any offer. Before you sign, get it in writing: the address and distance to the site, how many share a room, whether there is a kitchen, laundry and internet, who cleans, the house rules, and what happens to the room on days off or between projects. If the accommodation differs from what was agreed, your coordinator is the first call; at Evroproces every assignment has a coordinator who speaks your language and handles accommodation issues too.

Travel is really three different costs, each with its own rule:

At Evroproces, travel is arranged by us. Whether and how far travel costs are covered is stated in each job advert; the Hettingen advert lists them as covered. If an advert says nothing, ask before you apply; the answer belongs in the contract, not in a verbal promise.

If your contract does not provide for work abroad, Article 208 ZDR-1 requires a new one, which may run for the length of the project. Under Article 209, a contract for temporary work abroad must, on top of the usual terms, contain provisions on:

For items 4 to 6 the contract may refer to a law, regulation or collective agreement, but the reference must be stated. At Evroproces you receive a written contract in your native language before you travel; it sets out the role, location, duration, pay, working hours and termination terms.

At Evroproces you get an answer to each of these points before you commit to anything. In Germany you must also register your address within 14 days; our guide to Anmeldung in Germany explains how. As an EU citizen you need no work permit, as explained in our post on work permits in Germany and Austria.

The same EU posting rules apply to Austria: you stay employed and insured in Slovenia and are paid at least the Austrian collective-agreement rate for your sector. At Evroproces, accommodation on field work in Austria is provided and paid for exactly as in Germany. The construction figures are in our post on the 2026 Austrian construction minimum wage.

Can the employer deduct accommodation from my pay? You can agree to pay for the room yourself or to share the cost, but it must be written in the contract and the wage you receive in money may not fall below the German minimum wage. At Evroproces, accommodation on field work in Germany and Austria is paid for by us.

How long can a posting last? Under the Posting of Workers Directive, after 12 months all German terms of employment apply to you except the rules on concluding and terminating the contract and supplementary occupational pensions; with a reasoned notification the employer can extend that to 18 months. Our post on extending a posting in Germany explains how.

Who is responsible if the accommodation falls short of the standard? The employer, even when it rents the rooms through a third party (ArbStättV, Annex 4.4). Call your coordinator first. If it is not put right, the Slovenian Labour Inspectorate and the German occupational safety authorities, which supervise accommodation, are the places to turn.

Can I refuse a posting? Yes, for justified reasons under Article 208 ZDR-1: pregnancy, care of a child under seven, single parenthood with a child under 15, disability, health reasons, or other reasons set in the contract or a collective agreement.

We place candidates who already have the right to work in the EU, EEA, or Switzerland, or who hold a valid Slovenian or Croatian residence-and-work permit. The language level depends on the client's requirements and is stated for each vacancy.

If you are considering work in Germany or Austria, look at the current vacancies or complete the questionnaire on the job search page; we reply within 24 hours, and the process can take up to five working days. Before you sign, we tell you in writing where you will be housed, how travel is arranged and what the contract says. You can also call us on +386 70 630 880.