Engaging freelance lawyers safely: avoiding false self-employment in Germany and Switzerland

Short answer: A freelance lawyer is falsely self-employed if they in fact work under instructions and are integrated into the client's organisation; the contract title does not change that. In Germany this counts as employment under § 7(1) SGB IV (Social Code Book IV), which the German Pension Insurance (DRV) determines in a status determination procedure (§ 7a SGB IV). In Switzerland, the AHV compensation office (old-age insurance) assesses each activity separately on its economic substance. To avoid false self-employment, define a self-contained mandate or choose staff leasing.

This guide is for general counsel, heads of legal, heads of compliance and HR leaders in Germany and Switzerland who engage freelance lawyers or compliance experts. It shows the tests in both countries, the consequences of getting it wrong and how to describe a mandate properly.

Instructions and integration: the tests in both countries

In Germany and Switzerland alike, actual practice decides status, not the contract. Both systems essentially ask the same question: does the person work under someone else's instructions within someone else's organisation, or do they carry their own business risk?

• Instructions: who decides what is done, when, where and how?
• Integration: is the person part of team planning, line duties, cover arrangements and office hours?
• Business risk: does the person bear costs, bad-debt risk and the risk of no follow-on work?
• Market presence: do they trade under their own name and work for several clients?

Legal work is a sensitive case: a freelance lawyer covering a vacancy in the legal department typically takes on line duties and works to the team's priorities. That looks more like employment than self-employment.

Germany: employment, status determination and consequences

In Germany, employment exists where someone works under instructions and is integrated into the instructing party's organisation (§ 7(1) SGB IV). In the Herrenberg judgment on a music school teacher, the Federal Social Court held that the parties' evident intention to agree self-employment does not exclude compulsory insurance (BSG, judgment of 28 June 2022 – B 12 R 3/20 R). Where a person is integrated into another's business, freedoms only point to self-employment if they make the activity entrepreneurial overall.

Status determination procedure

• Who decides: on application, DRV Bund decides on employment status, i.e. employment or self-employment, based on an overall assessment (§ 7a(1) SGB IV).
• Triangular set-ups: if a freelancer works for an end client through a provider and is integrated and instructed there, DRV also determines whether employment exists with the end client. The end client may apply itself (§ 7a(2) sentences 2–3 SGB IV).
• Forecast decision: on application, DRV decides before the work starts, based on the contracts and the intended arrangement (§ 7a(4a) SGB IV).
• Group assessment: after an individual decision, DRV gives an expert opinion on identical engagements at the client's request; under conditions this protects contracts concluded within 2 years (§ 7a(4b), (4c) SGB IV).
• Sunset clause: under the current wording, the triangular, forecast and group rules expire at the end of 30 June 2027 (§ 7a(7) SGB IV, as of October 2026).
• Early application: if the application is made within one month of starting work, compulsory insurance only begins when the decision is notified, provided the person agrees and had equivalent cover in the meantime (§ 7a(5) SGB IV).

Consequences of a finding of employment

• Contributions: the employer owes the total social security contribution. It may only recover the employee's share from the next three salary payments, so in back-payment cases it usually bears both shares (§§ 28e, 28g SGB IV).
• Late-payment surcharges: 1% per month or part-month on the arrears (§ 24 SGB IV), unless the debtor was unaware through no fault of its own.
• Limitation: 4 years after the end of the year in which contributions fell due, 30 years if withheld intentionally (§ 25 SGB IV).
• Criminal law: withholding contributions is punishable by up to 5 years' imprisonment or a fine (§ 266a of the Criminal Code).
• Agency work: if the engagement runs through a provider, integrated work may also be disguised agency work, resulting in employment with the end client (§§ 1(1) sentence 5, 9, 10 AÜG).

Switzerland: AHV status and case-by-case assessment

In Switzerland, the AHV compensation office decides case by case, and separately for each activity, whether someone is self-employed. Economic substance counts, not the contract (AHV/IV information sheet 2.02). Any pay for work in a dependent position is relevant salary (Art. 5(2) AHVG, the Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance Act).

• Criteria used by the compensation office: trading under one's own business name, own economic risk (investment, bad-debt risk, rent), freely chosen business organisation and work for several clients.
• A single client: anyone who works for only one client is usually treated as employed.
• Consequences: the employer must deduct contributions from each salary payment and pay them together with its own share (Art. 14 AHVG). Contributions can be claimed up to 5 years after the end of the calendar year (Art. 16 AHVG).
• Liability: where the employer wilfully or grossly negligently breaches the rules, it is liable for the loss; for legal entities, board members and management are liable on a subsidiary basis (Art. 52 AHVG).
• VAT: self-employed persons with annual taxable turnover below CHF 100,000 are exempt from VAT registration (Art. 10(2)(a) MWSTG, the VAT Act).

Criteria compared: indicators in Germany and Switzerland

No single indicator decides; both countries weigh the overall picture. The table shows typical indicators in legal mandates.

Describing the mandate properly: deliverable, place, time, tools

A freelance mandate holds up when it describes a deliverable and leaves the method to the professional. These points belong in the mandate description:

1. Deliverable: what exists at the end? For example 300 reviewed supplier contracts with a risk rating, a data protection gap assessment or a revised policy framework.
2. Acceptance: how is the deliverable measured, and who signs it off?
3. Place: the professional chooses where to work; attendance only for agreed workshops or meetings.
4. Time: milestones and an end date rather than working hours; no entry in rotas or holiday plans.
5. Tools: own devices where possible; system access only as needed and marked as external.
6. Communication: one named contact for the mandate rather than direct tasks from the whole team.
7. Fees: fee per mandate or deliverable, invoiced by the professional.
8. Review: in Germany, apply for a forecast decision under § 7a(4a) SGB IV if in doubt.

Alpinum Solutions provides freelance lawyers and compliance experts through freelancing; they work on their own responsibility within the agreed mandate. The client defines the mandate and the deliverable.

When staff leasing is the safer choice

Staff leasing is the safer choice as soon as you want to direct the work yourself. The professional is then employed by the provider, which handles salary and social security; your company gives professional instructions. False self-employment of the professional is thereby ruled out, provided the provider holds the required licence and, in Germany, the contract is expressly labelled as agency work (§ 1(1) sentence 5 AÜG).

• Covering a position: vacancy, parental or maternity leave, sick leave.
• Line duties: ongoing contract work, advising business units, taking part in team processes.
• Task forces: KYC remediation or reviews with a team lead, daily planning and quality control by you.
• Long engagements with one client: one client over many months points to dependent work in Switzerland.

In Germany, the rules of the AÜG then apply, such as the 18-month limit (§ 1(1b) AÜG); in Switzerland the AVG applies, with no statutory maximum period. For Germany, Alpinum uses its German company, Alpinum Solutions GmbH, licensed by the Hesse Regional Directorate of the Federal Employment Agency. The models are compared in Freelance, staff leasing or secondment and on the staff leasing for legal and compliance page.

Limits and risks

• Status remains a case-by-case decision by DRV or the AHV compensation office. A careful mandate description lowers the risk but does not rule it out.
• Alpinum Solutions is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Responsibility for designing and directing the mandate lies with the engaging company.
• For freelance lawyers in Germany without bar admission, the Legal Services Act also applies: independently assessing legal questions in individual cases for your company is only permitted where a statute allows it (§§ 2(1), 3 RDG). Freelance mandates involving legal advice are therefore generally a matter for admitted lawyers.

FAQ: false self-employment of freelance lawyers

What happens if false self-employment is established?

In Germany, the client as employer owes social security contributions retroactively, in practice usually both shares, plus late-payment surcharges of 1% per month; the limitation period is 4 years, or 30 years if intentional (§§ 24, 25, 28e SGB IV). In Switzerland, AHV contributions can be claimed up to 5 years after the end of the calendar year (Art. 16 AHVG).

Who applies for a status determination?

The parties involved, i.e. client or contractor, apply to DRV Bund (§ 7a(1) SGB IV). In triangular set-ups through a provider, the end client may also apply. For spouses, descendants and shareholder-managing directors of a GmbH, the collecting agency must apply. An application before work starts is possible as a forecast decision.

Is a freelancer in Switzerland automatically self-employed?

No. The AHV compensation office assesses each activity separately. Someone self-employed for one client may be treated as employed for another. What matters is trading under one's own name, own economic risk, own organisation and several clients; anyone who works for only one client is usually treated as employed (information sheet 2.02).

Is a contract labelled "freelance" enough?

No. In both countries, actual practice counts. In 2022 the Federal Social Court held, in the case of a music school teacher, that even an evident intention to agree self-employment does not exclude compulsory insurance (B 12 R 3/20 R). In Switzerland, the compensation office looks at economic substance, not the contract. The contract must match how the work is actually done.

Can a freelance lawyer provide parental leave cover?

That is risky. Covering a position usually means line duties, attendance and integration into the team, in other words instructions and integration. Staff leasing is generally the better fit for such assignments. Freelancing works if a self-contained project with its own deliverable can be carved out of the cover.

Next step

Describe the task, deliverable, duration and how you want to direct the work; that shows whether freelancing or staff leasing fits. Shortlisted profiles are usually available within 48 hours; the start date is agreed between the client and Alpinum.

• Freelance lawyers and compliance experts
• Staff leasing for legal and compliance
• Models for interim lawyers compared
• Discuss your requirements

Last updated: 30 October 2026.