Construction site travel as working time: When do you get paid?

Many tradespeople wonder when traveling to the construction site: Is the journey compensated as working time? An expert explains the legal situation.

Construction workers are rarely active in the company, but have to construction sites to do their work there. The Round trips to Construction site but will not always as Working hours The expert Meike Seghorn explains the applicable regulations.

Example: Framework collective agreement for roofers

Construction collective agreements In addition to remuneration, they also regulate the working conditions of employees in the construction industry. Which regulations apply when and to whom depends on Trade and respective situation. The Section 5 of the framework collective agreement of the roofer includes the following provisions:

1. Employer and works council together Start and end of daily working hours (including rest breaks).
   
   
2. The Working hours begins and ends at the place of workThe place of business is considered to be the place of work if the employee Material loading or unloading or receiving work instructions; otherwise, working hours begin and end at the construction site.
   
   
3. If employees meet at an agreed Collect meeting pointto go from there together To travel to the construction site in a vehicle provided by the employer, the Driver Claim to his Hourly wages for the duration of the journey.
   
   
4. At construction sites with bigger spatial extent, working hours begin and end at a time determined jointly by the employer and the works council or, in the absence of a works council, by mutual agreement with the employee Collection point within the construction site.

Practical implementation of the roofers' collective agreement

If an employee drives directly to the construction site, the travel time not remunerated If employees initially loading material during operation, the travel time is considered Working hours and must be paid. joint trip From a collection point, only the time of the driver remunerated.

Many Businesses agree with their employees eigene, fixed regulations. These may, for example, stipulate that either the return journey or the journey to the construction site bezahlt will. At far away Special regulations may apply to construction sites, such as the employee covering the costs of one hour of driving while the employer covers the rest.

If this is clear and above all written with the employees vereinbart almost everything is allowed. But Attention: Die Employees may at the end not worse be placed than it is the Law or the collective agreement provides. 

Travel time compensation according to BRTV

For companies in the Construction industry exist specific Regulations on Travel time compensationthat are in Section 5 of the Federal Framework Collective Agreement for the Construction Industry (BRTV-Baugewerbe) for commercial The BRTV was established by the Collective bargaining parties completed and approved by the Federal Ministry of Labour for generally binding This also applies to the non-tariff-bound Employees. 

The BRTV distinguishes between construction sites with and without a daily commute. The travel time is no tariff Working hours and are therefore not remunerated. However, if the construction site is located up to 50 kilometers from the company, the employer pays an additional seven euros for daily Homeward journey. For 51 to 75 kilometers, you get eight euros, and for over 75 kilometers, you get nine euros. 

For construction sites without daily On the way home, the BRTV sees a Compensation which are based on the Removal between the construction site and the company. Instead, the employee receives a flat rate for travel to construction sites without daily journey home,

• which are 76 kilometers to 200 kilometers away from the company 9 euros,
• for 201 kilometers to 300 kilometers 18 euros,
• for 301 kilometers to 400 kilometers 27 euros and
• from 401 kilometers 39 euros

for every single Route. Read more about it > here!

Practical tip in the shortage of skilled workers

In times of shortage of skilled workers Unpaid working hours are being discussed intensively. Companies can score points with applicantsif they use these times as additional Performance compensateCompanies that strictly adhere to collective agreements are often considered outdated.

Business economist Meike Seghorn advises: " If you are considering using previously unpaid driving time in the future pay, the rechner Examine the effort involved carefully. Let your employees Travel times over a period of one quarter separately the erfass (if your time recording does not yet provide such an evaluation). Multiplied Using your company's average wage, you can record the additional costs. Do you also know the productive hourn for the same period, you can now determine by how much your gross profit per hour must increase in order to recoup the additional effort." 

The advisors at the Chambers of Crafts will be happy to help you with any legal questions!

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