German client wants me 'full time but as a freelancer' through my SRL for 2 years. Is the risk only theirs, or also mine?
Andrei Mureșan@andrei_cluj
We have a saying here: the cheap thing comes out expensive. I want to check before I sign something cheap.
Context: I am a Java/Spring developer in Cluj and I invoice through my own SRL. A client in Munich wants me for minimum 2 years, 40 hours a week, their Jira, their laptop, their standups, their working hours. Basically an employee, but on invoice.
Their lawyer mentioned "Scheinselbstständigkeit" and now they want me to sign a statement that I have other clients and that I decide how I work. At the moment I have no other clients. It is a pity, because the project is good and the rate is good.
My questions:
- Is the risk only on their side (German social contributions), or can it come back to me?
- Does it matter that I live and pay contributions in Romania, not Germany?
- The Romanian rules for small companies changed again in the last years, so I am not even sure the SRL is still the best structure. Did anyone do this math recently?
Not looking for legal advice, I will pay a lawyer. I want experiences first, so I know which questions to ask him.
Accepted answer
Not a lawyer, but we went through this on the client side in Berlin, so honestly this is what I know.
1. Most of the risk is on the client. If the German pension insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) decides you were really an employee, the client owes the social contributions retroactively, for years. That is why their lawyer is nervous and wants the statement. The statement alone protects nobody. What counts is how the work actually looks: their laptop, their hours, their standups, no other clients. That looks like employment.
2. Romania matters a lot. If you are insured in Romania, ask for an A1 certificate from the Romanian authority. It states which country's social security applies to you, and with a valid A1 the German side generally cannot claim you. Ask your lawyer about the A1 first, it changes the whole conversation.
3. For you personally the risk is smaller but not zero: tax questions in Romania if the SRL looks like a disguised salary, and the contract can end overnight if their lawyer gets scared.
Practical: use your own laptop, invoice monthly or per deliverable, keep the right to work for others, and try to find a second small client. Everybody sleeps better 😅
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Deniz Yıldırım@deniz_cto
Not a lawyer, but we went through this on the client side in Berlin, so honestly this is what I know.
1. Most of the risk is on the client. If the German pension insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) decides you were really an employee, the client owes the social contributions retroactively, for years. That is why their lawyer is nervous and wants the statement. The statement alone protects nobody. What counts is how the work actually looks: their laptop, their hours, their standups, no other clients. That looks like employment.
2. Romania matters a lot. If you are insured in Romania, ask for an A1 certificate from the Romanian authority. It states which country's social security applies to you, and with a valid A1 the German side generally cannot claim you. Ask your lawyer about the A1 first, it changes the whole conversation.
3. For you personally the risk is smaller but not zero: tax questions in Romania if the SRL looks like a disguised salary, and the contract can end overnight if their lawyer gets scared.
Practical: use your own laptop, invoice monthly or per deliverable, keep the right to work for others, and try to find a second small client. Everybody sleeps better 😅
Andrei Mureșan@andrei_cluj
Thank you, this is exactly the list I needed. The A1 I did not know about at all. And the laptop thing is funny, their laptop is better than mine, it is a pity to refuse it
Wolfgang Engel@dsgvo_wolf
Deniz is correct. I would only add that the client can request a formal status determination procedure (Statusfeststellungsverfahren) with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung. It takes some months, but afterwards everybody knows where they stand. Careful companies do this for long engagements.
Gary Pritchard@contractor_gaz
Same film in the UK, we call it IR35. Two years, their kit, their hours, no other clients = employee in all but name, mate. The paperwork never saves you, the working practices do. Get the A1 sorted and get a second client even if it's tiny
Artyom Sokolov@relocant_artyom
+1 for A1. When I started remote for a German client it was the first question their accountant asked. Without it they wanted to stop the contract. How it is called... boring certificate, but it is the key )))
Andrei Mureșan@andrei_cluj
Artyom, for Romania it should be simpler since we are in the EU, I hope. Thank you. And I still think Java records are enough, we continue on Friday
Martín Ferraro@tincho_go
jaja in Argentina everybody does this for foreign companies and nobody asks anything. Europe has so many papers che
Andrei Mureșan@andrei_cluj
We have a saying for this too: every country has its own mess. Ours just has more stamps
Oluwatobi Adeyemi@tobi_freelance
Omo at least your client told you about the risk first. Mine just disappear when their lawyer wakes up 😂 good luck Andrei