Information for firms
With regard to leave arrangements, since 01.09.2005, foreign employers have been subject to the Austrian Construction Workers Leave and Severance Pay Act (Bauarbeiter-Urlaubs- und Abfertigungsgesetz - BUAG) if the latter post or carry out cross-border leasing of employees to Austria or employ employees to work for them whose habitual place of residence is in Austria.
For the duration of the posting or leasing, the posting or leasing enterprise must pay supplements to the Construction Workers Leave and Severance Pay Fund (Bauarbeiter-Urlaubs- und Abfertigungskasse BUAK) for each employee who performs construction work under the terms of BUAG.
BUAK prescribes monthly leave supplements for the employer based on the initial notifications provided by your company (notifications according to the Austrian Employment Contract Law Adaptation Act (AVRAG) or the Austrian Employee Transfer Act (AÜG) are deemed initial notifications according to Article 33 g (2) BUAG), or on the basis of other account-related information.
How is the leave supplement calculated?
The daily supplement which the employer must pay per working day is calculated according to the following formula, taking into account the collectively agreed wage applicable in Austria (collectively agreed hourly wage for specific construction work):
((Collectively agreed wage + 20 %) x factor) / 5
Classification in the Austrian collectively agreed wage system is primarily undertaken on the basis of the work performed by the employees in Austria, taking into account the trade exercised by the posting enterprise.
The factor is governed by the weekly standard hours of work. The Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection (BMASGK) set the following factors in the supplement regulation published in Federal Journal II no. 419/2010:
- The factor for 40.0 hours is > 11.85
- The factor for 39.0 hours is > 11.55
- The factor for 38.5 hours is > 11.40
Which payments are financed by the leave supplement?
The employee accumulates a mandatory entitlement to paid leave according to the provisions of BUAG (see Section II of BUAG) from the first day of posting. The level of leave entitlement is governed by the number of weeks’ work (eligible weeks) performed in Austria. The actual leave entitlement only accrues, however, to the extent of the supplements paid by the employer.
The employer can file the leave pay claim with BUAK using the “Leave declaration pursuant to Article 33f BUAG”.
BUAK will subsequently pay the net leave pay direct to the employee after the claim has been verified. BUAK will also pay the social insurance contributions, income tax, additional business expenses and leave supplements for the days’ leave accumulated.
The forms required for submitting leave pay claims and other information are available to download below.