Employer of Record (EOR) in Germany

Hire in Germany in weeks, with no entity and full compliance from day one. We place you with the right vetted EOR partner, at pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side for the life of the relationship.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Operational in days

What an Employer of Record does for you in Germany

An Employer of Record is a company that legally employs your German staff on your behalf. You choose the person and direct their work day to day. The EOR is the legal employer on paper, which is what lets you build a team in Germany without forming your own company.

In practice the EOR partner takes on everything that needs a German legal entity and local expertise: a compliant employment contract under German labour law, monthly payroll with Lohnsteuer and social insurance contributions withheld, employer social insurance contributions and all filings to the Finanzamt, statutory benefits and leave, and compliant onboarding and lawful exits with the correct notice, since German dismissal protection law makes termination process-heavy. You get a working team in days. The EOR carries the legal and compliance weight; you carry the commercial relationship. The only question worth spending time on is which partner is genuinely strong in Germany, and that is the question we answer for you.

01

Legal employer, on paper

A compliant German employment contract meeting all statutory requirements, with correct terms from day one.

02

Compliant from day one

Monthly payroll, Lohnsteuer (wage tax) withholding, the five social insurance contributions, and all statutory filings to the tax office and insurance funds.

03

No entity required

Statutory benefits, annual leave, notice and severance where legally triggered under German employment law, and lawful onboarding and exits. You get a working team in days; the EOR carries the legal weight.

From signed scope to first German payroll run

From first call to a compliant German hire at work, usually in weeks.

01 — Scope & quote

We map the role, salary, and start date, and come back with a clear all-in monthly cost. No guesswork, no hidden extras.

02 — Compliant contract

Your employment contract is drafted to German standards by the partner, and we sanity-check the terms and pricing before you sign. Compliant from day one.

03 — Onboard in days

A correct German contract is issued with all statutory terms from day one. Your hire can start in weeks.

04 — Payroll & compliance run

Lohnsteuer and social contributions calculated and withheld, payslips issued, filings made to the tax office and insurance funds. You direct the work; the compliance just runs.

What EOR in Germany costs

Two parts: the statutory cost of employing someone, and the EOR partner fee. In Germany the statutory employer cost is substantial but predictable, and we make both transparent before you commit.

Employer social security

Approximately 21.1% of gross salary for the four capped, fixed-rate schemes (pension, health, unemployment, long-term care), plus accident insurance on top, which is additional and industry-rated. Pension and unemployment are capped at EUR 8,450/month (2026); health and long-term care sit under a separate, lower EUR 5,812.50/month ceiling; accident insurance has its own annual cap set individually by each trade body (Berufsgenossenschaft), roughly EUR 88,800 to EUR 105,600/year for 2026, with the rate itself set by industry risk class.

Minimum wage (2026)

€13.90 per hour from 1 January 2026 (roughly €2,409 per month, rising to €14.60 per hour in January 2027), the statutory floor for full-time work.

Income tax (employee)

Progressive German income tax (Lohnsteuer): 14% above the EUR 12,348 tax-free allowance, rising to 42% at EUR 69,878, and 45% above EUR 277,825. Borne by the employee, not added to your cost.

EOR partner fee

A transparent per-employee monthly fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate for you at renewal.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

We know which EOR partners are genuinely strong in Germany, by sector and by complexity. We place you with the right one, at pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side for the life of the relationship.

Independent, not a single provider

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

Pricing you can’t get direct

The employer statutory contribution is fixed by law and identical whichever partner you use. What is not fixed is the partner’s own fee on top of it, and that is where we add value: we benchmark it across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate it for you at renewal.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

Straight to the top when it matters

When something needs resolving, and in global employment it sometimes does, you come to us. We escalate directly, past the helpdesk, to people who can actually move it.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

Two decades across Europe

Two decades placing and managing EOR arrangements across Europe, with the local knowledge of German employment law, social insurance, and works-council obligations that keeps you compliant.

  • EOR specialists
  • German employment law
  • Risk removed

Built for conversion to your own entity

Many companies use EOR for 12 to 24 months, then move to their own GmbH. We plan that crossover and manage the transition when the economics justify it.

  • EOR to GmbH path
  • Transition managed
  • Crossover planning

Why Germany rewards getting compliance right from day one

Two things make Germany demanding for foreign employers: the depth of its employment regulation, and the cost of getting it wrong. An EOR gives you compliance certainty and speed without an entity.

Working time, leave & contracts

Germany is one of Europe’s most regulated labour markets. Employer social contributions run to roughly 21.1% of gross plus separate industry-rated accident insurance, works councils and strong dismissal protection apply, and the rules are enforced. An EOR carries all of that for you: the right partner keeps every hire compliant from day one, so the regulation becomes their problem to manage, not yours.

Operational in days, not weeks

Forming a German GmbH takes weeks (notarisation, commercial register entry, minimum capital), and you cannot legally employ anyone until it completes. An EOR removes that wait entirely: a compliant contract is issued and your hire starts in weeks. You prove the market first, then form an entity later only if the headcount justifies it. This is the real value of EOR in Germany: full compliance, reached at speed, with

What the German EOR package carries

One transparent monthly fee per employee covers all of this. No hidden extras.

Compliant German contract

A compliant German employment contract, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll, tax & social insurance

Monthly payroll run, with Lohnsteuer and the five social insurance contributions calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, 6 weeks of employer-paid sick leave (then insurer-paid Krankengeld), parental leave, notice and lawful exits.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on how Employer of Record works in Germany.

Is my hire employed by Bradford Jacobs or by me?

Legally, your hire is employed by the German EOR partner we place you with, which is what keeps you compliant without an entity. Day to day they work for you: you set the work, the goals, the relationship. You get the team; the partner carries the legal employer obligations.

Usually within weeks once the role and salary are agreed, with a compliant German contract from day one. Compare that to forming a GmbH (notarisation, register entry, minimum capital), during which you cannot legally employ anyone.

Germany’s employer cost is substantial: roughly 21.1% of gross for the capped, fixed-rate contributions (pension, health, unemployment, long-term care), plus accident insurance, which is additional and industry-rated. Pension and unemployment are capped at EUR 8,450/month (2026); health and long-term care sit under a lower EUR 5,812.50/month ceiling; accident insurance has its own separate annual cap set by each trade body (Berufsgenossenschaft), roughly EUR 88,800 to EUR 105,600/year for 2026, with the rate set by industry risk class. It is predictable, and we set out the full all-in figure (employer cost plus the transparent EOR partner fee) before you commit.

Yes, when done properly. The EOR is a real German legal employer meeting all employment law, social insurance, and tax obligations. The risk is using an under-resourced partner, which is exactly why we place you with vetted partners and stay on your side.

The compliant contract, monthly payroll (Lohnsteuer and social insurance withholding), employer contributions, statutory benefits and leave administration, and ongoing HR compliance. We give you one all-in monthly figure up front, with no hidden extras.

Yes, and most companies do once the headcount and permanence justify it. We manage the transition from EOR to your own GmbH, and can support the entity formation itself. Many use EOR for 12 to 24 months first.

Ready to hire in Germany?

Tell us the role and we will come back with a compliant, all-in monthly cost and the right partner, usually within a day. No entity, no lock-in, no pitch, just the fastest compliant way to get your person working in Germany.

Tax and labour data verified June 2026 (official German sources, PwC, OECD). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your hire.