BUAK

Exemption

Other institutions
 
 
BUAK can conclude agreements with comparable social service and leave funds of equal status that provide for reciprocal credits to and exemption from the supplement requirement.
 
At present, BUAK has concluded framework agreements on mutual exemption of posted employees with the SOKA-BAU, the umbrella organisation uniting the Construction Industry Leave and Wage Adjustment Fund [Urlaubs- und Lohnausgleichskasse der Bauwirtschaft] (ULAK) and the Construction Industry Supplementary Pension Fund VVaG [Zusatzversorgungskasse des Baugewerbes] (ZVK-Bau), the Union des Caisses de France du réseau Congés Intempéries BTP (UCF) and the Commissione Nazionale Paritetica per le Casse Edili (CNCE).
 
Details of the exemption process established between BUAK and ULAK
 
 
Requirements: Exemption from the Austrian leave fund process requires that the posting company’s business activity be normally carried out in Germany, and that social fund contributions for employees working in Germany and for persons posted to Austria be paid to ULAK for the duration of the posting period.
 
Procedure:
 
If the specified conditions are met, the exemption process for acquiring a declaration of exemption pursuant to § 33i BUAG can be initiated. The necessary “Application for exemption – Germany” [Antrag zur Freistellung] form is available for download.
 
The completed form, signed by an authorised officer of the firm and including a listing of the posted employees, must be submitted to ULAK no more than one week after the start of activities in Austria.
 
ULAK then informs BUAK about your company’s participation in its leave fund process. If the response is positive, your company will be exempted from making contribution payments to BUAK. A corresponding document (Notification of Exemption) is then issued to your company.
 
However, the Notification of Exemption thus issued only applies to that specific case of posting, and can be revoked by BUAK at any time if the exemption conditions are no longer fulfilled.
 
Submission of a list of the posted workers is mandatory for every new posting to Austria. Since the relevant information is continuously synchronised between ULAK and BUAK, this allows your company to avoid sending duplicate reports to both institutions.
 
 
Note on other reporting requirements:
 
Exemption from the Austrian leave fund process does not relieve your company from the legally imposed requirements to report to other authorities pursuant to the Employment Contract Law Adaptation Act [Arbeitsvertragrechts-Anpassungsgesetz] (AVRAG) and the Temporary Agency Work Act [Arbeitskräfteüberlassungsgesetz] (AÜG).
 
 
Posting by companies from other countries
 
In this case, initial reports must be submitted to BUAK before or after the start of work in Austria. As part of the payment process, BUAK then clarifies the existence possible exemption conditions for individual cases.
 
If there is no clear provision for reciprocal crediting and exemption, integration into the leave fund system is required unless companies and their employees are subject to a comparable leave fund system of equal status in the source country.
 

Contact

BUAK - Bauarbeiter-Urlaubs- und Abfertigungskasse
Kliebergasse 1a, 1050 Vienna

0579 579 5000
0579 579 95 0 99

kundendienst@buak.at

Mon to Thu 7.15 am to 4.00 pm
Fri 7.00 am to 1.00 pm