Temporary workforce from staffing agencies

Companies often need to quickly strengthen their workforce capacity in situations where their own employees are unable to cover the current workload. This may involve seasonal peaks, short-term projects or long-term absences. During such periods, businesses try to avoid the costs associated with traditional recruitment.

For this reason, they frequently make use of services provided by staffing agencies. Agencies offer a wide range of solutions, with temporary workforce support being among the most popular. The essence of this service lies in the hiring out of workers. Employees are formally employed by the agency, which then assigns them to a specific company for a limited period. This allows the user company to obtain the necessary workforce without having to establish a standard employment relationship.

Clients (user companies) particularly appreciate the flexibility and the absence of administrative burden. Within the framework of temporary staffing, the service provider handles recruitment, payroll and termination procedures. As in other areas of employment, agency work is also subject to regulations and supervision by the state.

Regulation of the service in the Czech Republic

The rules governing the provision of workers through staffing agencies in the Czech Republic are set out in several legal regulations. The basic framework is established by Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labour Code, which regulates agency employment and the conditions for temporary assignment of employees to a user company in Sections 307a to 309.

A key principle of domestic regulation is equal treatment. Both the service provider and its client must ensure that the working and wage conditions of an assigned employee are not less favourable than those of permanent staff. Since 2026, regulation has been further tightened in certain areas, particularly with regard to the employment of foreign workers through agencies.

Compliance with these rules primarily falls under the competence of the State Labour Inspection Office. In cases of violations of labour regulations, it may impose substantial penalties, the amount of which depends on the nature of the offence. For example, concealed mediation of employment may result in fines of up to CZK 10 million.

How do other Visegrad Group countries approach temporary staffing?

All V4 countries transpose European Union directives and regulations into their national legislation. However, this does not mean that each state approaches agency employment in exactly the same way. The specific conditions are as follows:

Slovakia – the eastern neighbour

The legal framework in Slovakia sets a maximum duration of 24 months for the temporary assignment of employees. Within this period, assignment to the same user company may be extended or re-agreed no more than four times. The law also defines the term “re-agreed assignment”, which refers to a situation where an employee returns to the same user company before six months have elapsed since the end of the previous assignment. In certain specific cases, Slovak labour legislation reduces this period to four months.

Hungary takes a more flexible approach

The historic town of Visegrád, which gave the V4 group its name, is located in the north of Hungary. Hungary’s approach to temporary staffing is among the most flexible in the region. Local legislation allows an assigned employee to work for the same user company for up to five years.

This period represents a significantly longer timeframe than in other countries of the region. From a practical perspective, agency employment in Hungary can therefore serve as a relatively long-term solution to workforce shortages. This distinguishes it from Slovakia and especially from Poland, where the maximum duration of assignment is considerably shorter.

Poland has the shortest limit for temporary staffing

In Poland, agency workers may not work for the same user company for more than 18 months within a period of 36 consecutive months. Polish legislators have adopted this approach in order to prevent companies from replacing standard employment relationships with long-term agency assignments. An exception applies only when an assigned employee is replacing an absent worker, which typically occurs during long-term sickness or parental leave.