In implementation of the EU Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and the Council of June 20th, 2019, on transparent and predictable working conditions, the Employment Contract Law Amendment Act (Arbeitsvertragsrechts-Anpassungsgesetz, “AVRAG”) was amended with effect from March 28th, 2024, on the basis of an initiative motion submitted to the National Council on January 31st, 2024. 

Employment certificate (“Dienstzettel”) Section 2 AVRAG

Due to the amendment of Section 2 AVRAG, employment certificates must now contain the following additional information: A description of the termination procedure, the registered office of the company, a brief description of the work to be performed, remuneration for overtime and the payment method, information regarding shift schedules (if applicable), the name and address of the social insurance provider, the duration and conditions of a probationary period and, if applicable, an entitlement to further training provided by the employer.

If employees perform their work abroad for longer than one month, the employment certificate or the employment contract to be issued to them before their departure must contain the following information: the state in which the work is to be performed, any reimbursement of expenses under Austrian law and under the applicable foreign provisions, as well as an indication of how the employee can obtain information regarding the working and employment conditions as well as the general legal provisions applicable to them abroad.

Employers now face an administrative penalty if they do not issue either a written employment contract or an employment certificate. The threat of a penalty only applies to new employment relationships concluded after the amendments have come into effect and can be averted by (retrospective) issuing of the documents.

Training expenses Section 11b AVRAG

Article 13 of the Directive stipulates that expenses for special training of the employee, which is deemed necessary to perform the work agreed upon in the employment contract by statutory law, regulations, collective bargaining agreements or the employment contract itself may neither be charged to the employee nor deducted from their salary. Furthermore, the time spent on the training is considered working time. Accordingly, Section 11b AVRAG has been amended.

Multiple employment relationships Section 2i AVRAG

Employers were able to deny their employees an additional employment relationship if the employer's business would be affected in a negative way, for example through reduced work performance of the employee or damage to the employer’s reputation. Article 9 of the Directive, implemented in Section 2i AVRAG, provides for the possibility of having multiple employment relationships. Accordingly, an employer may not prohibit its employees from taking up an additional employment relationship outside of the contractually agreed working hours without good reason.

However, the employer may demand that the employee refrains from working in an additional employment relationship if working hours regulations are violated. For that reason, the employee must inform the employer about another employment in order for the employer to surveille compliance with the statutory working hours and resting periods.

Protection against termination and prohibition of discrimination

Further amendments provide for protection against termination on the grounds of immoral motives, the written justification of a termination at the request of the employee and prohibitions on discrimination. The protection against termination on the grounds of immoral motives relates to entitlements of the employees regarding the amended Sections 2, 2i and 11 AVRAG. Employers are further obliged to justify such terminations in writing within five days of receiving the employee's request.

The existing prohibitions on discrimination in Austrian employment law (= regulations regarding protection against discrimination, disadvantages or negative consequences) will be extended to include the assertion of rights with regard to the amended Sections 2, 2i and 11 AV-RAG.