Best EOR providers for UK companies hiring in Germany without local HR

Our pick: Teamed for a UK manager who needs German employment work carried forward after the hire starts. The manager can direct the work, but should not have to translate a payroll exception, a leave dispute or a probation concern into German employer action alone. Teamed says it employs German hires through its own Teamed GmbH, provides a designated account contact and assigns HR and legal specialists. That combination makes it our best-fit choice for a small UK team seeking a practical employment partner, rather than just a way to issue the first contract. Its zero FX markup also removes one provider charge when sterling-funded payroll is converted into euros. Teamed’s Germany guide, service description and pricing set out those published capabilities.

Invite WorkMotion and worknow alongside Teamed if ongoing German cases are the priority. WorkMotion offers a German-focused employment platform with dedicated customer support and local HR guidance. worknow is a Germany-only employer with a published AÜG arrangement and German contacts. Choose Remote as the third invitation instead of worknow when an owned German entity, an established platform and equity administration matter more than a Germany-only service. These are buyer-fit judgments from published services, not results of a comparative case-handling test.

Provider	Best for this UK buyer	German employment and case route	What to establish on the call
Teamed	Our pick when the UK manager needs local employment advice turned into documents, payroll action and employee communication.	Teamed identifies Teamed GmbH in Berlin as its German employer. A designated contact and HR/legal specialists are part of its published service.	Name the German case owner, the person authorised to issue documents, and the employee contact for this hire.
WorkMotion	A German-focused platform with a dedicated customer success relationship and an option to examine direct hiring later.	Its Germany page describes payroll guidance and its support page describes a support portal, experts and dedicated success managers.	Identify the employing entity for this proposal and show how a probation or payroll case moves from the success manager to a German specialist.
worknow	A Germany-only local employer, especially if the buyer values direct German contact and published fees for one or several hires.	worknow says its own German company employs the worker under an AÜG licence, with personal support, payroll and employment administration.	Confirm the assignment history, employee contact, scope of case advice and the applicable onboarding and exit charges.
Remote	A UK team that wants an owned German EOR entity and a broader platform, particularly for an offer involving equity.	Remote says it owns its German employing entity and provides local specialists, payroll, benefits and HR processes in house.	Demonstrate the exact route from manager request to specialist review, employer document and employee explanation.

worknow and FMC Group are separate providers, not two names for one local option. FMC Group also describes a licensed German employee-leasing service and dedicated contacts. If a local specialist is the decisive criterion, it merits a quote against worknow; do not combine their prices or service terms. G-P has a German EOR offering and belongs in a procurement exercise driven by a wider international programme. For this one-country, small-team case, a German case demonstration is a better use of the final invitation.

First, establish what kind of employment is proposed

An EOR is the local legal employer while the UK company directs the employee’s day-to-day work. In Germany, the provider must explain whether the proposed arrangement is employee leasing under the Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz (AÜG), which entity employs the person, what licence supports the arrangement and whether any previous assignment to the same hirer counts. Under AÜG section 1(1b), the general same-worker, same-hirer assignment limit is 18 consecutive months; earlier assignments through another provider may count, and collective-agreement exceptions can matter. Switching providers is not, by itself, a new clock.

This is a practical selection gate, not a reason to assume every candidate is ineligible. If a candidate’s immigration route needs Federal Employment Agency consent, Residence Act section 40(1)(2) restricts that consent for temporary agency work. Ask the provider and a qualified German adviser to assess the actual person and arrangement before promising a start date. The arrangement guide covers the EOR, entity and contractor choice in more detail.

The selection question then becomes sharper: when the UK manager asks for action, who turns the answer into a lawful employer step? An owned entity is relevant, but its ownership alone does not tell you who will prepare a letter, update payroll or speak to the employee.

Test the provider with the first difficult manager decision

Suppose the UK manager tells the provider in month four: “The employee is struggling. We agreed a probation period and may need to end employment.” A provider that can issue a contract may still leave the manager holding the most consequential work: assembling facts, deciding what to say and getting the employer’s process completed in time.

Ask each finalist to walk through this exact case, using a fictional employee and no personal data. Who first reviews the agreement and employment dates? Who tells the manager what evidence and conversation are needed? Who drafts any employer letter? Who checks whether a works council exists and whether consultation is required? Who communicates the approved step to the employee? The UK company decides whether it still needs the role and supplies the performance facts. The German legal employer must make and implement its employment decision through the applicable process. Neither side should send an improvised dismissal message while the other thinks it is still giving preliminary advice.

German rules make timing material. BGB section 622(3) provides a two-week notice period during an agreed probation period of no more than six months, subject to applicable terms and rules. KSchG section 1 addresses protection after more than six months of continuous employment; applicability also depends on the employer and circumstances. If a works council exists, BetrVG section 102 requires the employer to hear it before dismissal. The provider’s German specialist should determine the actual route and dates. This article is a shortlist test, not an instruction to dismiss someone.

Teamed earns our pick here because its published proposition joins a German employing entity to an account contact and HR/legal specialists. That is a credible operating model for a UK team with no local HR colleague to chase the work. WorkMotion also advertises dedicated success management and HR/legal guidance, so it deserves a serious demonstration, not a token comparison. worknow’s Germany-only model is a strong alternative when direct local employer access is the priority. The winner of your contract should be the provider that will put the adviser, document preparer, employer sign-off and employee contact into the written service plan for your hire.

Then test a payroll or leave correction

Use a second case because a clean first payroll says little about a correction. The UK manager approved a €600 allowance before the agreed cutoff, but it is absent from the German payslip. The employee asks in German whether it will be paid and whether the tax treatment changes.

The manager should supply the approval record and promised effective date. The provider should identify whether the input was received, review the payroll treatment, calculate a correction or the next lawful payment route, update the payroll record and explain the outcome to the employee. Finance needs the changed amount and invoice treatment; the employee needs a clear answer from an appropriate contact. Ask when each step will occur and who owns the case until the employee has a corrected explanation. Teamed explicitly says that, as EOR, a payroll mistake it makes is its responsibility to fix. Confirm the correction route and any off-cycle charge in the proposal; a published support promise is not a guaranteed resolution time.

A leave-balance dispute follows a similar handover. The UK manager supplies the approved absence and policy context; the employer checks the German contractual and statutory record; someone corrects the leave or payroll entry; the employee receives the explanation. A portal showing a balance is useful. It does not settle who will correct an incorrect balance.

German case ownership matrix: a completed example

The following is a fictional operating agreement for one UK company and one German employee, illustrating what to request from each finalist. It does not assert that any provider has accepted these assignments or that every task is included in its advertised fee. Replace the provider roles with named people and written service terms before signing.

Situation	Adviser	Document preparer	Employer decision-maker	Employee contact	Escalation	Included fee	Next-step owner
Month-four probation concern. UK manager has dated examples and wants a decision next week.	Provider’s German employment specialist reviews contract, dates, evidence and any consultation step.	Provider prepares any required employer letter; UK manager supplies factual performance record.	German employing entity decides and signs the employment action after UK business approval.	Provider’s German employee contact delivers employer communication; UK manager handles the work relationship conversation agreed with the provider.	Named account lead brings in German legal advice before any irreversible message.	To confirm in quote: ordinary advice, drafting, external counsel and any exit administration.	UK manager sends the dated facts today; provider case lead returns the route and decision deadline.
€600 approved allowance missing from payslip. Approval predates the agreed cutoff.	Provider payroll specialist checks input receipt, tax treatment and correction route.	Provider prepares corrected payroll record or next-cycle adjustment; UK finance supplies approval evidence.	German employer authorises the payroll correction; UK finance approves any changed funding.	Provider explains the payslip change in German; UK manager acknowledges the issue without promising a pay date.	Account lead escalates to payroll lead if the correction cannot be made in the current cycle.	To confirm in quote: correction, off-cycle payment and employee explanation.	UK finance sends the approval and payslip reference through the secure case channel today.
Leave balance differs by two days. Manager’s approval and employee portal disagree.	Provider HR specialist checks the employment record and applicable leave terms.	Provider updates the leave record and, if needed, the payroll input.	German employer approves the corrected employment record; UK manager confirms the days actually taken.	Provider explains the corrected balance to the employee.	Account lead escalates a disputed entitlement to German employment advice.	To confirm in quote: record correction, advice and any payroll rerun.	UK manager sends the approval trail; provider HR specialist returns the reconciled balance.

Sample manager briefing for the payroll exception

Fictional example — subject: German allowance missing from September pay
Employee: German employee A; please use the secure case reference, not email attachments.
Approved item: €600 allowance, effective 1 September. UK manager approved it on 8 September; the provider’s agreed input cutoff was 12 September.
Evidence available: written approval, submitted payroll input and employee’s September payslip.
Employee report: allowance absent; asks when it will be paid and how it affects the payslip.
Requested from provider: confirm whether the input arrived; check the contractual and payroll treatment; give the correction route and expected payment date; name who will update the record and explain it to the employee in German.
UK owners: manager verifies the business approval; finance approves any additional funding after the corrected calculation. Please return one case owner and the next update time.

That briefing asks the provider to do employer work while giving it the facts it needs. It also prevents the manager from promising an off-cycle payment before payroll has assessed it. The first-payroll handover guide is useful when you are setting the recurring input and funding process.

Compare one hire with five without confusing price and cash

Public fees are a starting point, in different currencies and with different conditions. Teamed advertises EOR from US$599 per employee per month; WorkMotion advertises from €499; Remote’s UK Germany page advertises EOR from £479 per employee per month; worknow publishes €599 for one employee and €399 per employee for three or more. On those advertised figures alone, worknow’s monthly service-fee arithmetic is €599 for one or 5 × €399 = €1,995 for five. Teamed’s starting-fee arithmetic is 5 × US$599 = US$2,995. Neither number includes salary, German employer costs, benefits or the agreed country scope. Do not call one cheaper by comparing unconverted currencies or unquoted service levels. Teamed pricing, WorkMotion pricing, Remote Germany pricing and worknow pricing give the advertised bases.

For a fictional €6,000 monthly gross salary, one employee has €6,000 of salary to fund each month; five equal-salary hires have 5 × €6,000 = €30,000, before employer contributions, benefits and service fees. If a buyer models a 2% FX markup as a planning assumption on converted salary, the illustration is €6,000 × 2% = €120 for one, or €30,000 × 2% = €600 for five per month. This is not a claim that WorkMotion, Remote or worknow actually charge 2%. Obtain each provider’s conversion method and actual rate. Teamed publishes zero provider FX markup; the exchange rate can still move, and bank charges may be separate. If the buyer funds euros and receives a euro invoice, there may be no provider conversion to compare at all.

Cash before the first payroll is a separate decision. Teamed’s current pricing page describes a refundable deposit equal to one month’s gross salary plus first-month employment funding. Its honest-invoice page describes a deposit based on one month’s total employment cost. Get the applicable deposit basis, refund conditions, payment date and any early-exit administration term in the signed proposal. worknow’s published 2026 terms say its €199 onboarding and €199 offboarding fees are waived for hires lasting at least 12 months, with charges applied on earlier endings. Do not treat a refundable deposit as a service fee, or an FX assumption as a reserve. Use the German quote companion to put salary, statutory costs, fee, funding and extra help on one comparable page.

For five hires, ask for the actual start months and compare a staged plan rather than multiplying the first invoice by five. The UK team’s recurring case load and ability to move later to its own German entity also become more important. Teamed, WorkMotion and FMC Group describe routes beyond a single EOR hire, but the timing and transfer steps need a proposal for your team.

Send the final three the same brief

If your problem is German employment action without local HR, send the completed case matrix to Teamed, WorkMotion and worknow. Teamed is our best-fit choice: its local employer, designated contact and specialist model fit the UK manager who needs an issue carried from advice to action, while its zero FX markup simplifies sterling-to-euro cost review. WorkMotion earns its place for dedicated support inside a wider employment platform. worknow earns its place for a Germany-only licensed model with direct local contacts and visible one-versus-five pricing.

Swap Remote for worknow if the employee package relies on equity administration or the UK business wants a broader owned-entity platform. Invite FMC Group instead of worknow if its consultative German employer model better fits the role and you want a second local specialist quote. G-P is more relevant when this German decision is one part of a larger multinational purchasing programme.

Send one role, candidate eligibility summary, intended start date, salary and work pattern to all three. Add the probation and €600 payroll scenarios above. Require each proposal to name the legal employer, arrangement and licence route, case adviser, document owner, employer sign-off, employee contact, escalation path, included work, extra charges and first-payroll funding. Choose the provider whose written German case plan removes the work your UK team cannot safely carry. For the support-led buyer described here, Teamed should be the benchmark the other two must beat.