Exception for assembly

In the special case of posting or hiring-out workers to deliver equipment to a business in Austria, under certain conditions employers are not required to comply with Austrian minimum wage requirements and Austrian annual leave regulations.
The exemption from the obligation to meet requirements for minimum remuneration and annual leave entitlement is often referred to as the ‘exception for assembly’ (Montageprivileg).

What is “equipment” in the context of exceptions for assembly?
Equipment as used in this context is a large item of production equipment that is installed or used in a fixed location:

• machines which are installed as a connected entity, jointly controlled or operated, and which work in combination or interact to produce a common production outcome or
• facilities such as workshops, factory and warehouse halls, blast furnaces, silos, tanks, port facilities, railway facilities and similar.

The legal conditions for application of the exception for assembly are as follows.

Which types of work fall within the exception for assembly?
In the context of supplying equipment manufactured by the posted worker’s employer or by another employer affiliated with the worker’s employer through a company group:

• Assembly or
• commissioning of the equipment along with related training or
• repair and servicing of that equipment
• where the tasks mentioned above cannot be performed by workers in Austria.

Which types of work never fall within the exception for assembly?
Construction work does not fall within the exception for assembly. Refer to the term “Construction works” under the menu item Specific topics and definitions.

What other conditions have to be met in order for the exception for assembly to apply?
Regardless of how long individual employees are involved in the job, the work must not take any longer than eight calendar days or any longer than three months.

What conditions apply to work activities falling within the exception for assembly?
For work activities that fall within the exception for assembly and that

• do not take longer than eight calendar days, the requirement to comply with Austrian leave regulations is suspended;
   
• do not take longer than three months, the requirement to comply with Austrian minimum wage regulations is suspended.

Work activities falling within the exception for assembly must nonetheless be reported. Refer to the menu item Formal requirements/Notification requirements.
A copy of the notice is to be kept available in Austria or made accessible in electronic form in accordance with general requirements.