Minimum Wage
There is no statutory minimum wage in Austria as such since minimum wage is set by the collective agreements. . In 2017, the benchmark of €1,500 was introduced. This was implemented nationally by 2020. The sectoral minimum wages must be set equal to or higher than this amount. The amount of minimum wage in an agreement depends on the classification of work and length of employment of a worker (seniority).
In Austria, minimum wages or salaries are primarily regulated by collective agreements for specific professions or industries, without state involvement.
As provided under the Labour Constitution Act, a minimum wage rate may be determined by a specialized body, i.e., the Federal Conciliation Office, for group of workers for whom a collective agreement cannot be agreed because nobody capable of negotiating a collective agreement exists on the side of the employer, and if an arrangement about minimum salaries and minimum amounts for compensating expenses has not been achieved by declaring a collective agreement statutory.
The Federal Conciliation Office is a permanent tripartite body affiliated with the Ministry of Social Affairs. It may issue extension orders, making collective agreements applicable to sectors of the same nature which have not signed an agreement at the written request of an employers’ or workers’ organisation, provided that the collective agreement has prevailing importance in the relevant field of industrial relations, the working conditions in the extension order must be essentially the same as those in the collective agreement; and the working conditions covered in the extension must not be governed by another collective agreement.
If a trade union capable of negotiating collective agreements requests it, the Federal Arbitration Office must set a minimum wage rate after consulting the heads of provincial governments that will fall within the spatial scope. The Federal Conciliation Office fixes the minimum wage for janitors, household help/domestic workers, private education, social services, home help and geriatric care, au-pair service and private childcare.
Even the statutory minimum wages fixed by the Federal Arbitration Office differ for each sector, and there are also differences in the minimum wage for different types of work within a sector. The minimum wage rate for social service workers is used to distinguish seven different occupational groups under notification by the Federal Conciliation Office. However, since 2007, the BAGS collective agreement covers social service workers. The statutory minimum wages for different sectors are determined under sectoral agreements. Minimum wages may be determined for the whole country or only for specific regions. The minimum wage rates set by the Federal Conciliation Office for janitors and domestic workers vary for each region, while in the other sectors, similar rates prevail. The collective agreements can also require a nationwide or a region-specific application. Specific statutory minimum wage rates may be set for trainees in specific sectors. Collective agreements may foresee specific rates for trainees/apprentices.
Workers are entitled to the minimum wage specified under the law, internal enterprise regulations or collective agreement. Any breach of the above referred minimum wage payable under law, regulation or collective agreement may result in administrative penalties. Depending on the number of employees concerned, and depending on repetition of the administrative offence, the fine up to €50,000. Depending on the violation of underpayment of wages and the amount of withheld remuneration, the fine can range between €20,000 to €400,000. If the employer fails to provide or submit wage documents (employment contracts, pay slips, working time records), a fine of up to €20,000 might be imposed.
Sources: §12(1), 18 & 22-26 of Labour Constitution Act (Official Gazette No. 22/1974), last amended by BGBl. No. 110/2024; Minimum Wage rates for Social Services M 5/2005/XXII/96/3; Collective Agreement of the Social Economy Austria 2014 ; §3, 28 & 29 of the Act on the Combating of Wage and Social Dumping, 2016, last amended by BGBl. No. 45/2024; https://www.bmaw.gv.at/Themen/Arbeitsrecht/Entlohnung/Mindestlohn-in-OE.html; https://www.bmaw.gv.at/Themen/Arbeitsrecht/Entlohnung/Mindestlohntarife-und-Lehrlingseinkommen.html#Mindestlohntarif
For updated minimum wage rates, please refer to the section on minimum wage.
Regular Pay
Mandatory labour law provides that employees' salaries have to be paid at the latest on the last day of each calendar month. It is, however, permissible to agree to an earlier due date. The salary of blue-collar workers generally is due weekly. However, the due date can be subject to individual agreement between the employer and the blue-collar worker.
Under the Salaried Employees/White-Collar Workers Act wages can be paid twice a month on the 15th and last day of the month. Payment at the end of the month can also be arranged. The Anti-Wage and Social Dumping Act contains penalties for if minimum wages and salaries fall short or if failure to provide and transmit payroll documents or if the documents are not available in German. Earlier, the fine for every underpaid employee was; €2,000 to €20,000 if more than three workers were underpaid; and €4,000 to €50,000 in cases of recurrence with more than three employees involved.
Under the recent amendment to the Anti-Wage and Social Dumping Act, a fine penalty of ranging from €20,000 up to €40,000 is issued in case of failure to provide payroll documents. In case of underpayment, the legislation also sets stringent penalties.
Other than regular wages, employees in Austria are also entitled to Holiday bonus. Holiday pay should not be confused with the holiday allowance or holiday bonus. An employee is not legally entitled to a holiday allowance, but this holiday allowance is customarily paid in Austria as a 14th monthly salary. The special payments are frequently regulated in the collective agreements.
In some cases, the Epidemics Act, 1950 allows for compensation to the companies for remuneration paid if workers or companies are prevented from performing their economic activity due to official administrative measures on the basis of the Epidemics Act.
The entitlement to such compensation arises if a company is shut down by Government officials, or where an employee is quarantined based on an official order. In those cases, companies are required to continue paying remuneration to worker(s) but may claim compensation for such costs from the State.
Sources: Act on the Combating of Wage and Social Dumping, 2016, last amended by BGBl. I No. 45/2024; § 15 of White-Collar Employees Act (Official Gazette No. 292/1921), last amended by BGBl. I No. 11/2024; Employment Contract Law– AVRAG (official gazette No.459/1993), last amended by BGBl. I No. 11/2024; Epidemic Act 1950, last amended in 2023; https://www.bmaw.gv.at/en/Topics/Labour-Law/Paid-Leave-and-Leave.html
