Documents from a Slovak scaffolding subcontractor: the checklist before you sign

The A1 certificate confirms in which country social contributions are paid for a worker. For a posting from Slovakia to Germany every member of the crew needs one, not only the foreman, and it must cover the whole period on site.

Ask for copies before the first day on site and check names and dates. If the crew is reinforced during the project, you need A1 certificates for the new people too.

For a Slovak limited company this is an extract from the commercial register (ORSR); for a sole trader an extract from the trade register, or a German Gewerbeanmeldung if the subcontractor has a branch in Germany. The extract shows who the managing director is, what the scope of business is and whether the company has existed for longer than a few weeks.

Ask for the VAT number and the German USt-IdNr. as well if invoicing goes to Germany.

Without this certificate from the German tax office you as the client must withhold 15 percent construction withholding tax (Bauabzugsteuer) from every invoice and pay it yourself. With a valid Freistellungsbescheinigung you pay the full invoice.

The certificate has a limited validity, so check the date and ask for a new one on longer projects. It can be verified online via the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern portal.

SOKA-BAU is the holiday fund of the German construction industry (Urlaubskasse der Bauwirtschaft), to which construction firms pay contributions for workers holiday entitlements. Scaffolding has its own social fund, so ask about the relevant Sozialkasse and for proof of registration or exemption.

Special rules apply to workers posted from the EU. As the client you should have a written statement from the subcontractor on file explaining how this is handled.

Ask for the policy or an insurer confirmation showing the cover amount and validity. With scaffolding, claims are not limited to damage to the building – they also cover injury to third parties moving below the scaffold.

Check that the insurance covers erection work in Germany, not only in Slovakia.

BG BAU is the German statutory accident insurance institution for the construction industry. A clearance certificate (Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung) confirms that the subcontractor has paid its contributions and is not in arrears.

On longer projects it is worth asking for equivalent certificates from the social insurance and tax authority in the country of registration.

Scope of work: which scaffolding, which system, what area or how many people. Start and completion dates, the handover procedure (Abnahme) and who signs the protocol. Invoicing: rate or unit price, payment terms and any retention.

Agree as well what happens if the date slips, who pays for downtime and who the contact person is on both sides. A few extra sentences in the contract save weeks of argument.

We send the complete file – A1 for every member of the crew, register extract, Freistellungsbescheinigung, proof of liability insurance and the BG BAU certificate – before the start, without you having to ask. On site you have one German-speaking foreman and one invoice.