Information for Employees
Job placement / Employment agencies
The work of employment agencies and job-placement specialists is devoted to helping individuals seeking employment find jobs. It may be performed in a private or public context.
Most job-placement specialists in Germany are employed at government employment agencies, such as local state labour offices, job centres operated by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Labour Office, BAA) and organizations known as »Optionskommunen«. Others work as employees or adjunct specialists for private job-placement firms.
Job-placement specialists in civil service advise unemployed individuals and other people seeking advice in such matters as job openings in the labour market, and inform them about opportunities for employment, further training and education, other benefits available in accordance with the German Social Insurance Code (SGB) and support for business start-ups.
Private job-placement specialists work on behalf of individuals who are seeking employment (job-seekers as well as those interested in changing jobs), on the one hand, and for business enterprises and institutions interested in hiring new personnel, on the other. Fees for their work or services may be paid by job-seekers themselves, by employers or by the government (e.g. the Bundesagentur für Arbeit). Private job-placement specialists also place job-seekers in return for placement coupons issued by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit in accordance with Art. 45, paragraph 4, sentence 3 no. 2 of SGB III. The coupons represent a value of €2,500 (for the long-term unemployed and persons with disabilities: €3,000) .
Caution! Some private job-placement specialists will place you only if you have a placement coupon. If you cannot present a coupon, the placement specialist may demand a commission for his/her services. You are not entitled to receive a placement coupon unless you are registered as unemployed with the Agentur für Arbeit in Germany. You are also not entitled if you are an unemployed cross-border worker or are still employed. It is then up to you to decide whether or not you wish to take advantage of the services provided by a private job-placement specialist and pay the corresponding commission.
Under certain conditions, ALG recipients have a legal right to receive a placement coupon. Bürgergeld (Grundsicherungsgeld from July 1, 2026) recipients, on the other hand, have no legal claim to the issue of a placement coupon.
Caution! Protect against potential fraud. There are also a number of disreputable or untrustworthy job-placement specialists and agencies in the market – not only in Germany, but in your home country as well. Keep in mind that every personnel and placement agency in your country of residence must be in possession of a job-placement or employee-lending permit and be registered in the national register. Check the national register in your country of residence.