Delegating employees from Eastern Europe – as a way out of the personnel crisis in Germany

Businesses in Germany are missing out on around €49bn in profits due to a shortage of staff.  This is according to research by the Institute for German Economics (IW) published in May 2024.

In addition, experts predict that Germany’s skills shortage will only worsen in the coming years.

The way out of the situation is considered to be even more active involvement of foreign personnel in work.

Today, the number of migrants in Germany is 28 per cent of the total number of citizens. They occupy one in four jobs in the country.

In which fields foreign workers are predominantly employed in Germany?

1.​Service sector (office cleaning and industrial cleaning) – 60% of foreign staff.

2.​Catering sector (waiters and cooks) – 46%

3.​Construction – from 34% to 40% depending on the type of work performed.

4.​Motor transport drivers – 40%

5.​Body care industry – 36%

6.​Elderly care – migrants with a medical background make up 30%

7.​Doctors and dentists – 25%

But even this number of migrants cannot make up for Germany’s staff shortage. 

Therefore, foreign staff from Eastern Europe are increasingly being recruited to work in the EUthrough the delegation method.

How does it work? 

A foreign employee is employed by a Polish company. The social insurance body in Poland ZUS (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych) issues an A1 certificate (Zaświadczenie A1) to the employee, which confirms that he/she is officially employed, paid taxes in Poland and has social insurance valid throughout the EU.

The availability of the A1 certificate for delegated workers is a prerequisite for a legal business trip.

What are the advantages of delegation for companies in the EU?

Delegated workers do not need to be employed, do not need to keep personnel and financial records, do not need to provide legal support. All these functions are taken over by the outstaffer company, which delegates them to your company. 

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Source: Destatis