Leave policy in Austria

Your leave policy in Austria should include statutory annual leave that rises with tenure. Sick leave is generous and scales with how long someone has been on your payroll. Other statutory leave in Austria includes federal public holidays. Moreover, there are dedicated frameworks governing maternity (Mutterschutz), paternity (Papamonat), and parental leave (Elternkarenz), each with its own pay treatment.

Below is the full breakdown of leave entitlements in Austria, which must be reflected in your leave policy when engaging local talent.

Vacation & annual leave in Austria

When you hire local employees, paid time off in Austria is governed by the Urlaubsgesetz (Holiday Act). You owe every employee a minimum of 25 working days of paid vacation per year. After your employee completes 25 years of continuous service with you, that bumps up to 30 working days.

Vacation accrues over the holiday year. Most employers track the holiday year on the calendar; some align it with the employee’s start date. Either approach is valid under the Urlaubsgesetz.

Carryover is allowed, so unused days from one holiday year roll into the next. There is, however, a statutory ceiling of up to two years that caps how long the entitlement survives before it expires. 

Vacation pay is full salary. You also need to pay a separate Urlaubsgeld (vacation bonus) under most collective agreements, paid as one of the 14 annual salary installments your Austrian employees receive.

In the European context, Austria’s 25-day floor sits at the higher end. The Netherlands leave policy starts at 20 statutory days before the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) additions. The German leave policy requires 20 working days for 5-day workweeks. France sits higher, at 30 statutory days.

Public holidays

Public holidays in Austria are governed by the Arbeitsruhegesetz (Rest from Work Act). Your Austrian employees get 14 federal public holidays. Most are fixed dates and fall on the same day every year. Whereas, the remaining move around because they are tied to Easter.

Here is the holiday calendar for Austria for your reference:

• New Year’s Day
• Epiphany
• Easter Monday
• Labor Day
• Ascension Day
• Pentecost
• Corpus Christi
• Assumption of Mary
• National Day
• All Saints’ Day
• Immaculate Conception
• Christmas Eve (Optional)
• Christmas Day
• St Stephen’s Day 

Sick leave

Statutory sick leave in Austria runs through the Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz (EFZG / Continued Pay Act) and parallel provisions in the Angestelltengesetz. 

As per the act, you must extend sick leave up to 26 weeks. Moreover, you pay full salary for an initial period. Once the employer-paid window closes, ÖGK takes over with statutory sickness benefits (Krankengeld). 

On the practical side, you can typically request a medical certificate by the third day of absence. CBAs often set tighter notification timelines, with same-day notice being the most common rule. 

Maternity leave in Austria

Maternity leave in Austria runs through the Mutterschutzgesetz (MSchG / Maternity Protection Act). The protection covers 16 weeks, split evenly around birth; eight weeks of leave run before the due date, and another eight after delivery.

Three things worth flagging for you:

1. You do not pay a salary during Mutterschutz. The Austrian Health Insurance (ÖGK) pays Wochengeld (weekly allowance) instead. It is usually calculated as the amount set against an average of your employee’s net income from the months leading up to the protection window.
2. The post-birth window extends to 12 weeks for premature births, Cesarean deliveries, and multiple births. If the pre-birth phase starts late, the post-birth phase extends, capped at 16 weeks after birth.
3. Job protection runs through the Mutterschutz window. It continues for four weeks after Elternkarenz (parental leave) ends, provided your employee transitions directly into parental leave.

Once a pregnancy is reported to you, the general work restrictions take effect. These cover heavy lifting (regularly over 5 kg or occasionally over 10 kg), exposure to hazardous substances, night work, Sunday and public holiday work, and overtime. 

A separate absolute work ban applies during the eight weeks before and eight weeks after birth, during which the employee cannot be employed at all. A doctor can also certify an individual’s work ban earlier than the eight-week window if continued work would endanger the mother’s or child’s health.

Germany operates a structurally similar Mutterschutz framework. See the Germany leave policy for a regional reference.

Paternity leave

Paternity leave in Austria comes through the Papamonat (paternity month), a statutory right under the Väter-Karenzgesetz (VKG). Fathers and non-birthing parents (including same-sex partners) can take exactly one natural month (28 to 31 continuous days) of leave during the mother’s Schutzfrist (maternity leave protection period).

As an employer, you may consider the following: 

• The employee must give advance notice at least three months before the expected due date.
• You pay no salary during the leave.

The Papamonat sits independently of parental leave. Your employee can take it first, then move into Elternkarenz (parental leave) separately. It does not count against the parental leave entitlement in Austria. 

However, the French leave policy runs on a different paternity model with three working days of compulsory birth leave, followed by a month of optional paternity and childcare leave.

Parental leave policy in Austria 

Parental leave is available after the maternity protection period until the child is 22 months old. Single parents or parents sharing leave can extend it to 24 months, with a minimum of two months per parent. 

Employees are protected from dismissal from notification until four weeks after the leave ends. This leave is unpaid by law. 

Other types of leave in Austria

Beyond the headline categories above, leave laws in Austria recognize several additional types under federal statute and CBAs.

• Childcare leave: After Elternkarenz (parental leave), both parents can split state-supported childcare leave, capped at the child’s second birthday. You pay no salary during this period. The state covers income through the Childcare Allowance, administered by your employee’s health insurance provider. 
• Bereavement and compassionate leave: Your leave policy in Austria must include paid time off up to one week for the following personal (health) reasons, family and public obligations. 
  
  CBAs typically codify the specifics. Paid compassionate leave for serious illness in a close family member runs to one to two weeks under most agreements.
• Wedding leave: Most CBAs require you to grant one to three paid days for your employee’s own wedding. 

Explore Payoneer Workforce Management in Austria

Payoneer Workforce Management can help companies that want to engage talent in Austria. The platform support covers employment contracts, EUR payroll, ÖGK registration, and statutory benefits administration. 

If you are engaging contractors rather than full-time employees, the Agent of Record (AOR) service handles cross-border engagement. Moreover, the contractor management system covers invoicing and EUR payments. 

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