Sometimes you work at a company but are not employed there. Then it matters whether it is a contract for work (Werkvertrag) or agency work.
The essentials
- What matters is not what the contract is called, but how the work is actually done.
- If the customer gives you daily instructions although it is supposed to be a contract for work, it may really be agency work. Advice centres or courts check this.
Contract for work (Werkvertrag)
- Your company owes the customer a finished result.
- You only get instructions from your own company.
- Your company organises the work itself.
Agency work (Zeitarbeit)
- Your company lends out your labour.
- In daily work, the client company gives you instructions.
- The rules for agency work apply, for example the maximum duration.
In the core area of the meat industry – slaughtering and cutting – contracts for work and agency work have been generally banned since 2021. There you must be employed directly by the company.
Some people are registered as self-employed but work like employees. Whether you are really self-employed can be checked by the German Pension Insurance in a status procedure.
MeaNext explains general rules about work in Germany. This information does not replace individual legal advice. In a specific case, your employment contract, collective agreement, works agreement and personal circumstances can be decisive.
Last expert review: 09/10/2026
Terms on this page
Tap a word. The terms stay in German so you recognise them in letters and forms.