The use of Hardship allowance in the construction industry, denotes additional remuneration for certain work under particularly difficult conditions. The Federal Framework Collective Agreement for the Construction Industry (BRTV) uses the term for this hardship allowance.
What is a hardship allowance in construction?
A hardship allowance is paid for certain types of work if the conditions specified in Collective agreement are met.
The BRTV regulates in section 6 specific activities and working conditions for which there may be an entitlement to a hardship allowance.
This means that not every physically demanding or unpleasant activity automatically leads to a hardship allowance. The decisive factors are the relevant collective agreement requirements in each case.
What hardships does the BRTV take into account?
The BRTV lists various categories of work for which difficult working condition allowances may be provided. These include in particular:
- Working with specific personal protective equipment
- specialist cleaning work
- Water works
- Working at height
- Working in extreme heat
- piling work
- certain shaft, tunnel and sewer construction works
- Compressed air and diving work
The exact eligibility requirement and amount of the supplement depend on the respective collective agreement.
Hardship allowance and other supplements – what is the difference?
Allowances for arduous work are linked to specific demanding tasks or working conditions.
These are to be distinguished from, for example, overtime, night-shift, Sunday and public holiday allowances, which are linked to the timing or duration of working hours and are regulated separately in the BRTV.
Connection with Construction payroll
Hardship allowances can be relevant as additional remuneration components when processing payroll for construction workers.
Further links between collective agreement regulations and payroll accounting in construction are covered in the financial guide on Construction Payroll.
