About BUAK

The regulations contained in the Construction Workers’ Leave and Severance Pay Act (BUAG) differ significantly from the general Leave Act, as the employment rhythm of construction workers is characterized by seasonal interruptions.

The vacation provisions have a company-neutral, industry-specific character. This means that the qualifying weeks required for vacation entitlement can be earned at different companies. The leave itself can also be taken at a company where the employee does not yet have any entitlement from the current employment relationship.

BUAK’s tasks include storing the data, organizing the payment of contributions by the companies, managing and investing the paid-in capital and finally paying it out to the employee.

Leave can only be taken if there is a mutual agreement between the employer and employee as well as a valid employment relationship.

If an employee takes vacation, the vacation pay is transferred to the company concerned (if an escrow account exists) or directly to the employee.
Vacation entitlements that are not taken in the form of vacation can be compensated to the employee as severance pay or vacation compensation.

The basic idea was to extend the “company neutrality” already anchored in the vacation regulations for construction workers to severance pay. This means that periods of employment at different companies are added together for the calculation of severance pay entitlement.
Since October 1, 1987, there has been a severance pay regulation in accordance with the BUAG.

Severance pay serves various socio-political purposes:

• Provision for the threat of unemployment following termination of employment
• Loyalty bonus for longer service
• Share of the company’s upswing brought about by the employee’s performance
• Bridging for the reduction in income caused by loss of employment
• Compensation for the wear and tear on the workforce due to longer periods of employment in a particular company

The Company Employee and Self-Employed Pension Act (BMSVG) applies to employment relationships based on a contract under private law that began after December 31, 2002 and to freelance employment relationships that began after January 1, 2008.

BUAK Betriebliche Vorsorgekasse administers severance pay contributions on a fiduciary basis. Read more about the sustainable investment of BUAK BVK here.

• If employees are not employed on the construction site over the winter holidays (24.12., 25.12., 26.12., 31.12., 01.01., 06.01.), they will receive remuneration for these days under certain conditions.

If a company is subject to the winter public holiday regulation and has one or more employees during the winter public holidays, the claim for a lump-sum refund (of the statutory public holiday pay paid to the employees) is directed against BUAK.

The refund is calculated according to the following formula:
(KV wage + 20%) x weekly hours/5 x number of winter holidays

The company is also entitled to 30.1% fringe benefits (from 01.12.2020) for the social security contributions and statutory levies to be paid during the winter holidays. The reimbursement will be offset against the current additional payment for the vacation area, i.e. the payments will be made in January and February.

Scope of application

With effect from July 1, 1996, the BUAG was extended to include the subject area of “winter holidays”. In this amendment, measures were taken to improve annual employment in the construction industry.

At present, only companies in the

• construction and the construction industry,
• public enterprises,
• torrent and avalanche control companies and
• labor leasing companies whose employees are employed in the construction industry and construction sector are included in this law.

Weather conditions are a key factor in the workflow of the construction industry.

For companies, unfavorable weather conditions result in the problem of costs for lost working hours.

For construction workers, most of whom work outdoors, bad weather means work interruptions that are associated with wage losses.

The bad weather regulation serves as a solution to these problems. This provides for the reimbursement of costs incurred to the companies on the one hand and a compensation scheme for loss of earnings that occurs when work is lost due to bad weather on the other.

If the company decides that work has to be stopped due to bad weather, employees receive 60% of their actual wages from the company for the hours lost.

The aim of the social partners in the construction industry was to offer construction workers who have worked in the construction industry for many years and who cannot remain in employment until retirement (old-age, heavy labor and corridor pension) as well as special retirement benefits in accordance with Art. X of the Night Heavy Labor Act – NSchG, Federal Law Gazette No. 354/1981, are offered early protection in the form of a bridging allowance for the period of non-employment until retirement.

If the employee has acquired sufficient periods of employment in construction, he or she can receive up to 18 times the 169.5 times the hourly wage stipulated in the collective agreement for the last 52 weeks before termination of the employment relationship as an Interim supplement to the pension entitlement.