Bad weather regulation
The construction industry is primarily affected by the so-called bad weather regulation. Due to bad weather, for example in winter, many construction works cannot be continued. If employers are affected by the loss of work due to bad weather, they can make use of the bad weather regulation.
Bad weather regulations: What you need to bear in mind
As mentioned above, this regulation primarily applies in the construction industry. If there is a massive loss of working hours due to bad weather, the employer can fall back on this rule.
Under the bad weather regulation, the employer initially pays compensation during bad weather. He can then reclaim this from the employment agency. The employee must then pay social security contributions and taxes on the compensation paid.
There is a special feature: the first 16 hours of lost working time are borne equally by the employer and the employee.
The requirements
The typical bad weather period is from December 1 to March 31. During this period, it is possible to apply for seasonal short-time allowance for lost work.
The prerequisite for this is that the downtime is due to weather conditions, economic reasons or an unavoidable event in the business. These seasonal fluctuations must be significant.
Reasons for such a work case are, for example
- Frost
- Lack of orders
- Animal diseases
In addition, the company must ensure that all avoidable failures are averted.
Working time accounts & bad weather rule
There is a connection between the working time account and the bad weather regulation. In principle, the employee is not obliged to accumulate a credit balance for the bad weather period. However, if the employee has such a time credit, it is initially released.
This release can be up to a maximum of 10% of the annual working time. If we assume a 40-hour week, this means that the employee is paid 208 hours before receiving the short-time working seasonal allowance.
Companies may also draw employees’ attention to their vacation entitlement. However, employees themselves decide when they want to take their vacation. If there is any leave remaining from the previous year, this must be taken during the bad weather period.
An important prerequisite for receiving the seasonal short-time allowance is that employees are not entitled to remuneration for the period of absence.
