Either your company becomes an employer in Germany, with a company number, social insurance, accident insurance and German payroll. Or you book a licensed agency that stays the employer. For a few days of trade fair, take the second: under German agency work law (AÜG) your team may direct the staff on site, while wages, contributions and insurance stay with the agency. As a business abroad you usually pay no German VAT, but you pay in advance.
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Trade fair, brand activation or film shoot: the question underneath is the same.
Who employs the people on your stand?
Your company
Direct employment
You hire people yourself and become an employer under German law for that work, whether your head office sits in Lyon, Leeds or Los Angeles.
Worth it for staff you keep for years, not for three fair days.
A licensed agency
Agency work
We employ the people, you book hours. Your team directs them on site, or our team lead does under a service contract.
Built for exactly this: a few days, a fixed place, a fixed budget.
Either way, German employment law applies to work done in Germany. The only question is who carries it.
From my agency years. Before StaffConnect I worked in many agencies and saw this more than once: a team from abroad has the stand, the flights and the giveaways sorted, and a week before opening someone asks who actually employs the hostesses. Too late to register as an employer in Germany.
Ask who employs your staff first, not last.
Hire people for work in Germany and your company becomes a German employer for that work. In outline:
Social insuranceper person
Report every employee when the job starts and when it ends. German social insurance law generally covers anyone employed in Germany.[4]
Accident insurancefrom day one
Employees are insured by law; the employer pays the contributions to the responsible Berufsgenossenschaft.[4]
Minimum wageemployers abroad included
At least 13.90 € gross per hour in 2026 and 14.60 € from 1 January 2027. The law names employers based abroad explicitly.[2]
Payroll and wage taxevery pay period
Whether you also withhold German wage tax depends on whether you have an establishment or permanent representative in Germany.[6]
Sick noteson the day
Someone calls in sick on fair day two? You find the replacement, in a city where you may know nobody.
An outline, not a checklist. Planning to employ people in Germany long term? Talk to a German payroll adviser.
| Which floor | Valid | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory minimum wage, for anyone employed in Germany[2] | from 1 Jan 2026 | 13.90 € |
| Statutory minimum wage | from 1 Jan 2027 | 14.60 € |
| Wage floor for temporary agency workers[3] | 1 Sep 2026 – 31 Mar 2027 | 15.33 € |
| Wage floor for temporary agency workers | 1 Apr 2027 – 30 Sep 2027 | 15.87 € |
Legal floors, not anyone's rate card. The second floor binds every temporary work agency in Germany, including us.
Supplying workers who then take instructions from another company requires a licence under § 1 AÜG, the Temporary Agency Work Act. There is no minimum duration: one day on a stand counts. With the licence, your team may direct the staff while the agency stays their employer.[1] Agency work versus service contract in detail: our guide to contract types (in German).
Supplier without a licence
Ask for the licence. Ours is listed in our legal notice (in German).[10]
Local freelancers
Want to give instructions? Book agency work that is called agency work in the contract.
Equal treatment from the first day. Agency workers get the essential working conditions of comparable staff at the client; only a collective agreement may deviate.[1] Our employment contracts don't use one, so we ask about your comparable staff before the first shift. None in Germany? Accept the standard assumptions with one click.
Supplying staff to a business is a service. For services between businesses, the place of supply is where the customer's business is established: § 3a (2) of the German VAT Act, in line with Art. 44 of the EU VAT Directive.[7][8] That holds for agency work and service contracts alike. Your stand being in Berlin doesn't change it.
For an EU business that means reverse charge: our invoice shows no German VAT, and you account for the VAT in your own country (Art. 196).[8] For a business outside the EU, the service is not taxable in Germany at all.
| Customer | German VAT on our invoice | Who handles VAT | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business in another EU country | none | you, via reverse charge | a valid VAT ID, which we verify with the BZSt |
| Business outside the EU: UK, Switzerland, US … | none | not taxable in Germany | registered company name and address |
| German branch of a foreign company | 19 % | us, like for any German client | the branch's details |
| Private individual | 19 % | us | name and address |
We check EU VAT IDs with the German Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) before we invoice without German VAT. Quotes and invoices are available in English.
The hourly rate covers wages, employer contributions, insurance, selection, replacement and admin. Agency work and service contracts cost the same.[9]
Example · EU exhibitor
Three-day trade fair
| First day, new-client rate18 person-hours × 26 € | 468.00 € |
|---|---|
| Days two and three36 person-hours × 28 € | 1,008.00 € |
| TravelS-Bahn station next to the venue | 0.00 € |
| Short noticemore than 7 working days ahead | 0.00 € |
| Net | 1,476.00 € |
| German VATreverse charge, valid EU VAT ID | 0.00 € |
| Due before the first shift | 1,476.00 € |
At the base rate throughout: 1,512.00 €.
Payment in advance
Clients based outside Germany pay 100 % of the quote volume before the first shift. A standing rule, not a judgement on you. German clients pay within 14 days.
Transfer or card
Bank transfer costs nothing extra. Card or PayPal adds 5.5 %.
Cancellation
Of the agreed fee: 20 % more than 7 working days before, 60 % at 7 to 4, 80 % at 3 to 2, 100 % at less than 2.
Changes
The first two changes are free. From the third, 10 € per person.
² If you create your quote in the price calculator (opens in a new tab), confirm it within 3 days and book with us for the first time. Outside Berlin: 25 € per person and shift, plus travel time from the city limit as working time, at least 15 minutes. All steps and surcharges: what event staff costs in Berlin.
Everything runs digitally, so nobody needs to fly in for a signature.
Quotein English
PDF from the price calculator (opens in a new tab) in about 60 seconds. A person replies in under 24 minutes.
Contractsigned online
Agency work or service contract, signed digitally. We verify EU VAT IDs.
Advance paymentbefore the first shift
100 % of the quote volume, usually by bank transfer.
Your teambefore the event
The client portal shows the photo, name and short profile of every person assigned to you.
On sitefair days
Your team directs the staff, or our team lead does. Replacement included.
Timesheetafterwards
Hours go on a digital timesheet that you countersign. The invoice follows from that record.
No. With an agency, the agency is the employer, so there is nothing to register on your side. We need your company details and, for an invoice without German VAT as an EU business, a valid VAT ID.
Under agency work, yes. That is exactly what the AÜG licence allows. Under a service contract, our team lead directs the staff and you agree the result with them.
Not if your business is established outside Germany. An EU business with a valid VAT ID gets a reverse-charge invoice; a business outside the EU gets an invoice without German VAT because the service is not taxable in Germany. German branches and private individuals pay 19 %.
Yes. If you hire one of our people within 12 months of an assignment with you, a placement fee of 2,000 € excl. VAT applies.
Book a licensed agency and German employment law becomes the agency's job. You get the people, one invoice in English and, as a business abroad, usually no German VAT on it. Pay in advance, book at least 8 working days ahead, and your only job left is the stand.
Practical information as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice.
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