Staff leasing of lawyers: what applies in Switzerland and Germany

Short answer: Lawyers and compliance professionals may be placed with companies in Switzerland and Germany through staff leasing if the provider is licensed in the country of assignment: in Switzerland with a cantonal licence (Art. 12 AVG), in Germany with a permit from the Federal Employment Agency (Section 1(1) AÜG). Switzerland has no statutory maximum assignment period; in Germany an assignment with the same client is limited to 18 consecutive months, and equal pay applies in principle from day one (Sections 1(1b) and 8 AÜG). Staff leasing from abroad into Switzerland is not permitted, and a provider based in Switzerland cannot obtain a German permit.

This guide is for general counsel, heads of legal, heads of compliance and HR who want to engage a professional through Personalverleih (Swiss staff leasing) or Arbeitnehmerüberlassung (German temporary agency work). It sets the rules of both countries side by side and covers Syndikus status, the Swiss bar register, cross-border assignments and Austria.

Switzerland and Germany compared

Both models share the same triangle of provider, professional and client company, but they differ on duration, pay and licensing.

In Switzerland, Personalverleih and staff leasing are synonyms.

What applies in both countries

The professional is employed by the provider and works integrated into the client company under its technical instructions; neither the AVG nor the AÜG contains special rules for lawyers. Indicators are integration into the client's organisation and working with the client's resources (Art. 26 AVV; Section 1(1) sentence 2 AÜG).

• No onward leasing: the provider must itself be the employer; chain leasing and sub-leasing are not allowed (Section 1(1) sentence 3 AÜG; Art. 26 AVV).
• Legal Services Act (Germany): only independent legal services in third-party matters require authorisation (Sections 2 and 3 RDG). A leased lawyer works under instructions for the client; in our assessment the assignment therefore does not require RDG authorisation. We are not aware of a decision on this constellation.

What counts is how the assignment is actually carried out, not the title of the contract (Section 12(1) AÜG). If a freelancer works under instructions and integrated into the team, German law may treat this as employment under Section 7(1) SGB IV; see Engaging freelance lawyers safely. The models are compared in Freelance, staff leasing or secondment.

Checking the licence or permit

Check the provider's licence before signing, because the consequences also affect your company.

• Switzerland: SECO keeps a public register of licensed staff leasing companies. The deposit is CHF 50,000 to 100,000, plus a further CHF 50,000 for leasing abroad (Art. 6 GebV-AVG).
• Germany: the provider states in the contract whether it holds the permit; the client presents this statement to the works council (Sections 12(1) and 14(3) AÜG). Without a permit, both contracts are void and employment with the client is deemed to exist (Sections 9 and 10 AÜG).

Alpinum Solutions provides legal and compliance professionals through staff leasing and freelancing, part-time or full-time, as individuals or teams, from junior to senior. The contracting party in Germany is Alpinum Solutions GmbH, which holds a temporary agency work permit from the Hesse Regional Directorate of the Federal Employment Agency; in Switzerland it is Alpinum Solutions AG, which holds a cantonal licence and a SECO licence for staff leasing abroad.

Contracts: what must be in writing

Both countries require two contracts: provider–professional and provider–client.

• Switzerland: the employment contract and the leasing contract must be in writing and in principle concluded before work starts (Art. 19, 22 AVG; Art. 48, 50 AVV); the leasing contract names the licensing authority and the costs including social security contributions, allowances and expenses. For open-ended assignments, notice periods of 2 and 7 days apply in the first 6 months (Art. 19(4) AVG).
• Germany: the leasing contract must be in text form; the client states the activity, the qualifications required and the working conditions of comparable employees (Section 12(1) AÜG). The designation as agency work and the identification of the person must take place before the assignment (Section 1(1) sentences 5–6 AÜG).
• Works council: in German companies with normally more than 20 employees entitled to vote, the works council must be involved under Section 99 BetrVG before the professional joins (Section 14(3) AÜG).

Assignment length: no limit in Switzerland, 18 months in Germany

In Switzerland, neither the AVG nor the AVV sets a statutory maximum assignment period. In Germany, the same person may be leased to the same client for no more than 18 consecutive months; earlier assignments count if the gap was no more than three months, even through another provider (Section 1(1b) AÜG). A collective agreement in the client's sector may set a different limit.

Example (assumptions): a legal counsel works for you from 1 January to 30 September 2027, pauses for two months and returns on 1 December 2027. Because the gap is under three months, the first 9 months count; 9 months remain, until 31 August 2028.

If the limit is exceeded, the employment contract with the provider becomes void and employment with your company is deemed to exist, unless the professional makes a valid declaration of continued employment with the provider (Sections 9(1) no. 1b and 10(1) AÜG); a fine of up to EUR 30,000 may also apply. Plan the end, the handover or a move into your team in good time: a move into the team (temp-to-perm) is possible; the terms are agreed in advance.

Pay: equal pay in Germany, collective agreement in Switzerland

In Germany, the professional is entitled in principle from day one to the essential working conditions of comparable permanent staff, including pay (Section 8(1) AÜG). A collective agreement may deviate on pay for no more than 9 months, or up to 15 months with a sector supplement agreement (Section 8(4) AÜG); no deviation applies to people who left your company in the previous 6 months (Section 8(3) AÜG). Alpinum Solutions GmbH applies the collective agreements of the DGB/GVP bargaining association.

In Switzerland, the collective agreement for staff leasing (GAV Personalverleih) is generally binding until 31 December 2027. The extension covers licensed companies whose main activity is staff leasing and excludes employees whose salary exceeds the maximum insured earnings under SUVA (Art. 2(3) of the Federal Council decision as amended on 29 March 2016). In 2026 this threshold is CHF 148,200 a year (Art. 22(1) UVV).

• Salary above CHF 148,200: the generally binding agreement does not apply; the AVG and the Code of Obligations still apply. This affects many senior profiles.
• Salary below: the agreement may apply, for example to junior profiles. The salary in the individual case is decisive; the decision does not expressly say how part-time salaries are treated.
• Client's sector agreement: if your company is covered by a generally binding collective agreement, the provider must comply with its pay and working-time provisions (Art. 20 AVG).

Bar admission, Syndikus status and the Swiss bar register

In both countries, a leased lawyer works as in-house counsel, not as an advocate. On 20 March 2023 (AnwZ (Brfg) 12/21), Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH) held that a fully qualified lawyer leased by a non-law-firm provider to a law firm, and meant to act externally as a lawyer there, cannot be admitted either as a Rechtsanwalt or as a Syndikusrechtsanwalt (in-house lawyer with bar admission).

• Reasoning: in agency work, the employer within the meaning of Section 46 BRAO is the provider, and a Syndikusrechtsanwalt may only advise and represent in the legal matters of their employer (Section 46(5) BRAO). Back-office work without external representation remains permissible according to the BGH.
• Legal departments: the case concerned a law firm. Because the reasoning turns on the employer, in our assessment Syndikus admission in a corporate legal department is not to be expected either; this has not been expressly decided. Anyone previously exempt from statutory pension insurance as a Syndikus should clarify the consequences with the bar and the German pension insurance in advance (Section 46a(2) BRAO).
• Switzerland: employed lawyers may only work for persons who are themselves entered in a cantonal bar register (Art. 8(1)(d) BGFA). On its wording, this also applies to leased lawyers with a bar qualification; we are not aware of a decision on this. Whether they can rely on the in-house legal privilege in civil proceedings (Art. 167a ZPO) has not been decided.

Law firms will find their options in Capacity crunch at your law firm.

During the assignment: authority, confidentiality and regulated institutions

Authority and confidentiality should be settled before the first working day; the AVG and the AÜG do not regulate them.

• Signing authority: whether, and up to what amount, the professional signs for your company is set out in your internal authority and signature rules, ideally with limits by contract type and value.
• Confidentiality: agree confidentiality directly with the professional and grant access on a need-to-know basis. Art. 47 of the Swiss Banking Act covers officers, employees and agents of a bank; the Act does not expressly say whether a leased person falls under it. Banks should therefore secure confidentiality by contract.
• Outsourcing: FINMA Circular 2018/3 remains in force and presupposes that a service provider performs a significant function independently; staff leasing is therefore generally not outsourcing. In Germany, the institution decides and documents case by case whether outsourcing exists (BaFin guidance on the Anti-Money Laundering Act, section 3.10).
• Formal functions: leased professionals can act, for example, as compliance officer or as the anti-money laundering unit (Geldwäschereifachstelle).

More in Confidentiality and system access and Interim compliance officer.

Cross-border assignments between Germany and Switzerland

Across the border, the client company's seat determines the provider: Swiss clients need a provider based in Switzerland, German clients one based in Germany or the EU/EEA.

• Social security: since 1 July 2023, cross-border commuters remain insured in the employer's state if they work 25% to 49.9% of their time remotely in their state of residence (multilateral framework agreement); the self-employed are not covered.
• Tax: the state of residence taxes a cross-border commuter's salary; the state of work may levy withholding tax of no more than 4.5% (Art. 15a of the Germany–Switzerland double tax treaty). Under the consultation agreement of July 2022, full home-office days at the place of residence do not count as days of non-return (as of October 2026).
• Home office and remote work: under the AÜG, what matters is the leasing's connection to Germany (Federal Employment Agency, technical instructions on the AÜG, section 1.2.1). Someone working exclusively online from abroad for a German client is not subject to the permit requirement according to the Agency (section 1.2.3); no supreme court has ruled on this. The instructions do not expressly address whether home-office days in Germany create such a connection for a Swiss client, and the AVG and AVV do not regulate remote assignments. The safe option is a provider in the client's country.

Austria in brief

In Austria the model is called Arbeitskräfteüberlassung (temporary staffing) and is a regulated trade (Section 94 no. 72 GewO 1994). Leased workers are entitled to appropriate pay customary in the locality, taking into account the collective agreement in the client's business (Section 10 AÜG); the client is liable as guarantor for pay and social security contributions (Section 14 AÜG). At Alpinum, assignments in Austria run as freelancing or as staff leasing; which Alpinum company contracts is set for each assignment in line with the applicable rules.

Limits and risks

• Alpinum Solutions provides professionals and is not a law firm. In staff leasing, your company directs the work and is responsible for decisions.
• The statements on Syndikus status in legal departments, the RDG and the Swiss bar register are interpretations. If a role requires Syndikus status, consider direct employment.
• Your company should clarify social security and tax questions case by case with its compensation office, tax adviser or law firm.

Frequently asked questions on staff leasing of lawyers

How long may a lawyer be leased to the same company?

In Switzerland there is no statutory maximum assignment period; an assignment lasts as long as the company, the provider and the professional agree. In Germany, leasing to the same client ends after 18 consecutive months at the latest, unless a collective agreement in the client's sector provides otherwise (Section 1(1b) AÜG).

Can a German provider lease staff into Switzerland, and vice versa?

No. Staff leasing from abroad into Switzerland is not permitted (Art. 12(2) AVG); a provider based in Switzerland with a cantonal licence is required. A provider based in Switzerland cannot obtain a German permit, because Switzerland is not part of the EU/EEA (Section 3(2) AÜG). You therefore need a provider in each country of assignment.

Does the Swiss collective agreement for staff leasing apply to senior staff?

Often not. Salaries above the maximum insured earnings under SUVA, CHF 148,200 a year in 2026, are excluded; many senior legal counsel and compliance managers earn more. For them the AVG and the Code of Obligations apply, but not the generally binding collective agreement. The salary in the individual case is decisive.

Can a cross-border commuter from Germany work from home for a Swiss company?

Yes, if she is employed by a Swiss provider and remote work in Germany stays below 50%. She then remains insured in Switzerland; the employer applies for an A1 certificate. Under the 2022 consultation agreement, full home-office days at the place of residence do not jeopardise her cross-border commuter status for tax purposes.

What does a leased legal or compliance professional cost?

At Alpinum Solutions, daily rates depend on experience: CHF 600–1,800+ in Switzerland and EUR 480–1,440+ for staff leasing in Germany, excluding VAT, as of 18 October 2026; the German ranges also apply in Austria. More in the guide Costs of interim legal and compliance support.

Next step

First establish where your company is based and where the professional will work; this determines the model and the contracting party. Selected profiles are usually available within 48 hours; the company and Alpinum agree the start date together.

• Staff leasing for legal and compliance
• Interim legal and compliance in Switzerland
• Interim legal and compliance in Germany
• Discuss your needs

Last updated: 30 October 2026.