Hiring in the EU from Germany

A German employer should first distinguish a temporary posting from a new local hire. An existing Germany-based employee sent abroad may remain in German social security with a valid A1, while a person hired to work habitually in one other country normally starts with that country’s employment, registration and social security rules. The correct route depends on the actual work pattern, not the employer’s preferred label.

Quick answer by situation

Are you temporarily posting an existing employee?

This applies when someone who is already your employee in Germany is sent to work in another EU/EEA country for a limited period. Two workstreams commonly apply: the German A1 process and any host-country posting declaration. Verify the social security conditions plus country and activity exemptions before assuming either result.

Who issues the German A1 certificate?

Who receives the A1 application depends on the person’s insurance status. Deutsche Rentenversicherung says the statutory health insurer is responsible for a person insured in statutory health insurance, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft berufsständischer Versorgungseinrichtungen (ABV) for a privately insured person with professional pension coverage, and the pension insurance institution for a privately insured person without that coverage. Since 1 January 2025, A1 applications for all listed groups must be electronic; paper applications are no longer permitted.

Do not assume that a short trip makes the A1 question disappear. Deutsche Rentenversicherung says that for a short service or business trip of up to seven days an A1 may be requested afterward if needed. For an ordinary posting, European Commission guidance gives an anticipated maximum of 24 months, subject to the posting conditions. A longer period needs a separate exception route between the competent institutions, so confirm the planned duration with the responsible German institution before travel.

What must be checked in the host country?

The A1 addresses social security, not the host country’s labour-law process. Your Europe says that in most cases the employer must send a posting declaration before, or at the latest when, the posting begins. The declaration commonly identifies the employer, worker count, workplace, expected dates, service and a host-country contact. Use the host country’s official website because the form, timing, documents and exemptions are national.

The same EU guidance treats a posting as long-term after 12 months, or 18 months following a motivated notification. Additional host-country employment terms then apply, with stated exceptions. This labour-law threshold is separate from the 24-month social security limit for PD A1.

What is the practical posting sequence?

1. Classify the labour-law notification and social-security A1 questions separately. A business trip can still require an A1 assessment.
2. Submit the A1 application electronically through the channel specified by the responsible health insurer, pension institution or ABV.
3. Check the specific host country’s own notification requirements; these are set nationally, not centrally by the EU, so the portal, form and lead time differ country to country.
4. Prepare the documents and contact details required by that country’s official process.
5. Confirm the applicable host-country pay and working conditions and whether the 12-month or 18-month long-term-posting threshold affects the assignment.
6. Track the posting’s duration against both the German social-security time limit and any host-country threshold at which the posting regime stops applying.

Completion of the German A1 process does not complete any separate host-country posting declaration.

Are you hiring someone who already works in another EU or EEA country?

This is a different situation: a new hire, not an existing employee being sent somewhere. If the person already lives in, say, France, Spain or Sweden and will keep working from there, start with that country’s employment and social security requirements. Then use the decision framework for employee, contractor or EOR to compare lawful direct employment, genuine contracting and available EOR structures.

For a person habitually working in one other member state, work-state social security is the usual starting point, but posting, multi-state work, telework and agreed exceptions can change the route. Your Europe says an employer must register with and pay into the social security institution where employees work even if the business is based elsewhere. Assess whether the country permits the proposed foreign-employer route and which employment, payroll, tax and corporate registrations it requires before deciding that direct employment is workable.

What should you verify before using Deel as an EOR?

Deel’s help article, updated 7 August 2026, says its EOR contract flow asks for the employee’s work country, employing entity, location, visa needs, title, seniority and job scope. It also says high-risk titles such as CEO or CFO prompt alternative suggestions. This supports one narrow conclusion: confirm the exact country, employing entity and role before treating an EOR proposal as available.

Request the employee agreement, service terms and a responsibility matrix. Compare salary, employer charges, provider fees, benefits, payroll dates, foreign-exchange treatment, data handling, contract changes, termination steps and transition terms.

Limitations

• Does not apply to Scenario A (posting an existing German employee); an EOR does not replace the A1 certificate process or host-country posting notification, since in that scenario the person remains employed in Germany, not newly employed in the host country.
• An EOR does not settle the German company’s permanent-establishment analysis or turn an existing German employee’s assignment into a local EOR hire.

Alternatives

• Direct employment through a suitable existing group entity or a properly registered foreign-employer route.
• A new local entity, assessed against the expected duration, headcount, governance and exit plan.
• A genuine contractor arrangement where the local status test and actual working practices support independence.
• Another EOR provider; compare actual country-by-country coverage and termination-handling practices, not just the marketing claim of broad coverage.

Could the overseas work create a permanent establishment?

Whichever engagement model is chosen, run a separate permanent-establishment review under the relevant treaty, domestic law and actual activities. The OECD’s November 2025 Model Tax Convention update says that home working below 50 percent of total working time over a relevant 12-month period generally does not make the home a place of business of the enterprise unless other facts indicate otherwise. At 50 percent or more, all facts and circumstances matter, including whether there is a commercial reason for the work to be performed in that jurisdiction. This is model commentary, not a universal safe harbour. Apply the relevant treaty, destination-country law and current German tax-authority position with qualified advice.

How do the two routes differ in practice?

The following is a hypothetical, illustrative scenario only, to show how the two situations in this guide play out differently; it is not a real case and the specifics should not be relied on.

A German company sends an existing employee to France for a five-month project with a client (Scenario A): the German HR team applies for the A1 certificate through the employee’s statutory health insurer before the assignment starts, and separately checks France’s own posted-worker notification requirements under its implementation of the Posted Workers Directive, confirming the current process directly with the French authority rather than assuming it matches Germany’s own inbound notification rules. The same company separately plans to hire a marketing manager who already lives and works only in Spain (Scenario B). This is a local-hire analysis, not a German posting. The company applies Spain’s classification rules, then obtains complete country-specific proposals for a suitable group entity and an eligible EOR. It compares responsibilities, total cost, employment terms, tax questions and exit plans before documenting the choice. A single hire does not create a universal rule in favour of either route.

Key terms

Key terms

Employee

A worker engaged under a local employment contract, with the employer responsible for payroll, social security contributions and compliance with local labour law.

Contractor

A self-employed individual or business engaged for specific services under a commercial contract, without the employment protections or payroll obligations that apply to employees.

Employer of Record (EOR)

A third-party provider that legally employs a worker on behalf of a client company in a country where the client has no local entity, handling local payroll, contracts and compliance.

Permanent establishment

A tax concept describing a fixed place of business or sufficient business activity in a country that can trigger local corporate tax obligations for a foreign company.

Misclassification

Treating a worker as a contractor when, based on the actual working relationship, local law would classify them as an employee, which can create back taxes, penalties and employment claims.

Checklist and next steps

• First, work out which scenario actually applies: posting an existing employee, or hiring someone new who’s already there. The rest of the process depends entirely on this.
• For a posting: apply for the A1 certificate through the employee’s health insurer (or Deutsche Rentenversicherung) before the assignment starts, and check the specific host country’s own posted-worker notification requirements, since they’re set nationally, not at EU level.
• For a new hire already living in another EU/EEA country: work through the decision framework (entity, contractor or EOR), factoring in that misclassification enforcement intensity varies by country.
• Either way, check permanent establishment separately under the relevant treaty, destination-country law and current German tax-authority position.
• Ask Deel about a specific EU country and role through its consultation page (opens in a new tab) if an EOR looks like the right fit for a Scenario B hire.You can also go to the provider's website directly.