Employ in Austria with ease.

Remote makes employment in Austria easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence.

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  • Availability

    Remote-Owned Local Entity

    We own our own entity in the countries where we operate to shield your company from risk and provide you and your employees with the signature Remote experience.

  • Capital city

    Vienna

  • Currency

    Euro
    (, EUR)

  • Languages spoken

    German

  • Services available

    Services available:

Facts & Stats

Austria (German: Österreich), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked East Alpine country in the southern part of Central Europe. It is composed of nine federated states (Bundesländer), one of which is Vienna, Austria's capital and its largest city. Austria is consistently ranked in the top 20 richest countries in the world by GDP per capita terms. The country has achieved a high standard of living and in 2018 was ranked 20th in the world for its Human Development Index.

  • Capital city

    Vienna

  • Currency

    Euro
    (, EUR)

  • Languages spoken

    German

  • Population size

    8,902,600 (January 2020 est.)

  • Ease of doing business

    Very easy

  • Cost of living index

    $$$$ (23 of 139 nations)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    20%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    2.729% (2018 est.)

Grow your team in Austria with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Austria? Companies hiring in Austria must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Austria on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Austria team. You can also pay contractors now in Austria with Remote.

Risks of misclassification

Austria, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time workers differently and there are risks associated with misclassification.

If you're worried about whether to hire contractors or employees in Austria or anywhere else around the world, Remote can help. Our Solutions Consulting team are experts in preventing misclassification risks. Download our Contractor Compliance Checklist for a solid overview, then talk to our team about your specific situation.

Employing in Austria

Employment law in Austria is governed by statutory regulations codified in various federal laws. These include the statutes on white-collar workers (Angestelltengesetz), statutes concerning working times (Arbeitszeitgesetz), paid vacation (Urlaubsgesetz) and labour protection act (Arbeitnehmerschutzgesetz).

Employment contracts are governed by collective agreements and virtually all employment agreements are covered by a collective agreement. Austrian employment law provides strong labor conditions and protections for employees, so employing people will be an important investment and commitment.

Temporary agencies are popular options for more flexible workforce arrangements. For these and many other reasons, the following are only guidelines in the broadest sense, and professional legal services are recommended when employing in Austria.

Minimum Wage

“There is no statutory minimum wage in Austria, but national collective bargaining agreements set minimum wages by job classification and years of service for each industry. This provides for an effective minimum wage of €1,500 EUR per month based on a 40-hour work week.”

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

Special payments of 13th and 14th months are also part of the Annual Gross Salary.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Austria fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 3 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

Competitive benefits package in Austria

Remote supports our clients by offering competitive benefits packages that will help you attract and retain the best talent across the globe. Our benefits specialists have done the research on norms and requirements in each local market and have crafted packages that will allow your employees to thrive, no matter what country they call home. 

Our benefits packages in Austria are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Mental Health Support
  • Pension or 401(K)
  • Life and Disability Insurance

Our core benefits (which often include things like healthcare) are required in most countries where we hire. We do not require customers to offer benefits in Austria due to its strong public system and local laws that protect us (and you!) against claims of non-discriminatory hiring practices. However, we do recommend that employers in Austria offer benefits to their employees based on market standards. Note that we do not add a markup on any benefits premiums or administration costs.

For more insight into fair equity and benefits best practices, download our Global Benefits Guide and share with the rest of your hiring team.

Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Austria

Taxes in Austria

Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Austria.

  • Employer

    • 12.55% - Pension

    • 3.90% - Family Allowance Fund

    • 3.78% - Health Insurance

    • 3.00% - Unemployment

    • 3.00% - Municipal Tax

    • 1.30% - Employer Provision Fund

    • 1.20% - Accident Insurance

    • 1.53% - Severance fund

    • 0.42% - Surcharge on Family Allowance Fund

  • Employee

    • 10.25% - Pension

    • 3.87% - Health Insurance

    • 3.00% - Unemployment

    • 1.00% - Miscellaneous

    • 0% - Up to 11,693

    • 20% - 11,694 to 19,134

    • 30% - 19,135 to 32,075

    • 42% - 32,076 to 62,080

    • 48% - 93,121 to 1,000,000

    • 55% -

Types of leave

Statutory leave

All full-time workers are legally entitled to 25 days paid holiday leave a year. In addition, full-time workers have 13 paid public holidays a year. The minimum amount of annual leave depends on the lenght of the employment relatinoship, with tenure below 25 years resulting in 25 days of annual leave entitlement and above 25 years resulting in 30 days.

Pregnancy and maternity leave

Expecting mothers are entitled to 8 weeks of pregnancy leave (before the due date) and at least 8 weeks maternity leave after childbirth. The first 16 weeks are paid at the employee's average income earned during the 13 weeks before maternity leave begins. After maternity pay, the mother can take extended maternity leave and receive child care under the Child Care Payment Act (Kinderbetreuungsgeldgesetz (KBGG)) for up to two years.

Paternal leave

Fathers are entitled to paternity leave with the same rights as the mother, but the two parents cannot at the same time use the parental leave. During paternal leave, the father receives child care in the same way that the mother would.

Other leave

  • Adoption leave: the same rules as for maternity leave applies for adoptions.
  • Emergency and short absence leave: intended for unforeseen personal circumstances for which an employee has to take time off immediately. Examples include making arrangements for the care of a sick family member or in the event of a death in the family.
  • Short-term care leave: to provide essential care to family members living (most often children) in the same household. Granted for one week and can be one further week per calendar year.
  • Compassionate leave: when a child, partner or parent of the employee is seriously (i.e. life threateningly) ill and requires care, the employee can request compassionate leave. Employees can take leave or reduce working hours.
  • Unpaid leave: the employee may take unpaid leave in consultation with the employer on a full-time or part-time basis. There is no legal requirements to unpaid leave.

Employment termination

Termination process

Austrian employers in general have these options to terminate an employment agreement:

  • Termination by mutual consent;
  • Unilateral termination;
  • Resignation on the end of the employee;
  • Urgent dismissal of the employee, for example in case of theft or any other serious misconduct;

Notice period

The statutory notice period for an employer depends on the duration of employment, ranging from six weeks notice for less than or equal to two years' service and up to five months for more than 25 years' service.

Probation periods

A probationary period of 1 month is generally agreed to in the employment contract in Austria, during which either party can terminate the employment contract without explanation.

The employer must provide at least one week notice to the work council before giving an employee notice of dismissal. If the work council requests, the employer must consult the council before the dismissal can take place.

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