The four routes at a glance
| Route | Employer | What the German firm checks |
|---|---|---|
| Direct employment | the German firm | registration before day one, minimum wage, ID notice |
| Posting | the Polish firm | A1, posting notification, payslips |
| Subcontractor (contract for work) | the Polish firm | scope and price, documents, liability for the minimum wage |
| Temporary agency work | the Polish firm as agency | generally not allowed for manual construction work (§ 1b AÜG) |
Polish nationals are EU citizens. Their stay is governed by the Freedom of Movement Act/EU, and the Residence Act does not apply to them (§ 1(2) no. 1 AufenthG). They need no visa or residence permit to work.
Direct employment by the German firm
The German firm signs a German employment contract and is the employer. It registers the worker for social insurance (§ 28a SGB IV) and pays at least the statutory minimum wage: €13.90 gross per hour since 1 January 2026, rising to €14.60 on 1 January 2027 (§ 1 MiLoV5). Trades with a sector minimum wage pay the higher rate, see the Minimum wage 2026 guide.
- 1
Immediate registration (Sofortmeldung)
In construction the employer reports the start of employment to the pension insurance data office no later than when work begins: name, insurance number (or date and place of birth and address), company number and start date (§ 28a(4) SGB IV).
- 2
ID notice
Anyone working in construction must carry an ID card or passport and show it to customs on request. The employer tells each worker so in writing before work starts and keeps the notice for the duration of the work (§ 2a SchwarzArbG).
- 3
Working time records
Record start, end and length of work every day. Details in the Working time on site guide.
Posting by a Polish company
The worker stays employed by the Polish company and works in Germany for a limited period. He or she carries an A1 certificate, and the Polish company notifies German customs of the posting. Steps and documents are in the Posting to Germany guide.
Subcontractor with its own scope of work
The German firm buys a finished piece of work, such as the masonry of one building section, and the Polish company carries it out with its own staff under its own management. The subcontractor's foreman instructs the workers. If the client's site manager does that instead, the contract looks like a contract for work but in practice is agency work or bogus self-employment.
Which documents to collect before work starts, plus a model clause, are in the guide on Polish subcontractors.
Agency work in construction: § 1b AÜG
Supplying temporary workers to construction businesses for work usually done by manual workers is not allowed (§ 1b sentence 1 AÜG). That covers bricklayers, concrete workers, tilers and most other site work.
- It is allowed where generally binding collective agreements covering both businesses provide for it (§ 1b sentence 2(a) AÜG).
- Between construction businesses it is allowed if the supplying business has been covered by the same framework and social fund agreements for at least three years ((b)).
- A construction business based in another EEA state, Poland included, may supply workers if for at least three years it has mainly done work that falls under the same framework and social fund agreements as the user business (§ 1b sentence 3 AÜG). It must be able to prove this.