Employees

General information

An employee for the purposes of employment contract law is any individual who is obliged to perform work for an employer based on an employment contract. The employment relationship is a continuing obligation. The purpose of this relationship is to perform work and it is established by way of an employment contract concluded in writing, orally or implicitly.

The essential features of an employment relationship are:

• Personal dependence (classification in the operating organisation, obligation to follow instructions, control, disciplinary responsibility, personal service obligation)
• Economic dependence of the employee
• Entitlement to remuneration (not a mandatory feature)
• Employees enjoy the full protection of labour law.

Employees are divided into the following groups with different rules and regulations:

• White-collar workers
• Blue-collar workers
• Marginally employed persons;
• Apprentices

The termination of the employment relationship as a continuing obligation requires a separate terminating action:

• Notice of termination
• Dissolution by mutual agreement
• Dismissal
• Resignation

A fixed-term employment relationship is an exception. This ends at the end of the term.

National insurance

In accordance with the Allgemeinen Sozialversicherungsgesetz (→ oesterreich.gv.at) (Federal Act on General Social Insurance - ASVG)^{German text}, employees are fully insured under health, pension and accident insurance, provided that the remuneration exceeds the de minimis threshold. Employees are entitled to sickness benefits and a maternity allowance (→ oesterreich.gv.at) , and receive unemployment insurance. In any case, any individual liable to income tax for the purposes of the Einkommensteuergesetz (Federal Income Tax Act - EStG) is considered an employee under the ASVG.

Employees must be registered with the Austrian Health Insurance (Österreichischen Gesundheitskasse - ÖGK) before starting work (Employee registration).

Compulsory insurance ends with the end of the employment relationship (or entitlement to remuneration).

Tax liability

Employees in Austria are not required to pay income tax to the tax office themselves. Income tax is deducted from the employee's gross pay in the form of salaries tax and paid to the tax office by the employer.

Employees may assert their claim to overpaid salaries tax by submitting the employee assessment (→ oesterreich.gv.at) (formerly: employee tax return) to their competent tax office^{German text}.

But, in certain cases, employees also have to submit an assessment. If a compulsory assessment is required, please read the chapter entitled "General information on the employee assessment (→ oesterreich.gv.at)".

Further links

Online gross/net calculator (→BMF)^{German text}

Legal basis

• Allgemeines Sozialversicherungsgesetz (ASVG)
• Einkommensteuergesetz (EStG)