Temporary employment construction

Is temporary work prohibited in construction? 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 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 in the meat industry.

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

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 read more. 

A special form of temporary work is the so-called Colleague help. This is also possible in the construction industry. Companies that belong to the same economic sector may provide each other with labour within the framework of colleague assistance. A traditional temporary employment agency is not involved in this form of labour leasing. 

According to § Section 1b sentence 2 letter b) AÜG is 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?

In the Ancillary building trades on the other hand, temporary employment is permitted. 

The ancillary building trades include all trades involved in Expansion of a building or 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 has Use of external personnel in the meat industry prohibited. Since then, the core business of the meat industry - the slaughtering, cutting and processing of meat - has only been allowed to employ its own staff. 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 Minimum requirements for shared accommodation and a Obligation to record working hours electronically introduced. 

An important Exception to the temporary work ban applies to the Butchery. This includes companies in the meat industry that less than 50 employees employ. Temporary employment is still permitted in these companies within the framework of the current legal situation. 

What are the fines for offences?

Companies that hire out temporary workers or allow them to work for them despite not having a licence to do so may be subject to a Fines of up to 30,000 euros be imposed. 

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.