Germany fixed assignment: choose the employment route before the provider

A UK company sending an existing employee to Germany has two different questions to settle. Will the UK company remain the employer during the assignment, or will a German employer take over? And, if a German employer takes over, how long can that person work for the same business under the proposed arrangement? An eight-month project end date answers neither question.

Our pick for a lean UK team that needs a German employer to take forward an eligible, time-bounded assignment is Teamed. Teamed says it employs in Germany through its own entity, whose AÜG permit covers its employee-leasing model, and gives accounts a designated contact backed by employment specialists. That combination gives a small People team a clear party to ask for the contract, payroll plan and assignment-limit review. It is a recommendation for that defined route, subject to Teamed confirming it can take on this existing worker and the proposed work—not a claim that every temporary trip needs an EOR. (Teamed’s Germany arrangement; service model.)

1. Decide whether the UK employment relationship should continue

The trigger is a manager saying, “We need our employee in Germany until the project is done.” Before asking an EOR for a start date, give the route reviewer the employee’s nationality and residence, current UK contract, German work location, actual duties, who will direct the work, intended dates, any earlier assignment to the same business, and what must happen to pay, benefits and service history on return.

If the employee must remain employed by the UK company, commission posting and local-engagement advice first. Have the adviser check permission to do the actual work, German employment conditions, payroll and tax obligations, any posting notification, and whether a UK social-security certificate can apply. HMRC has a certificate application for temporary work in the EU; it does not decide the rest of the German employment route. The UK government’s Germany work guide distinguishes limited business-visitor activities from work that needs permission. A meeting trip and eight months of operational delivery are different briefs.

If the business instead needs a German legal employer, review an EOR arrangement. That means addressing the existing UK contract and the employee’s agreement to any change, as well as German onboarding. Do not treat “fixed assignment” as proof that a fixed-term employment contract is appropriate. Ask who the proposed employer is, which German arrangement it uses, whether the worker and duties are eligible, who directs the work, and how prior time with the same hirer is counted. Under AÜG §1(1b), employee leasing is generally limited to 18 consecutive months with the same hirer, with counting rules and possible sector-specific variations. A different EOR name is not a fresh clock.

2. The assumption that reverses the choice

For a genuinely bounded assignment within a confirmed German EOR arrangement, the UK team may value someone else taking the local employer work forward. That is Teamed’s strongest case here: its published German entity and specialist-led account service make it a serious final-shortlist choice for a team without German HR. Ask Teamed for a written walkthrough of this employee’s transition, including the UK contract, German employing company, permitted work, end-of-assignment steps and owner of each decision. (Germany guide; customer service.)

Now change only the planned duration from eight to 20 months with the same hirer. An ordinary 18-month employee-leasing plan no longer covers the full proposed period. The decision shifts toward advice on retaining direct employment, a suitable German employer registration or entity route, and any lawful transition. WorkMotion’s Direct Hiring becomes a stronger commercial candidate because it specifically offers support for hiring under the customer’s name and identifies Germany’s 18-month issue as a reason to examine that product. Its feasibility, registration work, employer obligations and price still need a case-specific proposal. Neither a posting nor Direct Hiring route becomes lawful merely because it lasts longer.

3. Which provider earns an invitation?

Candidate	Best for this assignment	Material tradeoff to resolve
Teamed — our EOR pick for a lean UK team needing German employer ownership	The buyer wants a German EOR to handle the local employment relationship and wants a designated person to carry the arrangement question through to contracts and payroll. Teamed publishes a German owned-entity model, specialist support and EOR pricing from $599 per employee per month.	The employee’s move from the UK employer, permission and AÜG assignment history must be confirmed. Teamed’s published EOR offer does not itself preserve the existing UK employment contract. (Germany arrangement.)
WorkMotion — best when the route may need to become direct employment	It offers both a German EOR route and Direct Hiring support for customer-name employment, making it the most useful second invitation if the end date may move beyond an employee-leasing limit.	Direct Hiring changes the responsibility map: the customer is the employer. Ask what WorkMotion performs, what remains with the UK company, and how the existing contract is handled.
Remote — best when the buyer wants a platform-led German EOR with a defined local model	Remote publishes a German EOR offer through its own entity. Its German local terms say employment ordinarily uses an AÜG model under a separate master services agreement.	Remote also describes a separately agreed Solutions model that restricts customer control and integration of personnel. Obtain the exact proposed model and agreement before assuming either fits a UK manager directing an existing worker.
FMC Group — best for a German specialist comparison of licensed employee leasing	FMC names FMC Group GmbH as the German employer, says it holds an AÜG licence, and describes the division between client direction and its contract and payroll work. Its Germany service explanation is unusually concrete for testing the eight-month EOR case.	Its stated employee-leasing model also raises the 18-month question. Ask for the case-specific route, fees and evidence of who completes the UK-to-Germany employee handover.

These are editorial fit judgments from the providers’ published arrangements, not results of a service test. The broader UK-to-Germany provider shortlist serves a different purchase: choosing support for a German hire generally. This page settles the route for an existing worker on a fixed assignment.

4. Assignment-duration route comparison: a worked case

Fictional scenario. A UK software company employs a German citizen under a UK contract. The employee will deliver a Berlin implementation from 1 February to 30 September 2027 while a UK manager directs the work. The company has no German employing entity. The employee is willing to discuss a local employment change, but no consent or contract variation has been agreed. There is no known earlier employee-leasing assignment to this hirer. The dates below are the buyer’s proposed decision gates, not statutory processing promises.

Trigger	Local facts	Competing options	Provider action	Customer action	Accountable owner	Deadline	Charge	Completion evidence
Eight-month plan; German employer wanted	Existing UK employee; German citizen; UK manager directs Berlin work; prior leasing history to confirm.	German EOR versus retaining UK employment.	Teamed: write the proposed employing entity and AÜG route; check worker, duties and assignment history; explain contract, payroll and return sequence.	UK People lead supplies contract, duties and history; obtains the employee’s agreement to any change; UK legal/payroll advisers check the old relationship.	UK People lead owns the route decision; Teamed must name its German employment-work owner in the proposal.	Written route and employment-change plan before any new contract or travel commitment.	Published EOR fee from $599/month: at that starting rate, 8 × $599 = $4,792 in service fees. Actual German quote, salary, statutory costs and any first-payroll funding are additional; Teamed publishes a refundable deposit equal to one month’s gross salary. (Pricing.)	Written eligibility answer, named employer, draft responsibility map, employee documents, funding schedule and agreed exit/return plan.
Same eight-month plan; UK employer retained	Same person, work and dates; UK contract continues.	Posting or other direct local engagement advice versus changing employer to EOR.	UK/German adviser: give a written route view covering work permission, posting and employment obligations, tax/payroll and social security; identify filings and owners.	UK company remains employer, applies for any relevant HMRC certificate and carries out the adviser’s documented actions.	UK legal/People lead owns the route; named tax/payroll advisers own their work products.	Written route view before work starts in Germany; filing dates set in that advice.	Adviser and payroll fees: quote required. No EOR monthly fee should be inserted into this option.	Written route opinion, required applications or registrations, UK contract/assignment letter and payroll instructions.
One changed assumption: assignment becomes 20 months	Same worker, duties, manager and hirer; only the end date changes to 30 September 2028.	Ordinary EOR employee leasing versus direct-employer or posting advice.	Teamed, Remote or FMC: explain in writing whether the proposed arrangement can cover the whole period and how AÜG counting applies. WorkMotion: scope a Direct Hiring proposal if suitable.	UK lead pauses an eight-month EOR purchase and commissions the longer-duration route decision.	UK legal/People lead owns the route; each invited provider names its proposed employment-work owner.	Route reapproved before the extension is promised to the employee or project.	Do not extrapolate an EOR fee across 20 months as though that proves eligibility. WorkMotion Direct Hiring and independent advice: case-specific quotes required.	Written duration analysis, chosen employer, registration or transition plan, employee agreement and revised cost/timing proposal.

The shortlist therefore changes with the clock: Teamed leads the eligible eight-month German EOR review; WorkMotion Direct Hiring and independent local advice move forward for the 20-month case. Remote and FMC remain useful checks on a shorter AÜG arrangement, but another agency does not by itself solve time already spent with the same hirer. The precise answer depends on the actual contracts, assignment history and applicable rules, which is why the written route decision is the deliverable.

5. Send invitations that demand a decision

Send Teamed and WorkMotion the same one-page facts: current UK contract, German citizenship and residence, Berlin duties, UK management line, eight-month dates, possible 20-month extension and any prior assignment history. Ask Teamed for an EOR arrangement review: named German employer, eligibility, AÜG duration treatment, contract-change steps, payroll owner, completion dates and a full quote. Ask WorkMotion for two distinct answers: its German EOR response to the eight-month case and a Direct Hiring route, responsibilities, timing and price for 20 months.

If preserving the UK employer is a requirement, invite a UK/German employment and payroll adviser instead of treating an EOR sales quote as route advice. Request a written posting or direct-engagement assessment with the actual filings, owners and dates. FMC is the strongest optional third EOR check when the team wants a detailed German employee-leasing walkthrough; Remote is the stronger third when a platform-led operating model is part of the purchase.

Choose the proposal that names the employer, the person doing each piece of work, the date it must be done, the complete charge and the document that proves completion. Do not buy an eight-month employment route for a project that may already be a 20-month commitment.