Applies to:

Austria-wide

collective agreement for musicians

Table of contents

§ 1. Contracting Parties

§ 2. Scope

§ 3. Period of validity

§ 4. The term musician

§ 5. Employment relationship and service

§ 6. Conclusion of contracts 

§ 7. Certificate

§ 8. Salary

§ 9. Special agreements 

§ 10. Duration of the employment relationship 

§ 11. Working hours 

§ 12. Break 

§ 13. Overtime 

§ 14. Days off from work and public holiday rest law 

§ 15. Normatage 

§ 16. Rest days of the company

§ 17. Entitlement in the event of inability to work

§ 18. Provision of instruments

§ 19. Wardrobe and instrument storage

§ 20. Radio broadcasts and recordings

§ 21. Remuneration 

§ 22. Vacation

§ 23. Any changes to the salary rates of the collective agreement during the term of the contract 

§ 24. Commissions 

§ 25. General 

§ 26. Classification 

§ 27. Cup money

§ 28. Samples

§ 29. Morning and afternoon concerts (five o'clock tea)

§ 30. Band Leader 

§ 31. Salary for substitute musicians

§ 32. Minimum salaries for permanently employed musicians

§ 33. Minimum salaries for outpatient services

Annex A/1 to Section 32 of the Musicians' Collective Agreement

Annex A/2 to Section 33 of the Musicians' Collective Agreement

collective agreement for musicians  

New salary table from May 1, 2022

§ 1. Contracting Parties

The collective agreement is concluded between the Austrian Event Organizers Association, Dorotheergasse 7/1, 1010 Vienna, and the Austrian Trade Union Federation, younion _ Die Daseinsunion, Maria-Theresienstraße 11, 1090 Vienna.

§ 2. Scope

The collective agreement applies:

(1) Spatially: from § 1 to § 33 for all federal states of the Republic of Austria

(2) Professional and personal: This collective agreement regulates the employment relationship of all musicians who are employed in a concert venue, music or dance company that is a regular or extraordinary member of the Austrian Event Organizers Association, regardless of whether the company is spatially , commercially or personally linked to a hospitality business (hotel, bar, hall, inn, wine bar, hall, coffee house, wine tavern, etc.) or a wine tavern or whether it is run without any such link. It also applies to musicians and singers employed at individual events by member companies.

(3) The Orchestra Regulations form an integral part of this collective agreement. They apply to the entire federal territory.

§ 3. Period of validity

(1) This collective agreement shall enter into force on May 1, 2022.

(2) The collective agreement may be terminated by either party to the agreement by registered letter with three months' notice effective 31 March of each year.

(3) The provisions of the collective agreement concerning the level of minimum wages may be terminated by registered letter with one month's notice effective at the end of each month.

(4) During the notice period, negotiations shall be conducted for the renewal or amendment of the collective agreement.

(5) With the entry into force of this collective agreement, all previous collective agreements shall cease to be valid.

§ 4. The term musician

Musicians within the meaning of this contract (hereinafter referred to as musicians) are bandmasters (band leaders), musicians and singers of all kinds, provided that they are not only active as interludes or stage performances. Only an activity that is not associated with the obligation to be present for the duration of the band's performance can be considered as mere interlude activity.

§ 5. Employment relationship and service

(1) Every individual musician who is not merely an itinerant worker in an establishment covered by a collective agreement is directly employed by the entrepreneur (organiser) and, unless the collective agreement on the legal relationship of the service provides otherwise, is to be treated in accordance with the Employees Act.

(2) Musicians who are only employed on an outpatient basis (on a case-by-case basis) are employees of the company (organizer). The provisions of the ABGB apply to them.

(3) The musician's service may be

a) a permanent one,
b) an outpatient one.

(4) The service is continuous if it is provided on at least two days each week in the same establishment and by the same contractor.

(5) The service is outpatient (on a case-by-case basis) if it is provided only once a week in one and the same establishment and by the same entrepreneur.

Additional services on holidays or exceptionally on special occasions do not change the qualification as outpatient.

§ 6. Conclusion of contracts

Contracts and other agreements should be concluded in writing. Oral contracts for a fixed period of time are only legally effective if the employer has immediately informed the event organizers' association of this, specifying the most important points of the contract (in particular salary, duration of the employment relationship and daily working hours) and the union has verifiably been informed of this by the event organizers' association within 14 days. The event organizers' association keeps a register of this. Otherwise, such a contract is deemed to be concluded for an indefinite period of time. The provisions of Section 10 (3) on the probationary employment relationship are not affected by this.

§ 7. Certificate

Upon leaving the company, each musician must, upon request, be provided with a certificate detailing the period of his or her employment with the company.

§ 8. Salary

For permanently employed musicians, each salary is to be regarded as a monthly salary. The agreements and payment of daily, weekly or decade-long wages are considered as an advance payment for the monthly salary.

§ 9. Special agreements

Special agreements are only legally valid if they are more favorable to the employee than those set out here and are also drawn up in writing.

§ 10. Duration of the employment relationship

(1) For an indefinite period:
(a) If a permanent employment relationship has been entered into or continued without a fixed term, Section 20 of the Salaried Employees Act shall apply to the termination of the employment relationship, provided that the employment relationship may be terminated with effect from the 15th or last day of each calendar month.

b) For musicians who are only employed on an outpatient basis (on a case-by-case basis), see Section 5, no notice of termination is required if the total period of service is up to and including three months; however, if the period of service exceeds three months, notice of termination must be given with two calendar weeks' notice.

c) Notices of termination must be given in writing by both parties.

(2) For a definite period:
(a) Any contract may be concluded for a definite period. The employment relationship shall be deemed to have been entered into for a definite period if it is based on a specific calendar period.

b) An employment relationship entered into for a fixed period may only be renewed for a fixed period twice. If the employment relationship is renewed more often, it shall be deemed to have been entered into for an indefinite period from the outset.

During the probationary period, the employment relationship can be terminated by either party daily after work closes without observing the notice period. After the end of the probationary period, the employment relationship becomes one without a fixed term, unless a contract for a fixed term was concluded between the entrepreneur and the musician in good time.

(4) Both parties agree that on the last day of the employment relationship, play must continue until the end of business, even if this is in the morning hours of the following calendar day, without this being equivalent to a continuation of the employment relationship .

(5) Substitute musicians:
The services of a substitute musician who is expressly hired as a replacement for a musician who is ill or unable to perform shall be considered a probationary period of up to three days, without the need for a special written or oral agreement.

If the employment lasts longer than three days, unless otherwise agreed in writing, the employment relationship becomes a temporary one for both parties, which ends on the last day before the sick or prevented musician resumes work or when his or her employment contract ends. The substitute musician must be informed of the end date of the sick musician's contract (employment relationship) when he or she begins the substitute service.

(6) Dismissal and early resignation:
Dismissal without notice and early resignation are only permitted in cases justified by law or the collective agreement (orchestra regulations).

(2) Within a working week of 36 hours, time off may be compensated for provided that the schedule is announced no later than Monday for the entire week to come or by way of a contractual agreement, insofar as additional work (overtime) on one or more working days, up to a maximum of eight hours of work, may be compensated for by reduced working hours to the corresponding extent on one or more other working days of the same week.

The calculation according to Section 13 does not take place in the context of the application of time adjustment.

(3) The working week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. The musician must arrive at the company 10 minutes before the start of work in order to be ready to play on time. This presence for the purpose of preparing to start work is not included in working hours.

(4) If a salary scale contains different rates depending on the length of service per match day, the rate corresponding to the service contract or the service required shall apply first. However, a correspondingly higher rate shall apply if the average amount of actual daily services during a month predominantly results in a longer daily service time.

For example, if the average service in a month is 143 hours (5.5 hours per day), then payment will be made according to the rate for five hours plus overtime compensation.

However, if the average service is at least 144 hours, the musician is entitled to payment according to the rate for 6 hours plus any overtime if work was carried out in excess of 6 hours.

§ 12. Break

If a musician works for three hours, whether for service or rehearsals, he is entitled to a break of 15 minutes, which should normally be taken after the first half of the working hour, and a break of 5 minutes for each additional hour of work . The break time is to be included in the working hour.

If the shift is divided into an afternoon and an evening shift, there must be a break of one and a half hours between the two shifts, which is not included in working time. The same applies between rehearsals and performances.

(1) If the musician is regularly required to work more than four days a week, he shall be entitled to one paid rest day per week. If, in exceptional circumstances, the rest day cannot be observed for a special reason, the musician shall be entitled to 1/26 of the monthly salary stipulated in the collective agreement as compensation for the service provided on that day.

If the rest days cannot be granted on a more frequent basis, the musician is entitled to 1/13 of the collectively agreed minimum salary for each missed rest day. In any case, a substitute rest day can be granted instead of this salary.

(2) For services rendered on public holidays (Public Holiday Rest Act) or on any non-public holidays decreed by the government (national holidays), the musician who is obliged to perform services on such days shall be entitled to additional compensation in the amount of the pro rata part of the salary for one day (for the calculation of the pro rata part for one working day, see Section 22).

According to the Public Holiday Rest Act, the following are currently considered public holidays: January 1st, January 6th, Good Friday (only for Protestant and Old Catholic employees), Easter Monday, May 1st, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Corpus Christi, August 15th, October 26th, November 1st, December 8th, December 25th and 26th. In addition, there are all extraordinary holidays (national holidays) ordered by the government.

(3) The rest day or holiday shall begin with the termination of normal work on the preceding day and end with the commencement of normal work on the following day.

(4) If the following family matters arise and are subsequently proven, the musician shall be granted two working days' leave without any reduction in his remuneration:

In the event of the employee's own marriage, in the event of the birth of the wife or partner, in the event of the death of the spouse or partner, of a parent, in the event of the death of a child, stepchild or adopted child who lived with the employee in the same household, in the event of a change of residence if the employee was running his or her own household.

If, in the case of the above-mentioned deaths, the two working days' leave from work is not sufficient because, for example, a trip is necessary or other compelling reasons demonstrably require a greater expenditure of time, musicians who are resident in Austria must be granted the days absolutely necessary for the necessary travel time or other demonstrably required days without reduction in salary in accordance with the provisions of the Employees Act.

§ 15. Normatage

Good Friday and December 24th are currently considered standard days. On these days, musicians may not be called upon to provide any services, regardless of their entitlement to salary. However, the employer is entitled to count these two standard days as substitute rest days. Good Friday is excluded from this option for Protestant and Old Catholic employees.

The provisions of Section 14, Paragraph 3 shall apply accordingly to the beginning and end of the standard day.

If in the federal states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, as a result of negotiations or state law, dancing is prohibited on other days of Lent besides Good Friday and the company therefore does not organize any live music performances on such a day, these days can also be counted as substitute rest days.

§ 16. Rest days of the company

(1) The musician must recognize any existing day of rest of the company as his day off. If the day off is first introduced, the employer must reach agreement with the works council or the musician when determining it, whereby the works council or the musician does not have the right to demand that the day off be determined on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays or on days when there is a change of program.

(2) Exceptionally, the rest day may only be changed if the musician is notified of the change at least three days before the change.

§ 17. Entitlement in the event of inability to work

If the musician is prevented from performing his duties due to illness or accident after starting his duties, his claims shall be governed by Section 8 of the Salaried Employees Act.

§ 18. Provision of instruments

(1) The musician is obliged to provide the instrument he plays. The large instruments, such as piano, electric organ, celesta, harmonium, double bass, harp, timpani and other percussion instruments including accessories, must be provided by the contractor. The contractor is also responsible for their maintenance.

(2) If the musician himself provides the instruments to be provided by the contractor, he shall be reimbursed for the costs arising from this provision and the transport thereof; Unless the musician can prove that the costs of providing the instruments are higher, the contractor shall pay him a rental fee of at least € 36 per month.

(3) The musician is liable for the proper and careful treatment of the instruments provided.

§ 19. Wardrobe and instrument storage

(1) The musician is entitled to leave his instruments in the company after the end of the daily working hours.

(2) The contractor must provide a lockable room (case) for storing the instruments and clothing and is liable for the same in accordance with the statutory provisions, unless he can prove that the musician to whom the instrument or item of clothing belongs is at fault.

§ 20. Radio broadcasts and recordings

For radio and television broadcasts (live) or recordings, also for other purposes (eg the production of sound recordings), the provisions of the Copyright Act in its currently valid version apply.

§ 21. Remuneration

(1) Musicians who are employed for at least one month continuously in the same company or in different business premises of the same employer are entitled to an annual remuneration of two collectively agreed monthly minimum salaries corresponding to the normal number of working hours. Any agreed allowance deduction under Section 27 of the collective agreement is to be disregarded when calculating the remuneration entitlement. For the calculation of remuneration, the 25% surcharge under Section 30 of the collective agreement forms part of the collectively agreed minimum wage for the musician who provides the sheet music.

(2) Payment shall be made in two equal parts, namely:

a) upon commencement of the holiday and

b) if possible before the Christmas holidays, but at the latest at the same time as the December salary payment.

If the employment relationship ends during a calendar year, remuneration must be paid out at the same time as the last salary payment, taking into account any partial payment that may have been made.

Musicians who are not employed for a full year in the same company or in different locations of the same company will receive remuneration on a pro rata basis (2/12 per full month of employment) on the dates specified or upon termination of the employment.

(3) The remuneration due to the musicians may not be included in a so-called total fee.

(4) The right to remuneration shall lapse if a musician resigns prematurely without good cause within the meaning of the provisions of the Employees Act.

§ 22. Vacation

(1) For employment relationships which have lasted at least six months, the provisions of the Federal Act on the Standardization of Holiday Rights and the Introduction of Care Leave of July 7, 1976, Federal Law Gazette No. 390/1976, shall apply with regard to holiday entitlement.

(3) In the case of employment relationships with two, three or four work commitments per week, holiday shall be granted according to match days, whereby match days which fall on a public holiday shall not be counted as holiday days.

The amount of holiday entitlement for a period of service of less than 20 years is therefore
10 match days per year if the service obligation is two times per week,
15 match days per week if the service obligation is three times per week,
and 20 match days per year if the service obligation is four times per week.

(4) For employment relationships of less than 6 months’ duration,

• with two service obligations per week with a duration of the employment relationship of
  • 1 month - 1 matchday
    
  • 2 months - 3 match days
    
  • 3 months - 4 match days
    
  • 4 months - 5 match days
    
  • 5 months - 7 match days
    
  • 6 months - 10 match days
• with three duty obligations per week with a duration of employment of
  
  • 1 month - 2 match days
    
  • 2 months - 4 match days
    
  • 3 months - 6 match days
    
  • 4 months - 8 match days
    
  • 5 months - 10 match days
    
  • 6 months - 15 match days
• with four work commitments per week with a duration of employment of
  
  • 1 month - 3 match days
    
  • 1 ½ months - 4 match days
    
  • 2 months - 5 match days
    
  • 2 ½ months - 7 match days
    
  • 3 months - 8 match days
    
  • 3 ½ months - 9 match days
    
  • 4 months - 11 match days
    
  • 4 ½ months - 12 match days
    
  • 5 months - 13 match days
    
  • 5 ½ months - 15 match days
    
  • 6 months - 20 match days

(5) In the event of payment of holiday compensation, the daily wage due for the working day or match day shall be:

If the service obligation is more than four times - 1/26 of the gross monthly salary,
if the service obligation is four times - 1/17 of the gross monthly salary,
if the service obligation is three times - 1/13 of the gross monthly salary,
if the service obligation is two times - 1/9 of the gross monthly salary

(6) Any holiday compensation to which an employee is entitled may not be included in the so-called total remuneration.

§ 23. Any changes to the salary rates of the collective agreement during the term of the contract

Should there be a significant increase or reduction in the cost of living during the term of the contract, each of the contracting parties has the right to request a change in the salary rates. Negotiations in this regard must begin no later than seven days after receipt of written notification of this. If these negotiations are unsuccessful, the Federal Conciliation Office must be contacted and the decision must be transferred to it. Both contracting parties undertake to accept the decision of the Federal Conciliation Office as non-appealable.

§ 24. Commissions

(1) Joint Commission
The diversity of the individual music companies in terms of their economic performance makes it necessary to make provision for necessary changes to the tariff in individual cases. For this purpose, a Joint Commission is formed. In addition, this is responsible for all cases that are referred to it for decision under the present contract. The Joint Commission decides in a senate of three, to which each of the two contracting parties must send one member. These two members of the senate must agree on the chairman.

However, if such an agreement cannot be reached, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shall be requested to appoint the chairman.

In individual cases, the Joint Commission may also be replaced by a short-term agreement between both contracting parties.

The applicant shall bear the costs of the procedure. The procedure laid down here for arbitration cases shall apply mutatis mutandis to applications to the Joint Commission.

(2) Arbitration Board
Both parties to the collective agreement agree to set up a joint arbitration board consisting of one representative from each of the two associations and meeting as required. It can be set up separately on site for each federal state.

The task of the arbitration board is to bring all labor disputes that have arisen to an amicable settlement. Both professional organizations undertake not to grant any legal protection before an attempt at arbitration by the arbitration boards is made. A record is kept of the settlements reached, which is to be drawn up jointly by the representatives of both organizations and the parties.

Employers and employees covered by the collective agreement must apply to their organizations for arbitration cases. The respective organization will, if necessary, come to an agreement with the other collective agreement party to schedule an arbitration hearing.

(3) Scope of the committees
The scope of these committees corresponds to the scope of the collective agreement.

§ 25. General

Unless otherwise agreed in this contract, the provisions of the Employees Act apply.

§ 26. Classification

The minimum entitlement to which the musician is entitled depends on the one hand on the duration of the performance (service) and on the other hand on the applicable minimum rates.

§ 27. Cup money

If the musicians of gypsy music request the setting up of a plate (cup) and this has been recorded in a written agreement with the employer, the collective agreement minimum salaries for these musicians are reduced by 15%.

In the case of continued payment of remuneration in the event of absence from work and for holiday pay, no percentage deduction may be made.

§ 28. Samples

Any tests ordered by the employer must be included in individual service contracts and compensated accordingly.

§ 29. Morning and afternoon concerts (five o'clock tea)

(1) If no evening shift is provided in the undertakings concerned, the musicians shall receive 75 % of the salary of the relevant tariff class for four hours of work for a maximum duration of up to two and a half hours.

(2) Musicians who are engaged for evening shifts in the same company shall receive, for a shift of a maximum of 2 ½ hours, half of the monthly collectively agreed salary for evening shifts in that company for six hours of service. If the morning pint or five o'clock tea is not served daily, the pro rata part of the monthly salary corresponding to the number of afternoon shifts shall be due.

§ 30. Kapellmeister (Band Leader)

As a rule, band leaders are free to negotiate, but bandmasters should receive at least 50% more than the musicians' salaries.

For trios and above, the musician providing the sheet music receives a bonus of 25% of the monthly salary.

§ 31. Salary for substitute musicians

Substitute musicians for musicians who are unable to perform their duties (substitutes), see § 10 (5), receive, unless higher payment has been agreed in individual cases:

If the service does not exceed three days, payment is made according to the tariff for itinerant musicians applicable in the individual case; for longer services, payment is made according to the pro rata part of the collectively agreed minimum salary of the musician for whom they are providing alternative service, corresponding to the duration of their service.

salary arrangement

§ 32. Minimum salaries for permanently employed musicians

The minimum salaries for permanently employed musicians are set out in Annex A/1, which forms an integral part of this collective agreement.

In case of regular service for at least 5 days each week, the salary is due according to the rate for daily service.

§ 33. Minimum salaries for outpatient services

The minimum salaries for outpatient services are set out in Annex A/2, which forms an integral part of this collective agreement.

orchestra order

1. The musician is obliged to arrive at the venue ten minutes before the start of the scheduled playing time and to repair his instrument.
2. The musician is obliged to treat other people's instruments and musical instruments with the utmost care. Any defects or circumstances that could cause damage to the instruments must be reported immediately to the contractor or his representative.
3. Leaving the orchestra is only permitted during the break.
4. Smoking is prohibited in the orchestra; it is only permitted during breaks outside the orchestra area (podium).
5. The musician must report for work in the clothing agreed upon with the company management, or, at the request of the employer, in a tuxedo or dress (the latter must be provided by the company).
6. Musicians who have reported sick and are otherwise providing musical services may be dismissed immediately.
7. Each musician is obliged to perform the service to the best of his knowledge and ability.
8. Repeated lateness through one's own fault, absence from work without excuse, leaving work early without permission, drunkenness and any failure to comply with work schedule are grounds for dismissal.
9. During their working hours, the musicians are subordinate to the conductor or music director in musical matters and must follow his or her instructions.

Annex A/1 to Section 32 of the Musicians' Collective Agreement

From 1 May 2022, musicians will receive a monthly gross salary based on the following minimum rates, depending on the duration of their service:

Annex A/2 to Section 33 of the Musicians' Collective Agreement

From 1 May 2022, musicians will receive a salary according to the following minimum rates, depending on the duration of their outpatient service:

€39.60 gross per hour worked up to a working time of 6 hours. For longer working hours, the hourly rate is €32.90 gross. The minimum salary per service is €70.80 gross.

For the Austrian Event Organizers Association 
1010 Vienna, Dorotheergasse 7/1

For the Austrian Trade Union Federation, younion _ The Public Service Union 
Maria-Theresienstraße 11, 1090 Vienna 
Management