Three questions decide which contract type fits: who issues instructions? What is owed? And is the person to stay with you permanently? The answers point to temporary staffing, a work contract or permanent placement — there is no hybrid.
Question 1: who issues instructions?
That is the decisive feature. If your supervisors or project managers say who does what and when, it is temporary staffing. If the allocation of work stays with the contractor and its supervisor runs the work package, it is a work contract. That line cannot be moved by the heading on the contract — what is assessed is the practice actually lived.
Question 2: what is owed?
Under a work contract a result is owed: a finished work that can be accepted. That is why there is a formal acceptance under § 640 BGB and a warranty afterwards. Under a service contract the activity is owed, not the result. Under temporary staffing the contractor owes no work on the plant at all but provides qualified labour.
Question 3: is the person to stay?
If the post is to be filled permanently, Permanent placement is the direct route: the service provider searches and selects, and the person is employed by you. The pragmatic middle way is temporary staffing with a later transfer — then both sides can check before they commit.
In short: Capacity under your direction → temporary staffing. A result under someone else's direction → work contract. A permanent post in your own company → placement.
The typical mistakes
The work contract that is not one
Most common: a work package is awarded as a work contract, but in practice the client allocates the people and adds tasks on the spot. Legally that is temporary staffing — and without a licence it is a serious matter. With a licence there is still the question of equal pay and the maximum assignment period.
Temporary staffing without a clear boundary
Conversely, temporary staffing is sometimes used where a work package would be cleaner — for instance when your own supervisors are overloaded during a shutdown anyway. Then you pay for capacity and still get no result, because nobody is leading.
Placement without a requirement profile
A search assignment without separate must-have and nice-to-have criteria produces candidates who fail on secondary requirements. That costs time on both sides and burns candidates you may still need later.
What that means for the costing
- Temporary staffing: a rate per hour and qualification, with supplements for shift, night, Sunday and public holiday work; invoiced usually weekly against countersigned activity records.
- Work contract: a contract price for the work package, often with a payment schedule tied to progress and a final invoice after acceptance.
- Placement: a success-based fee, depending on the position and how tight the market is.
And if you are not sure?
Then describe the task, not the contract type. A serious service provider will tell you which route fits — even when it is the one they earn less on. An overview of our three routes is under For employers; how to plan a shutdown in staffing terms is in the article Planning a plant shutdown.