The Underestimated Lever: Why Health Care in Construction and Trades Companies Is a Key Factor in Their Success.

Anyone who spends time on a construction site or in a workshop knows this: The true strength of any construction or trades business lies in its workforce. Yet while machinery is regularly maintained and vehicle fleets are meticulously cared for, the most important resource is often neglected—the physical and mental health of the workforce.

However, in times of acute labor shortages, high rates of sick leave, and an aging workforce, preventive health care is evolving from a voluntary employee benefit into a key strategic success factor for construction and trades companies. This article explains how this can be achieved.

1. The Situation: Extreme Stresses on the Construction Site

Physically demanding work, exposure to the elements, on-site assembly jobs, and tight deadlines take their toll. The consequences in the construction industry speak for themselves:

• High Absenteeism Rates: Sick leave in the construction and finishing trades sector stood at approximately 8% in 2025. Specifically, this means that, on average, each employee is absent due to illness for 29.5 days per year! This places the construction and finishing trades sector, along with the healthcare industry, at the top of this unenviable list. By comparison, employees in Germany are on sick leave for an average of about 18 to 22 days per year.
• Common Conditions: Musculoskeletal disorders (back, knees, shoulders) are among the most common causes of rising absenteeism in the construction and skilled trades sectors (approximately 39% of all sick days are attributed to musculoskeletal disorders). In addition, respiratory diseases account for 12.8% and injuries for 18.6%. Source: ikk.classic.de, 2025
• The domino effect: If a skilled worker is missing from the construction site, schedules are thrown off track. This increases the pressure on the remaining team members—creating a vicious cycle of burnout and further sick leave. In addition, each day of absence costs the company an average of several hundred euros in continued wage payments, lost revenue, and project delays.

“Preventive health care is not a cost; it is an investment that yields a direct return on employee health, employer image, and productivity.” Tim Bütecke, Managing Director and Owner of FAKTOR MENSCH

The following table summarizes the most common sources of stress and health risks in the construction industry and the skilled trades:

2. Healthcare as a Strategic Success Factor

To counteract the health risks identified, forward-thinking companies are increasingly focusing on active workplace health promotion initiatives, in addition to using ergonomic aids (e.g., exoskeletons for lifting). However, traditional workplace health management (WHM) measures—such as fruit baskets, sports days, or back-care classes—often fall short in the day-to-day reality of the construction and skilled trades sectors.

What construction workers and tradespeople really need is high-quality health coverage that provides immediate benefits. This is where supplemental employer-sponsored health insurance (bKV) comes into play. The employer takes out a group insurance policy for its employees that specifically addresses the growing gaps in coverage under statutory health insurance (GKV). This provides all employees with an annual health budget and access to over 300 private medical services.

2.1 Why Supplementary Health Insurance (bKV) Is a Great Fit for the Construction Industry!

To gain acceptance among tradespeople and construction workers, a supplementary health insurance plan must not be a “fair-weather benefit.” It must offer accessible and effective solutions for the individual health needs of construction workers and tradespeople. These primarily include the following supplementary health insurance benefits:

• Quick Access to Specialists & Physical Therapy
  
  • Integrated specialist appointment services and specialist care options ensure a quick diagnosis and treatment. This drastically shortens prolonged periods of illness and helps prevent chronic damage.
• Budget Rates for Prevention & Recovery
  
  • Since treatments such as physical therapy, osteopathy, or massage are often covered only to a limited extent by statutory health insurance, a supplementary health budget through a supplementary health insurance plan can be helpful, as it can be used flexibly for private specialists, physical therapy, massage, or osteopathy.
• Dental Health & Vision Aids
  
  • Instead of requiring employees to pay high copayments for dental prosthetics or eyeglasses, the bKV covers the costs of dental cleanings, dental prosthetics, and vision aids. This provides significant financial relief while also showing appreciation for employees.
• Preventive Health Care: Screening Exams (e.g., skin cancer)
  
  • Since constant exposure to UV radiation on construction sites significantly increases the risk of skin cancer, the bKV offers expanded preventive care, such as an annual skin cancer screening with no age limit—beyond what is covered under the standard GKV plan.
• Maximum Accessibility (No Health Screening)
  
  • Under company group plans, supplemental health insurance providers generally waive the standard medical exam and questions about pre-existing conditions. This means that even a 55-year-old foreman with years of back problems is fully covered from day one without any risk surcharges—a tremendous show of appreciation for long-term employees!

2.2 The bKV—Unbeatable Benefits in Kind for All Employees

The competition for journeymen, foremen, and construction managers is no longer decided solely by hourly wages. A bKV is considered a benefit in kind—it signals genuine care and noticeably sets a construction company or trade business apart from the competition. This has far-reaching implications for its image as an employer:

• Attracting Candidates: While a higher gross salary is often eroded by deductions and taxes, health benefits provided through supplementary health insurance (bKV) are perceived by all employees as immediate added value.
• Emotional employee loyalty: When employees feel that their boss will cover their medical bills or physical therapy costs when they’re sick, they won’t quit just for a 50-cent-per-hour pay raise at a competing company. There’s no better way to show appreciation!

2.3 The Business Logic: How the bKV Pays Off

Last but not least, the introduction of a supplementary health insurance plan offers clear business and tax advantages, as shown in the following list and the sample calculation that follows.

Sample Calculation for a Supplementary Health Insurance Plan:

The following sample calculation shows how the supplementary health insurance plan performs financially when the non-taxable limit for non-cash benefits is utilized, and at what point it pays for itself entirely by preventing or reducing sick days.

• Company size: 15 employees
• Monthly supplementary health insurance premium per employee: A common model in the skilled trades is the budget model, in which each employee can freely use an annual health budget (e.g., EUR 900) for physical therapy, eyeglasses, dental prosthetics, specialist services, etc. In this example, the monthly contribution for the employer is EUR 29 (meaning the contribution falls within the €50 non-cash benefit exemption limit).
• Annual supplementary health insurance premium per employee: EUR 348.00

The calculation of the net operating costs can be presented as follows:

Effective cost per employee per year: The company invests a net amount of only EUR 244 per employee per year; however , this generates an effective health benefit of EUR 900 (! ) per employee per year.

Key question: At what point does the investment in supplemental health insurance pay off?  

In the construction and related trades, one day of absence costs an average of EUR 350 to EUR 500. For the purposes of our calculation, we’ll assume EUR 400 per day:

• bKV Annual Investment (net) for 15 employees: EUR 3,654.00
• ./. Cost of lost revenue per sick day: EUR 400.-
• = Payback period if the number of days lost to absenteeism is reduced by 9.5 per year!

Our experience and studies conducted by insurance companies clearly show that faster access to specialists and targeted preventive care reduce sick leave by up to 20%. With an average of 29.5 sick days per skilled worker, the potential savings are correspondingly high.

2.4 The Priceless Side Effects (Soft ROI)

In addition to simply calculating days missed, the company benefits in other ways:

Fewer Layoffs: Filling a job opening (e.g., a skilled worker) costs an average of EUR 8,000 to EUR 12,000 (due, among other things, to job postings, training periods, and personal protective equipment). If the benefit provided by a company-sponsored supplementary health insurance plan (bKV) helps retain just one skilled worker at the company, the investment in the bKV is recouped over the course of several years.

Net benefit for employees: For a monthly contribution of EUR 29, each employee receives a health budget of EUR 900 net per year. If this were a salary increase, the company would have to spend approximately EUR 2,100 per year. In plain language: A supplementary health insurance plan always pays off!!!

Conclusion: Those who protect today will build successfully tomorrow!

In the construction industry and the skilled trades, preventive health care is no longer just a “nice extra,” but a key business metric. In the construction industry, supplementary health insurance (bKV) is particularly valuable as a “tool for retaining the workforce.” When tradespeople realize that their boss not only pays for their safety shoes but also covers physical therapy for a sore back or helps secure a faster appointment with a specialist, the company’s supplementary health insurance becomes an unbeatable selling point for retaining and attracting employees.

Ultimately, this means that the bKV bridges the gap between sustainable employee health, high economic efficiency, and employer attractiveness. Those who treat their employees as their most valuable asset not only safeguard their health but also foster their own competitiveness for years to come.

Note:

FAKTOR MENSCH researched and prepared the content of this blog post with the utmost care. The information is intended as a guide and is meant to provide readers with an initial overview of the healthcare reform. We ask for your understanding that we cannot, however, guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information provided.

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