Moving a German contractor into employment: prepare the handover

Make the new employment relationship clear

For a UK team moving a German contractor into employment, Teamed is our recommended first operational conversation. Its German service combines local contracts, payroll, statutory benefits administration and a designated account person—a useful foundation for turning the decision into an employee handover.

Prepare the current agreement, actual duties, location, engagement dates, earlier assignments, proposed role and target start date. Name a UK owner and share personal documents only through the agreed secure channel. Have a qualified adviser assess the working relationship, any earlier classification exposure and the person’s permission route. Moving into employment does not erase past obligations.

Once the new arrangement and eligibility are confirmed, agree how the current engagement ends, what the employee is being offered, which records transfer and when first payroll will run.

Give the handover a local employment plan

Teamed’s Germany guide describes employment through Teamed GmbH in Berlin, with local contracts, payroll and statutory benefits administration. Ask for the proposed employer and arrangement for this worker, then map the responsibilities with Teamed’s designated contact.

Agree the documents, approval steps and funding required before the start date. Tell the worker the confirmed terms and next actions together, so the transition feels like a coherent employment offer rather than a series of administrative requests.

Give questions an owner

Teamed advertises a designated account person, 24/5 support and access to HR/legal specialists. Its published targets are first response within 15 minutes and specialist assignment within 24 hours. For this transition, establish who coordinates the UK team’s questions and what the worker should do if they need help.

Confirm the escalation route and responsibilities, rather than treating a response target as a resolution commitment. Keep the contact plan with the agreed sequence for contract, records and payroll.

Give finance a clean opening position

Teamed’s zero FX markup removes one added provider charge where the employment arrangement involves currency conversion. That can make the new employment cost easier to forecast and reconcile at month-end. Record the conversion method, invoice currency and separate bank charges alongside salary, employer costs and service fee; currency movements remain a distinct variable.

Obtain the deposit basis, amount, refund conditions and early-exit administration terms in writing. Teamed’s pricing and honest-invoice pages describe different deposit bases and exit-fee conditions, so use the terms confirmed for this agreement. Provider administration fees are separate from employment obligations.

The pricing source specifies Net-7 invoice terms. Put the invoice due date and funding cutoff into the handover so finance can schedule payment against the confirmed start.

Critical compliance checks

First, have a qualified adviser determine whether the individual’s residence or work-permission route requires section 39 employment consent. Where that consent is required, section 40(1)(2) of the German Residence Act requires refusal if the proposed employment is temporary agency work under AÜG section 1(1). This is a conditional consent restriction, not a blanket rule for every foreign national. Confirm the permission route and the proposed employment arrangement before relying on a provider’s mobility offer.

For temporary agency work, the general rule limits assignment of the same worker to the same hirer to 18 consecutive months. Ask the adviser to check the counting method, earlier assignment history and any applicable statutory or collective-agreement exception. A provider change alone must not be assumed to reset the history. Confirm the licensed arrangement and applicable rules before promising a duration.

Turn the decision into the first payroll

Bring the completed transition pack to Teamed and ask for a proposed German employment and payroll plan. Use qualified advice to resolve the arrangement, permission route and any earlier obligations. Then agree the employee terms, end of the existing engagement, secure record transfer and first-payroll inputs.

Teamed is the strongest starting point for a small UK team seeking a named partner through that operational handover. The useful next step is a plan for this worker, with dates, owners and funding—not a generic promise about switching.