Amendments to the Austrian Labour Law

At a glance

• As part of the implementation of the EU Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union, the Austrian legislator passed amendments to the labour law.
• For the most part, however, the amendments do not require any changes for employers, as they reflect what is already common practice in Austria.
• The relevant amendments have been made to the Labour Contract Law Amendment Act (Arbeitsvertragsrechts-Anpassungsgesetz (AVRAG)), and concern the minimum requirements of a service certificate and the right to multiple employment.

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As part of the implementation of the EU Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union, the Austrian legislator passed amendments to the labour law on 28 February 2024, which are expected to come into force by the end of March 2024. For the most part, however, the amendments do not require any changes for employers, as they reflect what is already common practice in Austria.

Form of the service certificate

The document outlining the fundamental terms of employment in Austria is known as a service certificate. The basic details that a service certificate should include will be expanded for both employees and self-employed individuals (freie Dienstnehmer). To be thorough, the legally required minimum information includes, specifically:

• name and address of the employer and the employee;
• start date of the employment relationship;
• for fixed-term employment relationships, the end of the employment relationship;
• duration of the notice period, date of termination;
• place of work;
• classification in the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement;
• intended use, service assignment;
• initial remuneration (basic salary, wage, other remuneration components such as special payments), due date of remuneration;
• amount of annual leave;
• agreed daily or weekly normal working hours.

Moving forward, employees will have the option to receive their employment records in either paper or digital format. Contrary to previous practices, even employees whose employment does not exceed one month must be given a service certificate that includes all the necessary details.

A penalty ranging from EUR100 to EUR436 can be imposed if a service certificate is not issued. If the issue affects more than five employees or if a repeat offence occurs within three years of the initial legally binding penalty, the fine can increase to between EUR500 and EUR2,000. It’s important to note that the service certificate, being a simple acknowledgement by the employer, only includes the most crucial rights and obligations of the employment relationship, excluding additional clauses such as non-compete or confidentiality provisions. Therefore, finalising a ‘proper’ employment contract is strongly advised.

Right to multiple employment

Under section 2(i) AVRAG employees are entitled to take up further emloyment. However, the employer may prohibit other employment in specific circumstances if it would be detrimental to the employee's employment (eg competition) or is incompatible with working time regulations (exceeding the maximum permitted working hours). Because of strict working time regulations as well as non-competition rules, multiple employment for full-time employees is very rare in Austria.

Costs of training

Any training in the future that is legally required for carrying out the agreed tasks should be considered as part of the working hours, and the employer should bear the costs (section 11b AVRAG).

Takeaways for employers

These changes will apply to all new employment contracts which are issued after the law comes into force. The vast majority of employers will not be required to take action as the new regulations are already common practice in Austria.