Is temporary work in construction prohibited? Temporary work can be used to cover peaks in orders or seasonal increases in personnel requirements. The possibility of hiring out labour for a certain period of time gives companies a high degree of flexibility. The legal framework conditions are set out in the Temporary Employment Act (AÜG) is defined. Please note: Temporary work is not permitted in all sectors. Restrictions apply in the construction industry and the meat industry.
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Ban on traditional labour leasing in the construction industry
In the main construction industry temporary work is basically forbidden. How from § 1b AÜG emerges, traditional temporary employment agencies may not lend construction workers to companies in the main construction industry. The ban applies to the hiring out of employees who carry out construction activities. Persons who do not carry out typical construction activities (e.g. office workers) are exempt from the ban on hiring out workers.
The main construction trade includes companies that carry out the central work in the construction of buildings or structural facilities, such as
- Building construction and civil engineering companies
- Road construction companies
- Roofing companies
- Carpentry and timber construction companies
- Bricklayer
- Scaffolder
- Demolition company
- Gardeners and landscapers
- Bridge and tunnel builders
Main construction industry: regulations on colleague assistance
You can also find out which companies are counted as part of the main construction industry in § Section 1 (2) of the Construction Companies Ordinance where you can read more.
A special form of temporary work is so-called colleague assistance. This is also possible in the construction industry. Within the framework of colleague assistance, companies that belong to the same economic sector may provide each other with labour. A traditional temporary employment agency is not involved in this form of labour leasing.
According to § Section 1b sentence 2 letter b) AÜG colleague help between Companies in the construction industry is permitted if the lending company has demonstrably been covered by the same framework and social security collective agreements or by their general applicability for at least three years. A further prerequisite is that the lending company has a licence for temporary employment.
What applies to the ancillary building trade?
However, temporary employment is permitted in the ancillary building trade.
The ancillary building trades include all trades involved in the construction of a building or building structure, such as electricians, heating engineers or painters and varnishers.
Temporary labour ban in the meat industry
With the introduction of the Occupational Health and Safety Control Act in 2021, the legislator banned the use of external personnel in the meat industry. Since then, only own employees may be employed in the core business of the meat industry for the slaughtering, cutting and processing of meat. Both the use of temporary workers and the employment of subcontractors on a contract basis is prohibited in these areas. The legislator's action was prompted by the poor working and living conditions of contract workers that were discovered at meat producer Tönnies in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2020.
Due to a temporary regulation, temporary work was still possible as an exception in subsequent years during peak production periods, for example during the barbecue season. This exemption expired at the end of March 2024 and has no longer applied since then. As a result, sausage manufacturers are no longer allowed to employ temporary workers.
In addition, the Occupational Health and Safety Control Act introduced minimum requirements for shared accommodation and an obligation to record working hours electronically.
An important exception to the ban on temporary work applies to the butcher's trade. This includes companies in the meat industry that employ fewer than 50 people. In these companies, temporary employment is still permitted under the current legal situation.
What are the fines for offences?
A fine of up to 30,000 euros can be imposed on companies that hire out temporary workers or allow them to work for them despite not having a licence.
There is a general ban on borrowing labour from a temporary employment agency:
- in the main construction trade, insofar as this is a typical construction activity.
- in the core business of the meat industry in companies with 50 or more employees.
Temporary employment is permitted in the ancillary building trade. In the main construction industry, the hiring out of employees is possible within the framework of so-called colleague assistance.
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