Temporary Work New collective bargaining agreements in the temporary staffing sector

Following the merger of the two temporary staffing employer associations, iGZ and BAP, into the General Association of Personnel Service Providers (GVP) on December 1, 2023, the DGB Collective Bargaining Association concluded new collective bargaining agreements with the GVP in 2025. Specifically, these are the framework collective bargaining agreement and the framework wage agreement. They standardize the provisions of the collective bargaining agreements with iGZ and BAP that remain in effect and will replace them as of January 1, 2026. The new collective bargaining agreements contain provisions from the previous iGZ and BAP agreements, as well as several new regulations. Transition periods apply to some of the old provisions. A new provision regarding the written form of employment contracts took effect as early as August 1, 2025 (see below).

The collective bargaining agreement on industry-specific surcharges in the metal and electrical industries was also renegotiated in 2025. This agreement now includes a new provision regarding the so-called cap. Specifically, the cap in the fifth bonus tier will be raised to 92.5 percent as of January 1, 2028, and to 95 percent as of January 1, 2029. In return, the bonus will be reduced—but the bottom line is that this effectively means more money for temporary agency workers.

Through a new collective bargaining agreement (agreed upon in September 2025), wages for temporary workers will also increase in three stages over the coming months. Vacation pay, Christmas bonuses, and the member benefit will also increase by the same amount.

A so-called framework collective bargaining agreement governs general working conditions for employees. This includes, for example, working hours, hiring and termination, premiums for night and shift work, and annual leave. 

The framework collective bargaining agreement defines the various pay grades and regulates how employees are classified into them.

A pay collective bargaining agreement specifies the actual pay rates for each pay grade. The pay collective bargaining agreement for temporary agency work will be renegotiated this summer.

There are also collective bargaining agreements for industry-specific premiums, which contain provisions for increasing pay depending on the industry in which the worker is assigned. IG Metall has concluded such collective bargaining agreements for assignments in the metal and electrical industry, the wood and plastics processing industry, and the textile and apparel industry.

The industry-specific supplements ensure that temporary agency workers assigned to the metal and electrical industries, the textile and apparel industries, and the wood and plastics industries receive a supplement to their pay starting from their very first day on the job. This supplement increases in stages over the course of the assignment.

However, particularly for assignments in the metal and electrical industries, there were problems with the so-called “cap.” Until now, this cap limited the premium to 90 percent of the hourly wage of a comparable employee at the client company. As a result, especially in the fifth premium tier (after nine months of assignment), the premium was no longer paid in full but was “capped.”

IG Metall wanted to change this and has pushed through a new regulation. Specifically, the cap in the fifth bonus tier will be raised to 92.5 percent as of January 1, 2028, and to 95 percent as of January 1, 2029. In return, the bonus rate will be lowered (to 47.5 percent and then 45 percent)—but the bottom line is that this effectively means more money for temporary agency workers. 

The new regulations apply to assignments beginning on or after April 1, 2027, and April 1, 2028, respectively.

Example

A temporary agency worker in pay grade 2a currently earns an hourly wage of 14.85 euros. When assigned to a company in the metal and electrical industry, they receive industry-specific surcharges. After a nine-month assignment, they would be entitled to 22.28 euros per hour based on the current 50 percent surcharge. A comparable employee at the client company earns 21.30 euros per hour. The “cap” on the bonus is set at 90 percent of this amount, or 19.17 euros. The temporary agency worker will therefore receive no more than this hourly wage after nine months on assignment.

The improvement secured in the collective bargaining agreement means that, going forward, the “cap” in the fifth bonus tier (after nine months of assignment) will be raised in two stages: to 92.5 percent starting in 2028, and to 95 percent starting in 2029. In return, the bonus in this tier will decrease accordingly, to 47.5 percent and 45 percent, respectively. After nine months of assignment, the temporary worker will receive a lower premium of 21.90 euros (at 47.5 percent) or 21.53 euros (at 45 percent). However, the “cap” increases to 19.70 euros (92.5 percent) or 20.24 euros (95 percent)—and thus their hourly pay effectively rises.

Many employers will present their employees with amended employment contracts or addenda to the employment contract that include a reference to the new GVP collective bargaining agreements. This is intended to replace the previous reference to the iGZ and BAP collective bargaining agreements, which will no longer exist after December 31, 2025. In principle, there is nothing wrong with this, but care should be taken to ensure that the employer does not use this opportunity to make further changes to the existing terms of the employment contract. Therefore: Carefully review which provisions and contents are to be changed! If in doubt, contact your local IG Metall chapter.

As of August 1, 2025, a new employment contract for temporary agency work no longer needs to be concluded in written form—that is, as a printed employment contract—but only in text form. Text form means that the employment contract can also be concluded via email or by sending a digital PDF. However, as a temporary agency worker, you always have the option to request a printed copy of the employment contract from your employer. Alternatively, you must be able to download it, for example, from your employer’s online portal. Important: Notice of termination must still be given or handed over in written form—that is, as a printed and signed document.

In principle, even under the new collective bargaining agreements, the standard monthly working hours for full-time employees remain at 151.67 hours per month, or an average of 35 hours per week. Employees thus receive a steady monthly salary. If employees are primarily assigned to client companies with longer weekly working hours, a higher monthly working time may be agreed upon in their employment contract, with corresponding adjustments to their pay.

The previous provision in the iGZ framework collective bargaining agreement allowing the monthly working hours to be set variably depending on the number of working days in a month may be continued by companies with this arrangement only during a transitional period. For employees, this meant that their compensation varied from month to month. However, these provisions will end no later than December 31, 2029.

The working time account may contain a maximum of 200 “plus hours.” Employees and employers may agree that any number of hours may be taken as time off (free hours or full days off). Employees may also request (with one week’s notice) to take up to two days off per month. To do so, the account must have at least 35 plus hours for one day and at least 70 plus hours for two days.

Under certain circumstances, employees may also have their Plus Hours paid out, meaning they receive additional compensation. This applies to any working time credit exceeding 91 Plus Hours. In addition, an agreement may be reached with the employer to pay out up to 20 hours per month. Furthermore, through an agreement between the employee and the employer, up to 70 hours may be paid out during the compensation period (twelve months).

For employees previously covered by the iGZ collective bargaining agreement, these regulations are new. For employees covered by the BAP collective bargaining agreement, the locations used to calculate travel times and the time limit have changed.

Effective January 1, 2026: If the one-way trip (outside of working hours) from the employee’s place of residence to the work site at the client’s facility takes more than 1 hour and 15 minutes, the time exceeding this limit for each round trip will be paid as working time. The shortest travel time achievable by public transportation (bus and train) is used for this calculation. In addition, this commute time must have actually been required.

To ensure that the travel time is paid accordingly, the employee must report it to the employer by the end of the month at the latest, for example via email. If the employee is on a long-term assignment, a single report is sufficient; thereafter, only changes (such as a change of residence) need to be reported.

With regard to the regulations on vacation duration, special payments, and assignment-related allowances, the length of employment with the employer is relevant. In the future, only pure periods of inactivity—such as unpaid leave—will no longer be taken into account. Periods of sick leave are now fully taken into account, meaning they are not deducted from the length of employment. Parental leave and caregiving leave are taken into account for up to twelve months.

The amount of your earnings is not regulated in the framework collective bargaining agreement, but rather in the wage collective bargaining agreement. Here, the DGB unions secured a three-stage increase during the 2025 collective bargaining round . Specifically, wages will increase by 2.99 percent as of January 1, 2026, by 2.5 percent as of September 1, 2026, and by an additional 3.5 percent as of April 1, 2027. The hourly wage in pay grade 1 (EG1) will thus rise from the current 14.53 euros to 14.96 euros as of January 1, 2026, to 15.33 euros as of September 1, 2026, and then to 15.87 euros as of April 1, 2027. The collective bargaining agreement is valid through September 30, 2027. In addition, various allowances may apply during an assignment, including industry-specific allowances.

In addition, temporary agency workers (with at least six months of employment) receive a special payment twice a year: vacation pay and a Christmas bonus. And IG Metall members (with at least six months of membership) also receive an additional payment in each case: the “Temporary Agency Work Member Benefit.” These payments increase at the same rate as wages.