Leave
Leave
The regulations included in the Construction Workers’ Annual Leave and Severance Pay Act [Bauarbeiter-Urlaubs- und Abfertigungsgesetz] (BUAG) differs considerably from the general Paid Annual Leave Act [Allgemeines Urlaubsgesetz], since construction workers’ pattern of employment is characterised by seasonal interruptions.
BUAG’s purpose is to make it possible to earn and take leave, since applying the general Paid Annual Leave Act [Allgemeines Urlaubsgesetz] would result in disadvantages for construction workers.
BUAK’s tasks include saving data and organising companies’ payment of contributions, as well as managing and investing the capital that has been paid.
When an employee takes leave, the leave compensation is transferred to the relevant company for the purpose of correct bookkeeping.
The leave provisions have a company-neutral, industry-specific character. This means that employees are able to earn the qualifying weeks required for leave entitlement at different companies.
The leave itself can then also be taken while working for a company at which the employee does not yet qualify for it on the basis of their current employment contract (provided that all of these companies fall under the scope of application of the Construction Workers’ Annual Leave and Severance Pay Act [Bauarbeiter-Urlaubs- und Abfertigungsgesetz] (BUAG).
The employee earns an entitlement based on a certain portion of the supplements accumulated during the qualifying period. This portion is calculated per thousand (for clarity, the specified rates are indicated as percentages below). The amount of the entitlement is set by decree by the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection (BMASGK).
The following entitlements are applied for working weeks:
Leave amount of 30 business days (25 working days) 64.935%
Leave amount of 36 business days (30 working days) 77.922%
Shift holiday
One additional working day of leave is earned for every 8 shift-work weeks within a leave year. This day of leave can be claimed during the calendar year after the reporting data have been submitted to BUAK.
- The employee earns an entitlement of 693.43/1000 of the supplements accumulated during the qualifying period (§ 3a (1) BUAG).