Summary of key information
What are the most important rights and obligations related to posting or hiring out workers to Austria? Where can I find more detailed information on this website?
1. Posting or hiring-out in connection with a non-EU Member State (“third country”)
Undertakings established in an EU Member State post or hire out employees to Austria based on the freedom to provide services under EU law.
Employees with citizenship of an EU Member State who are posted or hired out to Austria enjoy freedom of movement for workers, which encompasses rights relating to residence and employment.
In most cases, these freedoms are not available to undertakings established in third countries and workers who are citizens of a third country.
As a result, there are different rules for posting and hiring-out when the workers involved are third-country nationals and/or the posting undertaking is established in a third country, particularly in relation to notification (see item 2 below) and documents that must be kept available (see item 3 below):
- In their notifications, undertakings established in an EU Member State which post or hire out third-country nationals must provide details of work permits issued in the posting country. The notification is automatically passed on to the Austrian Public Employment Service (Arbeitsmarktservice, AMS). The AMS then verifies whether the worker is legally employed in the posting country (permit, place of residence, main employment, employment by the posting undertaking or the temporary work agency) and issues a “posting confirmation”. Employment can commence, however, already upon submission of the notification.
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If undertakings established in a third country post or hire out third-country nationals,
- they must obtain a posting permit, an employment permit and/or a temporary work permit, but are not required to submit a notification (see item 2 below);
- the documents that must be held available (see item 3 below) include the pay documents and records of hours worked, but not the posting notification and the employment permit.
For more details about the above, see
2. Notification of posting or hiring-out of workers from an EU Member State, EEA state or Switzerland
When posting or hiring out one or more employees to Austria from an EU Member State, an EEA state or Switzerland, a notification must be submitted using an online form no later than the time the employees start work.
For the postings of workers use online form ZKO3.
For hiring out workers, use online form ZKO4.
Except in the construction sector, notification of all cases of posting or hiring-out can be submitted within 6 months
⇐ if they involve the same client in Austria
⇒ in a single “framework notification” covering that six-month period.
To this end, the “Framework notification“ box in the online form has to be selected.
All cases of posting or hiring-out during a one-week period
⇐ which involve the provision of similar services to different clients in Austria
⇐ with the workers remaining in Austria for the entire time
⇒ can be reported in a single “collective notification” for that week.
A list of the clients has to be attached to the online form. State that you wish to make a collective notification in the comments section at the end of the form.
Subsequent changes in circumstances previously reported must be submitted using online form ZKOAE-M.
Different rules apply specifically to the transport sector.
For more details about the above, see
3. Keeping various documents readily available during the period of work in Austria
During the period that workers are deployed to Austria, the authorities must be able to access and inspect certain documents, either on paper or electronically. These documents are required to provide information on compliance with minimum wage requirements and show that workers are registered for social insurance.
These documents include:
- A copy of the notification (except if the worker was posted or hired out from a third country)
- Either an employment contract or a statement of the main terms of the employment contract
- Documents relating to pay categorisation according to the applicable collective agreement, unless these or other documents already contain this information
- Wage records or a comparable breakdown of pay components, if the wording of the employment contract relating to allowances (e.g. hazard allowance) or supplements (e.g. for extra hours or commissions) is not sufficiently clear
- Records of hours worked
- Proof of wage payment such as pay slips or bank transfer statements
- If third-country employees are posted or hired out from an EU Member State, an EEA state or Switzerland, the employment permit issued in the country concerned
- If workers are posted from an EU Member State, an EEA state or Switzerland, the A1 social security document or equivalent proving that the employee posted or hired out is registered with a social insurance institution in the posting country (e.g. an older A1 form that has not yet expired, proof of wage payment showing that social insurance contributions were paid in the posting country).
For postings lasting no more than 48 hours, only the following documents must be available:
- Copy of the notification
- Employment contract or statement of the main terms of the employment contract
- Records of hours worked
- Employment permit if applicable
- A1 social security document or equivalent.
All documents can be kept available in German or English.
The A1 social security document does not need to be translated. Proof of wage payment can be held in the original language provided that the wage period, the remuneration paid and the recipient of the payment are clearly indicated.
Translations must be accurate, but do not need to be certified.
In case of a “framework notification”, the documents must either be available or electronically accessible for inspection by authorities at the place work, even if the employees covered by the notification are not in Austria.
Obviously, proof of wage payment can only relate to past periods.
The authorities can also demand submission of pay documents such as employment contracts, documents relating to pay categorisation, wage records, records of hours worked and proof of wage payment up to one month after completion of the temporary work period. These documents must be submitted within 14 days of the request.
Different rules apply specifically to the transport sector.
For more details about the above, see
4. Minimum pay under Austrian law
In Austria, the minimum wage that workers must receive is generally stipulated in collective agreements.
The minimum remuneration payable for work carried out in Austria is determined by the economic sector concerned and the specific activities the posted worker carries out.
Even if a person only works in Austria for a week, their wage for that week must be at least equal to the wage stipulated in the relevant Austrian collective agreement.
For more details, see
- Brief overviews of the collective agreements, alphabetically by activity
- Minimum wage – Search information
- Collective agreements - Search
- Remuneration for hiring-out
5. Entitlement to reimbursement of travel, lodging and board expenses
Employees posted or hired out to Austria have at least the same entitlement to reimbursement of reimbursement of expenses for travel, lodging and board as the Austrian rules – which are often set out in collective agreements – grant to comparable workers of comparable employers at the place of work concerned.
In particular, they must be reimbursed for the costs of travel between places of work in Austria.
For further information, see
6. Applicability of Austrian labour law
The Austrian provisions governing working time (laws, ordinances, collective agreements) and relating to safety and health at work must be adhered to.
For more detail, see
Except in the case of certain types of assembly work, workers posted to Austria are entitled to the same annual leave as Austrian workers on condition that the law of the posting country specifies less annual leave.
For more detail, see
When workers are posted or hired out for more than 12 months, Austrian labour law applies in full where Austria’s provisions are more favourable to workers than those of the posting country.
This means that the employee has the right to continued remuneration in case of illness or other inability to work. The provisions relating to entering into and termination of employment do not apply.
Employers can extend the 12-month period to 18 months by providing reasons in writing.
More information regarding posting and hiring-out of employees for periods exceeding 12 months:
Further information on specific aspects of applicable Austrian labour law:
7. Specific obligations relating to construction work
A number of specific provisions apply to the posting of workers to carry out construction work. They concern aspects such as posting notifications, the Construction Workers’ Holiday and Severance Pay Fund (BUAK) and liability for remuneration.
For more details, see:
8. Special rules for the transport sector
In the transport sector, the conditions under which a worker is regarded as having been posted or hired out and the administrative requirements applicable to posting and hiring-out of workers differ from the general rules in a number of ways.
For more details, see
9. Notification of work in a “regulated” trade
Certain work or services provided by undertakings in Austria are subject to particular quality standards. These types of works or services are referred to as “regulated trades”. If such services are to be provided on a cross-border basis the relevant authority must be notified thereof in advance (“notification of service”).
In Austria, the responsible authority is the Federal Ministry of Labour and the Economy.
For more details, see:
10. Exemptions from the rules regarding posting of workers
The “Posting of workers platform” lists a number of cross-border activities which are not subject to the provisions on posting or hiring-out of workers to Austria.
For more information about these exemptions: