When is employee leasing the right model for an infrastructure project?
A licensed AÜG solution is particularly relevant when professionals are temporarily integrated into a client’s organisation and work under its direction. The staffing provider remains the legal employer while the specialist joins the client’s project team. However, the appropriate model always depends on how the assignment will operate in practice.
Large infrastructure projects often require more flexibility than internal workforce planning can provide at short notice.
Project phases overlap. Technical requirements change. New locations, work packages and regulatory requirements create additional demand. At the same time, experienced specialists in telecommunications, energy and data centres are often already committed to long-term programmes.
Employers must therefore decide not only who they need, but also which employment model supports the intended assignment legally and operationally.
For temporary roles that involve integration and client direction, employee leasing under Germany’s Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz – the AÜG – may provide the appropriate solution.
How does AÜG employee leasing work?
Under employee leasing, a licensed staffing provider employs the professional and assigns them temporarily to a client organisation.
The staffing provider remains the legal employer and manages matters including:
- the employment contract and HR administration
- payroll
- tax and social security contributions
- employment-related employer obligations
- assignment documentation
- compliance with employee-leasing requirements
During the assignment, the professional works within the client organisation and can be integrated into its project processes and direction structures.
This integration is one of the principal differences between employee leasing and genuine self-employment.
Under Section 1 of the AÜG, employees are considered to be supplied for work when they are integrated into the hirer’s organisation and subject to its instructions. The supplier generally requires permission from the German Federal Employment Agency.
When can AÜG support an infrastructure project?
The project team must be expanded temporarily
Infrastructure projects require different combinations of skills during planning, rollout, construction, commissioning and operations.
AÜG may be suitable when additional professionals are needed for a defined period but permanent internal headcount does not fit the project or workforce plan.
Potential assignments may include project managers, coordinators, planners, engineers, technical specialists and commercial project functions.
The professional must work as part of the internal team
External specialists often need to collaborate closely with employees, contractors and other project partners. They may attend internal meetings, use client processes and report to the client’s project leadership.
Where the client substantially determines working location, priorities, schedules or the way the work is carried out, the arrangement may indicate dependent, directed employment.
A freelance model should not be selected automatically in this situation. The overall reality of the working relationship matters more than the title used in the contract.
The German Pension Insurance confirms that actual working arrangements take precedence where day-to-day practice differs from contractual wording.
The organisation needs a German employment structure
International companies delivering projects in Germany do not always have the local HR and payroll infrastructure required to employ additional project professionals.
A licensed AÜG provider can act as the employer and manage employment, payroll, social security and the relevant administrative processes.
This gives the client access to the necessary specialists without having to establish a separate employment structure for every temporary project requirement.
Speed and compliance must work together
Time pressure should not result in the employment model being considered only after a candidate has been selected.
If a role is initially presented as freelance but the planned assignment involves significant integration and client control, the contract, budget and onboarding process may need to be restructured. The preferred candidate may accept another opportunity while these issues are resolved.
The employment model should therefore form part of the initial requirements analysis.
Which AÜG requirements must be included in project planning?
A licensed workforce solution involves more than supplying a professional. The assignment itself must also be correctly planned, documented and managed.
Licence and transparent contracts
The staffing provider generally requires valid permission to supply employees. Before the assignment begins, the contractual relationship must be expressly identified as employee leasing and the individual employee must be specified.
The German Federal Employment Agency licenses providers and conducts checks to assess whether employee-leasing requirements are being followed.
Maximum assignment duration
The general statutory maximum assignment period is 18 consecutive months for the same worker with the same hirer. Previous assignments must be counted in certain circumstances.
Collective agreements for the relevant client sector, or works agreements based upon them, can permit different arrangements. Assignment duration and previous deployments should therefore be checked before the project begins.
Equal treatment and remuneration
The equal-treatment principle under Section 8 of the AÜG generally requires temporary agency workers to receive the essential working conditions, including remuneration, available to comparable client employees.
Collective agreements may allow limited deviations under specified conditions. Remuneration, duration, previous assignments and applicable collective agreements must therefore be considered together.
Health, safety and onboarding
The client also carries responsibilities for conditions at the assignment location. These include providing information about relevant risks, safety measures and site requirements.
For telecommunications, energy and data centre projects, health and safety, site access, qualifications and project-specific inductions should be coordinated before the assignment begins.
Important: AÜG is not permitted for every construction activity
Infrastructure projects require particular care when identifying the work that will actually be performed.
Section 1b of the AÜG restricts employee leasing into construction businesses for work normally performed by manual workers. Only specified exceptions apply.
This does not mean that AÜG is excluded from every project involving a construction site. The client’s business, the specific activity, the organisation of the assignment and any applicable collective agreements must all be considered.
Project management, planning, engineering or commercial functions may be treated differently from manual construction work. Each proposed assignment therefore requires an individual assessment.
Which infrastructure roles can an AÜG solution support?
Depending on the assignment structure and specific activity, RIZE can support roles across:
Telecommunications
- Project Managers and Project Coordinators
- Network and Site Planners
- Site Acquisition and Permitting Specialists
- Network Engineers
- Rollout and Deployment Specialists
- Contracts and Procurement Managers
Energy and power infrastructure
- Project Directors and Project Managers
- Cable Network Planners
- Primary and Secondary Engineers
- Control and Protection Engineers
- Permit Approval Planners
- Commissioning Engineers
- Commercial and Procurement Specialists
Data centres
- Data Centre Project Managers
- Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
- Design and BIM Specialists
- MEP Managers
- Commissioning Managers and Engineers
- Critical Facilities Engineers
- Delivery and Operations Managers
Whether AÜG is appropriate always depends on the role and how the assignment will operate in practice.
The employment model must reflect the working reality
AÜG is not automatically the right solution for every temporary role. Equally, a freelance contract is not appropriate simply because a project has a fixed end date.
The assessment should consider:
- Does the organisation need an individual resource or an independently delivered result?
- How closely will the professional be integrated into the client team?
- Who determines the working time, location, priorities and delivery method?
- Does the professional carry genuine commercial risk?
- How long is the assignment expected to last?
- Which statutory or collective-agreement restrictions apply?
RIZE assesses these factors with the client and develops a workforce solution aligned with the project, role and intended working arrangements.
With a valid German AÜG licence, local market knowledge and more than 20 years of recruitment experience, RIZE supports infrastructure employers hiring specialists across telecommunications, energy and data centres.
Discover RIZE’s AÜG and ANÜ employee-leasing solutions in Germany.
This article provides general information and does not replace legal advice or an assessment of an individual assignment.
