Two models with different foundations
A contract for work and temporary employment do not fulfil the same task. Under a contract for work, the contractor generally owes an agreed work or a specific result. In temporary employment, employees of a supplier are deployed at the user's site under the statutorily regulated model. For the classification, not only the contracting parties but also the actual organisation and execution are decisive.
Premium Worker does not offer temporary employment, labour leasing or employment placement in the sense of this deployment model. Our Slovak and Czech craftsmen work self-employed as subcontractor teams on a contract-for-work basis. For this model to remain traceable in practice, both sides need a clear scope description and coordinated responsibilities on the site.
Describe the service, not just a personnel order
An inquiry like 'four electricians from Monday' contains important planning data but does not yet describe a work. Add which area or installation section the team should take over, which plans apply and which results are expected. For electrical work this can be, for example, agreed cable routes, installation sections or wiring tasks. Define interfaces to materials, testing and commissioning.
For drywall or painting work, construction, area, surface quality and acceptance are particularly important. For welding work, process, material and testing criteria must match. An understandable scope description makes team selection easier and reduces later discussions about additional work. It is also the reference point for the actual self-employed execution.
Billing by the hour does not by itself exclude a contract for work. But it does not replace the agreement of a work. Therefore, even with an hourly rate, define what is to be executed and how the result is checked. Premium Worker does not work on piece rates and does not supply materials; material provision and responsibilities are expressly coordinated.
Right of instruction: coordination is not the same as management
Every construction site needs coordination. Access rules, safety briefings, joint appointments and interfaces are unavoidable. Such coordination must be distinguished from ongoing employer-typical control of the individual person. It can become problematic if the client continuously gives personal work instructions and deploys the skilled workers like its own employees.
Discuss changes to the agreed scope via the contractor's responsible contact person. Document additional orders and new priorities instead of moving individual team members into arbitrary areas without coordination. The contractor must actually be able to organise its service independently. A mere clause on self-employment helps little if the daily implementation contradicts it.
There is no single sentence that conclusively explains every boundary. Technical specifications for the desired result, safety requirements and personal dependency must be assessed in context. If the organisation is unclear, you should obtain legal advice before the start. The operational cooperation can then be adapted to the reviewed responsibilities.
Integration as a practical risk indicator
A risk indicator is strong integration into the client's business organisation. This can include the same personal management as for own employees, arbitrary redeployment without scope delimitation or a deployment permanently organised like employment. Even with supposedly self-employed persons, questions of bogus self-employment can arise. This check is not automatically identical to the question of temporary employment.
The use of shared access or necessary site facilities does not by itself prove integration. Likewise, an own trade licence does not mean that every actual activity is self-employed. The overall picture remains decisive. Therefore check not only formal certificates, but also who organises the team, who changes tasks and who is responsible for the work result.
A long-term project is not in itself impermissible. However, it increases the need to observe changes in the deployment. If a described installation section gradually becomes permanent personal work in arbitrary departments, the constellation should be reviewed again. Document significant changes and clarify them via your responsible contact persons.
What documents can do – and what they cannot
A1, tax exemption certificate and business liability insurance are important documents with different functions. The A1 concerns the applicable social security law. The exemption concerns, under certain conditions, the tax deduction for German construction services. Insurance documents agreed protection and must match the risk. None of these documents blanketly confirms that the daily work deployment is legally correctly organised.
Foreign registration and invoicing are also only parts of the check. If the actual execution resembles employment, a different status can become relevant. In Austria, the distinction between genuine self-employment and employee posting is also important for ZKO3 and the LSD-BG. In Switzerland, the notification procedure and proof of self-employment must be considered separately.
Checkpoints for your order
First describe the expected result, the work area and the applicable plans. Then define contact persons, material provision, special equipment and safety responsibilities. Clarify who organises the work within the team. Determine how changes are commissioned and open items documented. Also agree acceptance, handling of defects and traceable time recording.
Before the start, check the technical suitability and required personal certificates. Record which documents your accounting and site management receive. Then check whether the actual process corresponds to the agreed model. If instructions, deployment areas or responsibilities change significantly, the check should be updated.
These checkpoints are no guarantee and no complete legal advice. Your lawyer or tax adviser can assess the contract, status and concrete execution based on your project. Use the list as a basis for discussion, not as a substitute for advice. The goal is a realistic and traceable organisation instead of a merely formally fitting contract heading.
Our cooperation on a contract-for-work basis
Premium Worker coordinates trade, people, location and period with you and puts together suitable self-employed teams. We organise the A1, the coordinated exemption, business liability insurance, accommodation and travel. In every typical team at least one person speaks German. Weekly timesheets and a monthly invoice ensure traceable billing.
The start is usually possible in 4–7 working days; we confirm the actual availability in the offer. If a craftsman is not suitable, we provide a free replacement within five working days. These organisational commitments do not change the necessary delimitation of the work performance. Send us your scope description – Ivana clarifies open questions personally and you receive an offer within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
No legal advice – please review individual cases with your tax adviser or lawyer.