What you need to know for employing in Austria

Employee contributions include Pension Insurance, Health Insurance, and Unemployment Insurance. This list is non-exhaustive, please contact us for further information.

According to the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for Omnipresent the working week shall consist of maximum 38.5 hours.

Maximum working hours and mandatory paid overtime are compulsory and cannot be waived or contracted out of for any employee of any type (except medical doctors).

Employees in Austria are entitled to 6 weeks of sick leave at full pay (0 - 12 months of service), 8 weeks at full pay (1 - 15 years of service), and an additional 4 weeks at half pay.

When certain criteria are met the state will refund up to 50% of sick pay.

Maternity leave: Austria has strong maternity leave regulations, including 8 weeks' leave before and 8 weeks after birth at full pay. Work is not allowed 8 weeks after birth. In other parts of maternity / parental leave, work is possible under a marginal employment contract (see below). In addition, Austrian law prohibits certain activities for the entire duration of the pregnancy.

Paternity leave: Paternity leave in Austria includes unpaid leave up to the child’s second birthday, but the mother and father cannot take leave at the same time.

Unpaid childcare leave: Austria currently allows for full-time unpaid childcare leave from the end of maternity leave until the child is aged 3.

The statutory minimum is 5 weeks (or 25 working days for a 5-day week) of paid annual leave per year in Austria, for all employees that have worked 6 continuous months.

Employees with over 25 years of employment are entitled to an increase up to 6 weeks, or 30 working days of paid annual leave per year.

Every month starting from the second month of employment, the employer is obligated to contribute 1.53% towards a provision fund. When the employment relationship is terminated, the employee may be entitled to severance pay. There are unique situations when an employee would not qualify for severance.

Termination in Austria is less difficult than in other countries. Nevertheless, there are a range of reasons that an employer can use to terminate an employee, which depend on the specific circumstances.