COUNTRIES, Europe
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HRsolution » Austria

Overview of Austria

Austria lies in the centre of Europe and boarders on 8 other European countries. About 62% of the country is covered by the Austrian Alps. Its population is 8.85 million and a quarter of those live in and around the capital Vienna. The official language is German. Austria is one of the fourteenth richest countries in the world.

Austrians take great pride in their appearances and they tend to lean towards the conservative side when doing business. They are not known for flashy displays of wealth or importance but tend to be more reserved. Punctuality is key and one should take care to be on time.

Currency of Austria

  • Euro

Health Insurance and the Social Security system of Austria

Austria lies in the centre of Europe and boarders on 8 other European countries. About 62% of the country is covered by the Austrian Alps. Its population is 8.85 million, and a quarter of those live in and around the capital Vienna. The official language is German. Austria is one of the fourteenth richest countries in the world.

Austrians take great pride in their appearances, and they tend to lean towards the conservative side when doing business. They are not known for flashy displays of wealth or importance but tend to be more reserved. Punctuality is key and one should take care to be on time.

Employer cost of Austria

The cost for an employer to hire someone in Austria is a plus of 21.38 % to the gross salary.

Salary and bonuses of Austria

Regular employees are paid at the end of the month.

Many companies pay a holiday bonus (13th month wage) in June and an end-of-year bonus (14th month wage) in December. If the employer does decide to pay one or both of these, it will be in the contract.

Public Holidays in Austria

In Austria there are 13 national public holidays:

  • January 1st – New Years Day
  • January 6th – Ephiphany
  • Easter Monday
  • May 1st – Labour Day
  • 39 Days after Easer – Ascension Day
  • 49 and 50 days after Easter – Whitmonday
  • 60 days after Easter Sunday – Corpus Christus
  • August 15th – Assumption
  • October 26th – National Day
  • November 1st – All Saints’ Day
  • December 8th – Immaculate Conception
  • December 25th – Christmas
  • December 26th – Saint Stephan’s Day

Working Hours in Austria

Regular working hours are between 8:00am and 5:00pm.

A worker is not allowed to work more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.

Working overtime is compensated as follows:

  • if the hours worked are above the agreed upon hours but under 40 hours a week, the employee is compensated with 125% of the employee’s regular rate.

  • If the hours worked are above 40 hours a week, the must be compensated with 150%of the employee’s regular rate.

  • Overtime on Sundays or public holidays is compensated at 200% of the employee’s regular rate.

Vacation in Austria

As an employee, one is entitled to 25 days vacation a year. After 25 years of employment, this may change to 30 days.

Sick Leave in Austria

When sick in Austria, the first day is usually without any obligations. After the second day, one has to get a doctor’s certificate. After the fourth day, one is eligible for sick pay.

For the first 42 days, one receives 50% of one’s salary. If one is sick for longer than 42 days, the sickness cash benefits raise to 60% of one’s salary. The Social Security system will pay for a maximum of 52 weeks.

Termination/Severance in Austria

When terminating an employee in Austria, there is a six-week notice period. If the employee has worked for the company for over 25 years, then the notice period is 5 months.

Employment relationships can be terminated by mutual agreement, in which case the termination date can be freely agreed upon without notice periods.

In general, if being terminated, this has to happen with the termination taking effect at the end of a quarter. However, the Salaried Employees Act allows agreements in which the termination can take effect on the 15th of a month of the end of a month.

After being employed for one month in Austria, the employer starts paying an amount of approx. 1.53% of the employee’s salary into something called an employee provision fund (Mitarbeitervorsorgekasse). When an employee is terminated, he has to inform the fund within 6 months of the termination. The severance pay is then calculated and the employee can decide if he wants to have the money straight away or if he wants to leave the money for later use.