The invention relates to a handling device and to a handling method for wafers, in particular for wafers with a thickness of less than 100 μm. According to the invention it is provided that an adhesive membrane is arranged so as to delimit at least one workspace, the volume of which can be changed by supplying or removing pressurising medium, and in that the size of the contact surface between the adhesive membrane and the wafer can be adjusted by changing the workspace volume.