12.

Paragraph 8 of the Law on Temporary Agency Work, in the version in force since 1 April 2017, entitled ‘Principle of equal treatment’, provides that: ‘(1) The temporary-work agency is required to grant the temporary agency worker, for the period of assignment to the user undertaking, the basic working conditions, including remuneration, applicable at the user undertaking to a comparable worker of the user undertaking (principle of equal treatment). If the temporary agency worker receives the remuneration due under a collective agreement applicable to a comparable worker of the user undertaking or, failing that, the remuneration due under a collective agreement to comparable workers in the sector of work, the temporary agency worker shall be presumed to receive equal treatment as regards remuneration within the meaning of the first sentence. If remuneration in kind is granted at the user undertaking, compensation in euros may be provided. (2) A collective agreement may derogate from the principle of equal treatment, in so far as it does not provide for remuneration that is below the minimum hourly pay laid down by a regulation pursuant to Paragraph 3a(2). To the extent that such a collective agreement derogates from the principle of equal treatment, the temporary-work agency must grant the temporary agency worker the working conditions applicable under that collective agreement. Within the scope of such a collective agreement, employers and workers not bound by the collective agreement may agree to the application of the collective agreement. To the extent that such a collective agreement provides for remuneration below the minimum hourly pay laid down by a regulation pursuant to Paragraph 3a(2), the temporary-work agency must grant the temporary agency worker, for each hour of work, the remuneration due at the user undertaking to a comparable worker of the user undertaking for one hour of work. (3) A derogation by collective agreement within the meaning of subparagraph 2 shall not apply to temporary agency workers who, in the six months preceding the assignment to the user undertaking, have ceased to have an employment relationship with that undertaking or with an employer forming part of the same group of undertakings as the user undertaking within the meaning of Paragraph 18 of the Aktiengesetz [(Law on Public Limited Companies)]. (4) A collective agreement within the meaning of subparagraph 2 may derogate, as regards remuneration, from the principle of equal treatment for the first nine months of assignment to a user undertaking. A longer derogation by collective agreement shall be allowed only if: 1. no later than 15 months after an assignment to a user undertaking, a remuneration is attained that is at least the remuneration laid down by the collective agreement as being equivalent to the collective agreement remuneration of comparable workers in the sector, and 2. after a period of adaptation to the working methods of a maximum of six weeks, the remuneration paid is gradually aligned with the abovementioned remuneration. Within the scope of such a collective agreement, employers and workers not bound by the collective agreement may agree to the application of the provisions of that agreement. The period of previous assignments by the same or by a different temporary-work agency to the same user undertaking shall be taken into account in full if the respective period between the assignments does not exceed three months. (5) The temporary-work agency shall be required to pay to the temporary agency worker at least the minimum hourly pay laid down by a regulation pursuant to Paragraph 3a(2) for the period of the assignment and for periods without assignment.’