Staff leasing is a popular instrument for „leasing" people – and full of legal detail. The key points in a compact overview.
Terms and the basic principle
Arbeitnehmerüberlassung (ANÜ) is known by many names: Leiharbeit, Zeitarbeit, Personalleasing or Temporärarbeit. They always mean the same thing: an employer (the agency) leases a temporary worker to a client (the hirer) for a set period, for payment. The assignment is temporary – after the period the law sets, the worker has to move on or be taken on.
The three parties
Agency, hirer and temporary worker stand in a triangle of rights and duties. The temporary worker is employed by the agency, which may also sanction conduct that breaches instructions or duties. Agency and hirer settle the framework and the hourly rate in the leasing agreement. The worker performs the work at the hirer; that is where the authority to instruct lies, together with the duty to provide normal operational working conditions (the equal treatment principle).
The benefits
Staff leasing covers staffing needs flexibly – at order peaks as well as during longer absences. It lowers costs, because the staffing provider takes on recruiting, non-wage labor costs and the cost of absence, and it lowers risk, because workers are only deployed temporarily. After the assignment the client can take on suitable workers – as „temp-to-perm", that is after a trial phase.
Market and legal basis
Staff leasing happens across industries; it is banned only in the meat industry and in main construction trades. In 2022 there were around 830,000 temporary workers at more than 10,000 providers – about 2% of the working population, with a market volume of around €31 billion in 2021. The legal basis is the German Temporary Employment Act (AÜG), which implements EU Directive 2008/104/EC and sets out equal treatment, equal pay and the maximum assignment period. Agencies need a license from the employment agency – time-limited at first.
Collective agreements and pay
Two industry-wide agreements (BAP/iGZ, since 2023 the GVP) shape the sector and may depart from statutory requirements – for example on the maximum assignment period or the point at which equal pay applies (a maximum of 15 months). Pay follows ten pay grades according to qualification and may not fall below the statutory minimum wage. Equal pay aligns pay step by step with that of comparable permanent staff.
What is not Arbeitnehmerüberlassung
Not every deployment of an external workforce is staff leasing. Under a Werkvertrag a company owes a result and keeps the authority to instruct its own employees – it does not fall under the AÜG. Under a service contract a service is owed, without an agency supplying people. And disguised staff leasing is in fact leasing, but without a license or a contract – and therefore unlawful.
Frequently asked questions
What is Staff Leasing?
An employer (the agency) leases a temporary worker to a client (the hirer) for a limited period, for a fee. Leiharbeit, Zeitarbeit and Personalleasing all mean the same thing.
Who is involved in staff leasing?
The agency, the hirer and the temporary worker – in a triangle of contractual and statutory rights and duties.
Does the agency need a license?
Yes, a license from the employment agency – limited to one year at first; the legal basis is the AÜG.
What is not Arbeitnehmerüberlassung?
Contracts for work and services do not fall under it. Leasing without a license or a contract is disguised – and unlawful – staff leasing.
- German Temporary Employment Act (AÜG): gesetze-im-internet.de
- Pitfalls in staff leasing