Industry agreements in the construction sector determine which wage values are applied in Main construction industry. For the Payroll in construction, the collectively agreed wage, grading, construction bonus, GTL and the 2026 tariff status are particularly important.
The Collective agreement under construction sets the framework. In the Payroll under construction, the value must match the activity, group of persons, period and billing case.
This creates a reliable basis for the Construction payroll. Values are checked, correctly assigned and clearly separated from other allowances, social funds and winter-related topics.
Tariffs in the construction industry form the basis for wage tables, regulatory frameworks and assignments in the billing context. What matters is which regulation applies to which business, which activity and which group of people. The Collective agreement in construction sets the framework for this. The specific Construction Payroll derives the appropriate hourly rate, correct pay band, and relevant period from this.
The BRTV governs essential employment and remuneration-related principles in Main construction industry. The Construction Wages Agreement specifies the remuneration rates for commercial employees. Separate tables and designations apply to salaried staff, foremen and apprentices.
ClassificationTariff values only become billable when they match the scope of application, the activity, the group of people and the correct tariff version. Basic wage, construction supplement and other remuneration components must be kept separate.
Different table logics apply to construction site hours, stationary activities, salary groups and training allowances. This classification determines which value is used in the respective Payroll month.
In construction practice, the collectively agreed wage is frequently understood as the hourly rate of the respective classification. Technically, however, three levels must be kept separate: the Hourly rate as a basis, the construction supplement as a separate tariff component and the total hourly tariff wage derived from it.
TLUnderlying asset of the respective group. It serves as the starting point for further calculation.
Bien joué5.9 % of the TL. This allowance is part of the collective hourly wage logic.
GTLSum of TL and BZ. The total value must not blindly replace every internal Wage type.
The most significant practical error occurs when GTL values are used in billing where the base value or the BZ is needed separately internally. Similarly, the construction surcharge must not be mixed with surcharges for night work, Sunday work, holiday work or difficult working conditions.
The current collective agreement takes effect in several stages. From April 2026, the agreed rates will be uniform nationwide in Main construction industry. Whether they apply to a specific employment relationship depends in particular on collective agreement bindingness, effective incorporation by reference, or another binding basis. This means that the alignment between East and West regarding wages, salaries, and training allowances must also be taken into account.
The following table shows the collectively agreed hourly wages for manual employees in Main construction industry. It separates TL, BZ, and GTL so that the values are not read as interchangeable hourly rates.
| LG | TL in EUR | BGN in € | GTL in EUR | billing relevance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 28,06 | 1,66 | 29,72 | highest stated value of the commercial overview |
| 5 | 25,77 | 1,52 | 27,29 | independent assessment of Wage type and group required |
| 4 (hourly wage) | 24,60 | 1,45 | 26,05 | important benchmark for collective bargaining developments |
| 3 | 22,64 | 1,33 | 23,97 | Test value for qualified activities |
| 2a | 22,10 | 1,30 | 23,40 | Observe special logic within the lower groups |
| 2b | 20,02 | 1,18 | 21,20 | do not equate with the regular group 2 |
| 2 | 17,69 | 1,04 | 18,73 | Check allocation by activity and tariff logic |
| 1 | 14,98 | 0,88 | 15,86 | lowest stated hourly rate |
| 4 Tilers, slab and mosaic layers | 25,34 | 1,50 | 26,84 | special value within the standard wage bracket |
| 4 plant operators | 24,98 | 1,47 | 26,45 | special value within the standard wage bracket |
TL, BZ and GTL fulfil different functions.The underlying value, the surcharge component and the total value all have different functions. Which Wage type is used depends on what is to be represented in the specific billing case.
For employees and site managers, these hourly rates are not the primary focus, but rather salary brackets. For apprentices, on the other hand, training allowances apply according to their year of apprenticeship. Therefore, analyses on wages and salaries should always clearly state which employee group they represent.
The job grading determines which collective agreement hourly rate is applied for industrial employees. The decisive factors are the activity, qualification and the collective agreement classification. A purely internal job title is not sufficient for this.
Mixed staff categories deserve special attention. A construction company can process wages simultaneously for manual workers, salaried employees, site managers and apprentices. Each group follows a different table logic, even though the data is consolidated in the monthly payroll run.
| Test question | Why it counts for billing | Typical sticking point |
|---|---|---|
| Which group of people? | Hourly wage, monthly salary and apprenticeship pay follow different tables. | Commercial values and salary groups are being mixed together in a report. |
| Which activity? | The activity determines the appropriate classification. | A change of activity is only recognised afterwards in Construction payroll. |
| What type of deployment? | Construction sites, depots or workshops can trigger different inspections. | The BZ is scheduled, even though a special case would need to be classified more precisely. |
| What period? | The valid version must match the Payroll month. | Values from April 2026 fall in months for which older values were still decisive. |
Whether a company is bound by collective agreements, whether generally binding regulations or minimum wage requirements must also be observed, cannot be deduced from a single table. For the Payroll in construction, the specific payroll and operational situation must therefore always be taken into account.
The construction allowance is part of the standard hourly wage structure. It must not be construction surcharges be confused, which can arise from special working hours, activities or hardships. Both topics affect payroll, but do not follow the same logic.
Ouch construction industry social fund procedure can influence the monthly run. However, they do not replace the verification of grading, collective agreement wage, company agreement (BZ) and general collective agreement (GTL). The collective wage table and the reporting logic are separate verification paths.
Winter regulations in the construction industry must also be separated. They primarily concern seasonal downtime, seasonal short-time work allowance, winter allowance and levies. For billing purposes, they remain separate audit fields as long as it is not a matter of the concrete representation of weather-related hours.
Bien jouéTariff-based share amounting to 5,9 % of the TL.
Further chargesSeparate remuneration components for special times, activities or hardships.
Social welfare fundCustom reporting and processing logic alongside the pay scale.
winter ruleSeasonal and weather logic that cannot be explained by the GTL table.
The current development goes back to the 2024 collective bargaining round. Those involved were the IG BAU trade union and the employer side, represented by the main association of the German construction industry (Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie) and the central association of the German construction trade (Zentralverband des Deutschen Baugewerbes). The proposed agreement was drawn up at the end of May 2024 and accepted in June 2024.
For construction companies, what matters is not so much the negotiation history as the practical implementation: the three-stage agreement schedules the increases in wages and salaries. Following the 2024 and 2025 stages, nationwide uniformity will be the primary consideration from April 2026. In practice, the term runs until March 2027.
In Payroll, this becomes a concrete audit process: update master data, select the correct month, store the appropriate group, check TL and BZ separately, and only use the total value where it functionally belongs. For companies that Construction payroll edit internally or externally, is often precisely this separation that is an important decision point.
As construction companies grow, the number of cases requiring collective agreement classification increases with additional teams and changes in activities. The article shows how this affects the monthly payroll run. Construction payroll on growth.
The BAS focuses on this at the ongoing Construction payroll with tariff reference Construction companies supply personnel details, hours and site data. The BAS uses this to perform the monthly Construction payroll.
Reliable tables provide the basis for billing. The correct value is determined by the period, group of people, activity, type of deployment, and clear separation of TL, BZ, and GTL. For construction companies, this means: tariff wages and construction bonuses belong in the correct Payroll month, in the matching group of people, and in the applicable Wage type. This ensures that tariff values, social funds, winter regulations, and other bonuses remain professionally separated.
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