Although Austria is geographically and culturally close to Switzerland, there are several aspects that Swiss companies with employees resident in Austria need to consider. Thanks to our in-depth guide and checklist, you’ll be perfectly prepared for doing business on the Austrian labor market.
Similar cultures – different laws
It’s important for Swiss employers to keep various contractual provisions of Austrian labor law in mind. There are discrepancies in the following areas of employment law, for example:
- Working hours: unlike in Switzerland, Austrian labor law stipulates a normal working week of just 40 hours, and collective agreements may even provide for fewer working hours.
- Public holidays: be careful when it comes to public holidays – not all of them are the same as in Switzerland. The public holidays on which employees are entitled to remuneration are prescribed by law.
- Salary: the Wage and Social Dumping Prevention Act has been in force in Austria since January 1, 2017. It aims to counteract wage and social dumping and leaves employers liable to be fined if they don’t pay the remuneration required by law or a collective agreement.
- An overview of all other areas of employment law, such as vacation, sickness and termination rules, can be found in the report linked below.
Report: employing workers resident in Austria
Swiss companies don’t just have to take labor law into account when hiring employees resident in Austria: they also need to think about tax law, social security law and administrative law.
The in-depth S-GE report linked below highlights the different areas that you need to bear in mind. You can also use the clear checklist to review and improve the employment conditions for your employees in Austria step by step.
Do you send Swiss employees on secondment?
This occurs when an employer sends its employees to a country other than the one in which it is based and entails one or more employees performing work on an employer’s behalf and for its account for a specified period, or working at a branch or establishment belonging to the employer’s group of companies. More information and checklists on secondments to Germany, Austria, Italy, France and Spain can be found here: employee secondments.
