The agency must have a license
An agency that sends you to work for another company (Zeitarbeit) must have a permit from the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). You can check it with the "Arbeitnehmerüberlassung" team by region:
- Düsseldorf (North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse): 0211 692 4500;
- Nuremberg (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland): 0911 529 4343;
- Kiel (other states): 0431 709 1010.
Without an agency permit, your employment contract legally arises directly with the company where you work. In meat processing (slaughtering and cutting), working through an agency has been prohibited since 2021.
How much an intermediary can charge
- An employment agency cannot charge you money for placing you — such a contract is invalid.
- A private recruitment intermediary can only charge a fee under a written contract, only after actual employment and no more than 2 000 € including VAT. An advance payment "for a job" is illegal.
Red flags
- Unknown employer; no address, contact person, working hours, or place of work.
- Big money quickly and without any requirements.
- Only a phone number or private email, empty website.
- At work: unpaid overtime, threats for complaining or being sick, cash salary without a payslip.
Do not give original passports and residence permits to anyone — neither to the agency, nor to the employer, nor "for safekeeping". Do not sign anything you have not read, and keep copies of all documents for yourself.
Where to apply
- Faire Integration — free consultations on labor rights for refugees and migrants, available in Ukrainian; centers in 28 cities.
- Minimum wage hotline (BMAS): 030 60 28 00 28.
- Customs (FKS) accepts reports of illegal work, anonymously if needed. Unpaid wages are recovered through court.
- Danger, threats — police: 110.
Official sources
Data verified on October 4, 2026. Rules and amounts change — check with the source before making important decisions.
