Posting of workers platform

Summary and latest amendments

Posting of workers to Austria – a summary of the most important provisions and of the amendments since September 2021

Certain amendments to the provisions governing the posting of workers have been in force in Austria since September 2021. These amendments are based on Directive (EU) 2018/957 amending the Posted Workers Directive.

The following is a summary of the most important requirements which need to be fulfilled when workers are posted to Austria – including the latest amendments:

1. Notification of postings

When one or more workers are posted or hired out to Austria, notification must be given using an online form no later than at the beginning of their assignment.

The online form ZKO3 should be used for posted workers.
The online form ZKO4 should be used for hirings-out.

With the exception of the construction sector, all postings and/or hirings-out within a 6 month period
⇐ that relate to the same client in Austria
⇒ can be communicated by means of a single ‘framework notification’ for this 6-month period. In such cases, the ‘framework notification’ box must be ticked in the online form.

All postings and/or hirings-out taking place within one week,
⇐ to provide the same kinds of services to different clients in Austria,
⇒ can be communicated by means of a single ‘summary notification’ for that week.
In such cases, a list of the clients must be attached to the online form.

A note should be made in the ‘comments’ section at the end of the online form to indicate that the ‘summary notification’ option is being used.

Subsequent changes in the circumstances detailed in a notification must be communicated using the online form ZKOAE-M.

Different and specific provisions apply in the transport sector – see the information sheet for transport.

Further details on all of the above are available here:

2. Documents to be kept available while working in Austria

During assignments in Austria, it must be made possible for regulatory bodies to inspect certain documents – in hard copy or digital form – which demonstrate adherence to minimum-wage regulations and registration with a social security scheme. The required documents are as follows:

  • Copy of the notification
  • Either the employment contract or evidence showing the essential substance of the employment contract
  • Documentation on the worker’s pay bracket, if that information is not included in these or other documents
  • Wage statements or an equivalent itemisation of pay composition, if the wording on bonuses (e.g. in respect of particularly dangerous conditions) and/or premiums (e.g. for overtime or commissions) in the employment contract requires clarification
  • Working time records
  • Records of pay received, such as pay slips or proofs of payment from a bank
  • If the worker posted or hired out is a non-EU national, the work permit issued in the sending state
  • Social security document A 1 or equivalent evidence of the posted or hired out worker’s registration with a social security provider in the sending state (e.g. an older but still valid A 1 form or records of pay received which show that social security contributions are paid in the sending state)

For a posting lasting no more than 48 hours, only the following documents need to be kept available:

  • Copy of the notification
  • Employment contract or evidence showing the essential substance of the employment contract
  • Working time records
  • Work permit, if applicable
  • Social security document A 1 or equivalent evidence

All documents can be kept available in German or in English.

Social security document A 1 does not need to be translated. Records of pay received can also be kept available in their original language, if the payroll period, the pay received and the recipient can be clearly understood.

Translations must be correct but do not need to be certified.

For a ‘framework notification’, the documents must be available to the regulatory bodies, or accessible in digital form, throughout the period specified in the notification – including when the specified workers are not present in Austria.

The regulatory bodies can demand the transmission of pay documents like employment contracts, documents on workers’ pay brackets, wage statements, working time records and records of pay received up to one month after the end of the posting or hiring-out. These documents must be sent no more than 14 days after the demand is issued.

Different and specific provisions apply in the transport sector – see the information sheet for transport .

Further details on all of the above are available here:

3. Minimum remuneration under Austrian provisions

In Austria, the level of the minimum wage, which must not be undercut, is largely set in collective agreements.

The industrial sector and the specific work assigned to the posted worker are used to determine which statutory collective labour agreement wage must be paid as a minimum for the work performed in Austria.

Even if they work in Austria for only a week, they must be paid for that week at least the Austrian minimum wage as established by the statutory collective labour agreement.

Further details are available here:

4. Entitlement to repayment of travel, accommodation and/or catering expenses

Posted workers must be provided with at least the same amount of compensation for travel, accommodation and catering expenses as comparable employees are entitled to in their place of work from comparable employers under the Austrian provisions – which are often enshrined in collective labour agreements.

Costs incurred for travel between places of work within Austria must also be repaid.

Further information is available here:

5. Minimum standards for accommodation provided by the sending company

If the sending employer provides residential or overnight accommodation, the space provided must have the following:

  • A window directly facing the outside
  • Sufficient illumination
  • Unencumbered air volume of at least 10m3 per worker
  • Heating
  • Sufficiently large tables
  • At least one seat with a backrest per worker
  • A minimum height of 2.5m
  • A means of locking the space, the bedroom and a locker
  • A bed with bedding – no bunk beds
  • Bedrooms which can be used and accessed in a gender-separated manner
  • Facilities for preparing, heating and refrigerating food and drink
  • First aid equipment
  • Suitable facilities for drying wet clothing
  • Separate rooms for smokers and non-smokers or a prohibition on smoking
  • Showers, washing facilities and toilets

Further details are available here:

6. Applicability of Austrian labour law

Even during very short postings, the Austrian provisions on working time (laws, ordinances, collective labour agreements) and on health and safety in the workplace must be observed.

Further details on this are available here:

Except in the case of certain assembly jobs, posted workers are entitled to annual leave in accordance with Austrian law insofar as the amount of leave under the legislation of the sending state is lower.

Further details on this are available here:

If the posting is more than 12 months long, moreover, Austrian labour law applies in its entirety insofar as it is more favourable than the labour law of the sending state.

This includes, for example, the right to continued remuneration when ill or otherwise unfit for work.
It does not include provisions governing the conclusion and termination of employment contracts.

Upon submission of written grounds, the employer can extend the 12 month period to 18 months.

Further details on individual areas of labour law applicable in Austria are available here:

7. Special obligations in connection with construction work

When workers are posted for construction work, special provisions on notification, the Construction Workers’ Annual Leave and Severance Pay Fund (BUAK) and liability for remuneration apply.

Further details on this are available here:

8. Notification of service provision in ‘regulated’ trades

For certain services provided by businesses in Austria, known as ‘regulated’ trades, adherence to a particular level of quality is required. Prior notification of the intended service provision must be given, in the form of a service notification (Dienstleistungsanzeige), if it is a cross-border activity.

The authority responsible for these in Austria is the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs.

Further details on this are available here:

9. Exemptions from the provisions on posted workers

On the ‘Posting of workers platform’, several cross-border activities are specified for which the provisions on the posting or hiring out of workers to Austria explicitly do not apply.

The new additions to these exemptions include, in particular,

the ⇒ delivery of goods by posted employees of a seller or lessor and the collection of goods by posted employees of a foreign buyer or lessee as well as
⇒ activities essential for putting into service and using delivered goods, which posted employees of the seller or lessor carry out and which only take a short time.

Further details on additional exemptions are available here: