{"id":9885,"date":"2026-03-12T03:43:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T03:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/global-business-recruiting.de\/wissen\/deutscher-schiffbau-typische-werften-am-beispiel-der-meyer-werft-und-luerssen\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T13:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T13:09:22","slug":"secure-design-of-labour-contracts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/global-business-recruiting.de\/en\/wissen\/werkvertraege-sicher-gestalten\/","title":{"rendered":"Legally compliant contracts for work and services - what you should bear in mind when concluding them"},"content":{"rendered":"

When contracts are awarded to external companies, this is often done on the basis of a contract for work and labour. This contract model regulates the reciprocal obligations between the client (customer) and contractor (contractor) - from the provision of services and remuneration to acceptance and warranty rights. If you want to draft contracts for work and services with legal certainty, you should know the essential legal principles and the typical pitfalls.<\/p>\n

What are the obligations of the two contracting parties?<\/h2>\n

The contractor owes the production of a specific work or the achievement of a specific work result at the contractually agreed time. This obligation to achieve success fundamentally distinguishes the contract for work from the service contract, where only an activity is owed.<\/p>\n

The legal basis is \u00a7 631 BGB:<\/p>\n

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\u00a7 631 BGB<\/strong><\/p>\n

(1) Under the contract for work and services, the contractor is obliged to produce the promised work and the customer is obliged to pay the agreed remuneration.<\/p>\n

(2) The object of the contract for work and services may be both the manufacture or modification of an item and another result to be achieved through labour or services.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For its part, the client is obliged to pay for and accept the work. In addition, he is obliged to co-operate in order to enable the work to be produced. Acceptance is also a prerequisite for the contractor's claim to remuneration.<\/p>\n

What warranty rights does the client have?<\/h2>\n

If the accepted work has defects, the client is entitled to statutory rights. Firstly, he can demand subsequent fulfilment from the contractor (Section 635 BGB). If the contractor unjustifiably refuses subsequent fulfilment, the client may rectify the defect themselves and demand reimbursement of the expenses - so-called self-remedy in accordance with Section 637 BGB. In addition, the client has the right to withdraw from the contract or reduce the remuneration (Section 638 BGB) and, under certain conditions, a claim for damages if a reasonable deadline for performance or subsequent fulfilment has been set without success.<\/p>\n

What should a contract for work contain?<\/h2>\n

The law does not prescribe a specific form, but a written agreement is always recommended. For legal certainty, a contract for work should contain at least the following information:<\/p>\n