First, the historical evolution, composition and characteristics of Austrian labor law
(1) historical evolution
Austrian labor law was born in the long-term struggle between employees and employers. 1889, Austrian industrial workers took to the streets for the first time to demonstrate on shortening working hours. From 19 18 to 1920, Austria has promulgated many laws, such as vacation law, collective agreement law, employee association law, etc. These laws constitute the main contents of Austria's current social law and labor law. In 1970s, Austria implemented a series of social and labor market policy reforms, and promulgated the Basic Law on Labor, the Law on Employment of Foreigners and the Law on Night Work and Heavy Manual Workers. After the struggle and mutual compromise between employers and employees, the legal working hours in Austria have been shortened and the vacation time has been extended.
Table 1: evolution of legal working hours and vacation time
age
Working hours (hours)
Vacation time (weeks)
1960
45
2
1970
43
three
1980
40
four
1990
38 or 38.5
five
(2) Major laws and regulations
Can be divided into two parts:
1. Personal laws such as labor contracts and labor relations are used to adjust the legal relationship between employees and employers, including the conclusion and termination of labor contracts, the rights and obligations of employees and employers, etc. This category includes all kinds of laws and regulations, some of which are applicable to all employees, some of which are only applicable to a part of the labor contract (such as vacation law) or a certain labor group (such as employee law). Laws that protect employees' rights and interests also fall into this category.
2. Legislation involving the whole enterprise is a regulation to regulate the establishment and functions of rights and interests representative institutions. The most important law is the Basic Labor Law. The first part stipulates the legal basis of collective agreements, and the second part stipulates the decision-making power of the enterprise employee committee (Betriebsrat).
(3) Characteristics
Austria's labor laws are numerous and complicated, including those on wages and benefits, such as the Law on Vacation and Working Hours, the Law on Employees' Association, the legislation of employees' self-governing bodies, the Law on Employees' Protection and other labor protection laws, as well as the Law on the Protection of Pregnant Women and the Law on the Employment of Special Groups of Foreigners. Labor law pays attention to the checks and balances of power. Starting from the nature of social law, it focuses on protecting employees in a weak position, allowing them to safeguard their own interests through trade unions, workers' committees and other institutions, and check and balance with employers. The labor law clearly stipulates the rights and obligations of employers and workers, which is conducive to adjusting labor relations and promoting social stability and unity.
Second, the establishment and termination of labor relations
Conclusion of labor contract
The Amendment to the Labor Contract Law stipulates that labor contracts can be concluded in written form, oral agreement or "practical actions" (actual work results are obtained and accepted by the employer). If there is no written contract, the employer must personally submit an employment notice (dienst-Sertel) to the employee to confirm the main rights and obligations of both parties in writing.
Generally speaking, employers and employees negotiate the contents of labor contracts based on the minimum standards stipulated by relevant laws and collective agreements (such as minimum wage, overtime allowance, normal working hours, vacation time, etc.). ). Taking the steel and metal processing industry as an example, the main contents of the labor contract include the provisions on the applicability of the collective agreement in the steel and metal processing industry, as well as the specific provisions on the probation period (4 weeks), responsibilities, workplace, working hours (38.5 hours per week), salary, sick leave, vacation and contract termination. A sample contract can be downloaded from the official website of austrian federal economic chamber (link attached).
(2) Termination of the labor contract
1. publishing type
There are four kinds of contract dissolution: probation dissolution, expiration dissolution, negotiation dissolution and unilateral early dissolution (dismissal and resignation). During the probation period of 1 month, both parties can terminate the contract at any time without giving reasons. However, if an employee is dismissed for discriminatory reasons (such as gender, nationality, religion or world outlook, age, sexual orientation, disability, etc.). ), he can refuse to ask for dismissal or claim compensation from the employer. Unilateral early termination of the contract requires a written notice to terminate the labor relationship, usually without explanation, and both employers and employees can dismiss or resign according to the statutory notice period. If an employee resigns, he must inform his employer one month in advance. When an employer dismisses an employee, it shall give a notice in advance according to the statutory time limit (see Table 2 for details). The longer employees work, the longer the advance notice period.
Table 2: Statutory notice period for dismissal
Years of work in the current enterprise
Advance notice period
Within two years
6 weeks
2-5 years
two months
5- 15 years
3 months
15-25 years
4 months
More than 25 years
5 months
2. Dismissal protection procedures
Before dismissing employees, employers are obliged to inform the employees' committee. The workers' committee can express its position on the termination of the contract within one week, indicating its agreement (requiring a two-thirds majority), opposition or no opinion. In order to prevent unfair termination of labor relations, Article 105 of the Basic Labor Law stipulates general protection principles (applicable to enterprises with more than five employees), requiring employers to provide just reasons for terminating labor relations, such as employees failing to meet job requirements and enterprises having to lay off employees due to poor management.
If the workers' committee agrees to the dismissal decision, employees can no longer defend themselves. If the workers' committee determines that the dismissal is for immoral purposes or will harm the economic interests of employees, the workers' committee may appeal to the labor court to dismiss the dismissal. If the workers' committee has no opinion on dismissal, employees can also appeal to the labor court within 2 weeks after the deadline for the workers' committee to express its position. Because lawsuits are often protracted, there are great risks for both employers and employees, so the two sides mainly focus on reconciliation, that is, employees agree to terminate labor relations, and employers will compensate employees according to their length of service.
The employing unit has the right to terminate the labor contract immediately without prior notice on the premise of having significant reasons. The main reasons include serious violation of the law, disclosure of company secrets, disobedience to superior instructions, etc. The employing unit shall deal with it in time within 3 days after discovery. Unlike dismissal, labor relations are terminated immediately when dismissal is announced.
3. Persons under special protection
Special protection clauses apply to certain groups of employees, including pregnant women, employees on maternity leave, members of workers' committees, soldiers, disabled people, apprentices, etc. If you fire a particularly protected group, you need to report to the labor court and get approval.
Third, staff management.
(1) labor protection
1. Labor safety and health protection. Including all protection laws related to technical standards and health standards, such as the Employee Protection Law and related regulations. Working in a safe and healthy environment is the basic right of employees, and employers must take the principle of preventing danger when determining workplace and workflow, selecting work equipment and materials and using employees.
2. Working hours and protection of special groups. Including special protection laws for special groups, such as the Law on the Protection of Pregnant Women and the Law on the Employment of Children and Adolescents. It also includes laws and regulations on working hours and rest time, as well as special provisions for specific occupational groups (such as drivers).
(B) to protect the basic rights of employees
1. Working hours. Normal working hours shall not exceed 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. However, collective agreements in many industries have reduced the normal working hours per week. For example, the normal working hours of the retail, steel and metal processing industries are 38.5 hours per week, the printing industry is 37 hours per week, and the media industry is only 36 hours. The distribution of working hours is flexible and diverse, which can be adjusted reasonably according to actual needs, such as setting up working time accounts, implementing flexible working hours or shift system, etc. If the actual working hours exceed the specified time, employees have the right to ask for overtime pay, which is usually 50% higher than the normal salary.
2. Take a vacation. The Vacation Law stipulates that employees are entitled to paid annual leave, with 30 working days (Monday to Saturday) for those with 25 years of service and 36 working days for those with more than 25 years of service. From the end of the year in which the annual leave is calculated, the unused annual leave is valid for 2 years.
3. Minimum wage. The salary is mainly stipulated in the contract signed by both parties. There is no legal minimum wage in Austria, but the collective agreements of most industries stipulate the minimum wage level, and the wages paid by employers must reach or exceed the minimum wage level, otherwise they will be subject to administrative penalties ranging from 65,438+0,000 euros to 65,438+0,000 euros per employee. If the wages of more than three employees fail to meet the minimum standard, or the employer violates the minimum standard again, the fine will be increased to 2,000 to 20,000 euros per employee.
Table 3: Minimum Wage of Main Industries in Austria
major industry
Minimum monthly wage (EUR)
Machinery and metal products industry
1724. 17
automotive industry
1724. 17
construction industry
1602
chemical industry
172 1.4 1
electronic industry
1692.27
In order to avoid tax reasonably, Austrian enterprises usually pay their monthly salary in fourteen times a year. In addition to monthly payment from June 1 to February 12, they also pay bonuses on annual leave and Christmas (usually the same as the monthly salary).
(3) Workers' autonomous organizations
1. Trade union. Austrian Federation of Trade Unions (? GB) is a cross-party representative organization of workers' interests, including seven trade unions, with a voluntary membership system and about 6,543,800 members. The organization put forward opinions and suggestions on the formulation of collective agreements, and made clear its position on the draft law concerning employees' interests.
2. Employees' Association. Employees' associations cooperate with trade unions to represent employees' social, economic, professional and cultural interests. Their main duties are to advise employees on labor law, provide legal advice to labor and social courts, express opinions on relevant draft laws, and represent employees' interests at the level of national and international committees. Employees' associations implement a compulsory membership system (except senior employees and public officials in leading positions), and the membership fee is 0.5% of the total salary, with a maximum of 265,438+0.65,438+05 euros per month, which is paid by employers and social insurance institutions.
3. Staff committee. Enterprises with more than 5 employees may elect employee representatives to set up employee committees (except for agricultural and forestry enterprises and private families), and the number is directly proportional to the number of employees in the enterprise (see Table 4 for details). In enterprises with more than 1000 employees, the number of employee representatives will increase by 1 person for every 400 employees.
Table 4: Number of members of Austrian enterprise staff committee
Total employees
Number of employee representatives
Total employees
Number of employee representatives
5-9 people
1
20 1-300 people
six
10- 19 people
2
30 1-400 people
seven
20-50 people
three
90 1- 1000 people
13
5 1- 100 people
four
100 1- 1400 people
14
10 1-200 people
five
140 1- 1800 people
15
The responsibilities of the workers' committee are as follows: negotiating company agreements; Ensure the consistency between the collective agreement and the company agreement; Put forward suggestions to improve working conditions and safety; Have a say in the design of the workplace; Have a say in personnel and company business; You can put forward opinions of rejection and objection to the court; Transfer work can be prevented under certain preconditions; Must understand all matters involving the interests of employees.
Protection of employees under special circumstances
1. sick leave. Employees can receive wages for a certain period of time during their illness, and the amount of wages is related to their working years. See the table below for details:
Table 5: Amount and duration of receiving wages during legal sick leave
Years of work in the current enterprise
Time limit for receiving full salary
Receive half the amount
Wage time limit
The maximum time limit for receiving wages for each illness.
0-5 years
6 weeks (work injury plus 2 weeks)
4 weeks
10 week
(Work injury plus 2 weeks)
6- 15 years
8 weeks
4 weeks
12 weeks
16-25 years
10 week
4 weeks
14 weeks
Over 26 years
12 weeks
4 weeks
16 weeks
After the maximum salary period is exceeded, you can apply for Krankengeld in the medical insurance company for up to one year. The amount depends on the employee's salary one month before illness and the amount of salary received during illness. Sick employees do not enjoy special protection, and enterprises can dismiss them for just reasons.
2. Unemployment. Employees who joined the work before 2003 apply the old method, and receive severance pay ranging from two months to one year according to the length of service after being dismissed. After 2003, the employer paid unemployment insurance (severance payment) at the rate of 1.53% of my monthly salary. Unemployment insurance is also needed in the following special periods: training, military service, maternity leave and sick leave are paid by employers; The time to receive child care allowance and the time to accompany death are paid by FLAF; During full-time study, the labor market service bureau pays wages. After three years of payment, employees can receive corresponding severance pay when they are unemployed.
Retire. Austrian pension insurance consists of three parts: national pension insurance, enterprise pension insurance and commercial insurance. National pension is the most important guarantee, and corporate and private pensions are becoming more and more important. The Enterprise Pension Management Law stipulates four pension payment methods: pension fund, enterprise group insurance, direct payment and life insurance. The amount of endowment insurance is 22.8% of the monthly salary, of which the employer pays 12.55% and the employee pays 10.25%. The legal retirement age in Austria is 65 for men and 60 for women. From 2024, the retirement age of women will be gradually postponed and unified to 65 in 2033. However, at present, the actual retirement age in Austria is earlier than the legal age.
4. Enterprise goes bankrupt. In order to better protect employees' interests when enterprises go bankrupt, Austria implemented the Bankruptcy Wage Protection Law in 1977, stipulating that employees' wages will be paid by Insolvenz-Entgelt-Fonds when the company goes bankrupt, and the main source of funds is the contributions of employers, which is equivalent to the additional expenses of unemployment insurance (accounting for 0.45% of the monthly salary). Once the company enters bankruptcy proceedings, the employer is unable to pay employees' wages, and the employment relationship still exists. Employees can apply for bankruptcy wages to Bankruptcy Wage Fund Co., Ltd..
(5) Regulations on foreigners working in Austria
The Law on Employment of Foreigners, the Law on Residence and the Law on Foreign Affairs Bureau stipulate that foreigners who wish to stay in Austria for more than six months within one year need to obtain residence permits (visas and residence permits), and those who wish to work in Austria for a long time need to obtain work permits. The above provisions do not apply to residents of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, residents of EU member States and residents of the European Economic Area.
Residence permits are issued by the Immigration Bureau and the police. The most important residence permit is the "red, white and red card" launched on July 20th11. The first type of ordinary red card, white card and red card is the work permit to stay in Austria and work for a specific employer. When applying, you need a job market demand assessment report issued by the Austrian Labor Market Service (AWS). The second advanced red, white and red card, besides the function of residence permit, the holder of this card can freely apply for a job without restriction. If you stay for 5 years and meet the relevant immigration regulations, you can get permanent "long-term residence in the EU". In addition to red, white and red cards, the "EU Blue Card" was launched for foreign "key talents" from July 20 1 year. Applicants need to ensure that the minimum wage is 65438+ 0.5 times the average wage in Austria. All the above residence permits include employment permits.
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In terms of application procedures and time, "key talents" can quickly obtain employment permits, and the immigration bureau usually gives a reply within six weeks after receiving the application. Other employees need to apply for residence and work permits in Austria according to normal procedures, which is quite tedious and time-consuming, and generally takes four to six months.