Definition and classification
On staff leasing assignments the work is sometimes not done at the usual location – on installation jobs, for example, or when rare qualifications are brought in from far away. The temporary worker then has to be provided with accommodation , and there are travel costs . Both have to be settled contractually and for tax.
Legal framework for worker accommodation
Worker accommodation counts under § 2 (2) no. 2 ArbStättV as a workplace and falls under the German Workplace Ordinance. This includes company flats and hostels, but also huts, container housing and caravans; since 1 January 2021 also shared accommodation outside the company or construction site. Under occupational safety law it is strictly required only on construction sites where there is a hazard; in other areas it is provided for operational reasons – for example on assignments of limited duration, a common case in staff leasing.
The accommodation consists at least of living space and sanitary facilities, possibly with a kitchen. At most 8 occupants may be assigned to one sleeping area, with at least 6 to 6.75 m² per person (total usable area 8 to 8.75 m² per person). Further requirements: water, waste water and electricity supply, protection against weather and damp, heatable living space, working sanitary facilities, clean indoor air, no vermin and freedom from other hazards.
Who organizes it and who pays?
In the triangular relationship of staff leasing, uncertainty can arise about who is responsible. The BAP collective agreement (one of the two industry-wide agreements) states: the staffing company in principle takes on organizing the accommodation and bears the costs in full. Where the employee has to organize accommodation themselves, the costs are covered or reimbursed by the employer after prior approval and on presentation of a receipt or invoice. In practice, though, the client often offers accommodation from the outset.
Travel costs and their tax treatment
Whether travel costs can be reimbursed free of tax depends on the first place of work – a fixed establishment to which the employee is permanently assigned (indefinitely, for the duration of the employment or for at least 48 months). If the first place of work is the staffing company, this is work away from base: there is an entitlement to the mileage allowance (30 cents per kilometer driven for the outward and return journey, 38 cents from the 21st kilometer) and – where the daily absence exceeds eight hours – to the meal allowance, limited to the first three months at each new place of work. If the first place of work is instead the client company (on assignments of more than 48 months, for example), only the commuting allowance of 30 cents per kilometer of distance for the one-way journey applies.