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You can terminate a permanent employment relationship verbally or in writing without giving a reason, unless your collective agreement or employment contract provides otherwise. A written termination is better, as it is easier for you to prove it if the worst comes to the worst.
There must be a certain (minimum) period between the notice of termination and the actual end of the employment relationship. This period is called the notice period. Furthermore, you must note that in the event of employee termination, the employment relationship may only end on the last of a calendar month. This date is called the termination date. The employment relationship may therefore end at the earliest on the first permissible termination date (last of each calendar month) in compliance with the four-week notice period. The duration of your notice period is one month, but it may be shortened, e.g. in your employment contract. If, on the other hand, the employee's notice period is extended, such an agreement is only permissible if the employer's notice period is also extended.
You do not have the right to days off from work if you resign yourself. If you are released from work by your employer during the notice period, you do not have to work. Nevertheless, you have the right to full pay for this time.
Your employer can terminate the employment relationship in writing or orally with a notice period , unless the collective agreement or employment contract provides otherwise. It is not necessary to give reasons.
ATTENTION: Termination during sick leave is permitted.
The notice period begins to run from the date of termination. The (minimum) period between the notice of termination and the actual end of the employment relationship is between 6 weeks and 5 months, depending on the length of service. In principle, the employment relationship may only end at the end of a quarter. However, the 15th or last calendar day of each month can be agreed as the termination date in your employment contract.
During the notice period, you are entitled to one-fifth of the weekly working time as free time to look for a new job. This applies in addition to the holiday entitlement. Different rules may apply due to the collective agreement.
CAUTION: For some industries in which seasonal businesses predominate, different regulations regarding termination have been laid down in the collective agreements .
If your employment relationship is unlawfully terminated by your employer, for example due to non-compliance with the notice period, the termination date or unjustified dismissal, you are entitled to compensation for dismissal.
This entitlement also exists if you declare a justified early departure that was the fault of the employer. During the dismissal compensation or holiday compensation, unemployment benefits and early retirement pensions are suspended.
The dismissal by a company with a works council can be challenged in court if, for example, it is contrary to social welfare or was pronounced for an impermissible motive . An inadmissible motive would be, for example, if you have inquired about your rights with the trade union.
If there is no works council in your company, you have the option of contesting the dismissal within two weeks of service or notice of termination. If your works council has expressly objected to the dismissal, it can contest it within one week. If it does not do so, you can initiate the dismissal within a further two weeks.
IMPORTANT: If you believe you have been unfairly dismissed, contact your union immediately – the deadline for appeals is very short!
Immediately when your employer learns of the reason for dismissal, he or she must announce the dismissal. Later, it is an unjustified dismissal. If your employer dismisses you, there must be good reasons that are precisely defined. These are, for example , embezzlement, untrustworthiness or persistent breach of duty.
A dismissal terminates the employment relationship with immediate effect, even if it is unjustified (exception: employees with special protection against dismissal). However, if it was unjustified, you have all the claims that you would have had if you had terminated in due time, this is called termination compensation. This therefore includes the full remuneration (including overtime, commissions, allowances), holiday and Christmas bonuses as well as vacation days.
A justified dismissal can be expensive for you. For example, you have to pay back your salary for too much vacation consumed, as well as vacation and Christmas bonuses on a pro-rata basis. In addition, there is the one-month suspension of unemployment benefits and possibly damages.
As an alternative to claiming compensation for dismissal, the dismissal can be challenged in court if there is no dismissal and dismissal would also be inadmissible, e.g. if it would prove to be anti-social.
IMPORTANT: If you believe you have been unfairly dismissed, contact your union immediately – the deadlines are very short!
In the event of a termination by mutual agreement, you agree with the employer to terminate the employment relationship on a certain date. However, neither you nor your employer can be forced to do so.
There are no specific dates, deadlines or other regulations (exceptions: e.g. apprentices, pregnant women, civil/military service). Open leave entitlement must be paid out.
Fixed-term employment relationships expire after the agreed period. They cannot be terminated unless the collective agreement or the employment contract provides otherwise. However, an amicable termination is possible.
Early resignation, i.e. simply not coming back to work, can be justified if your employer is heavily behind on pay or you have health reasons. Be sure to seek advice from your union before leaving early, because if the resignation is unjustified, it can be very expensive for you!
Claims for vacation and special payments can be waived, and you can even be obliged to pay damages! By the way, this also applies if you simply no longer show up at your workplace because you have found a better job and start it immediately.
Severance pay is a term from Austrian labour law. It is a one-off payment upon termination of an employment relationship.
The old severance pay law continues to apply to you if your employment relationship already existed before 1 January 2003 .
Severance pay is paid under the following conditions:
ATTENTION: In the event of voluntary termination , the entitlement to severance pay is lost. However, special provisions apply when claiming the pension. Maternity and paternity leave is not included in the severance pay, but maternity leave (before and after the birth) is! Collective agreements can provide for better regulations.
After completion of an uninterrupted period of service (gross salaries in each case):
Monthly remuneration = The earnings (salary, wages, allowances, ...) that result from the remuneration that regularly recurs during the month plus the aliquot share of holiday and Christmas bonuses. If remuneration components are to be taken into account that are incurred regularly but in varying amounts (e.g. commissions, overtime), an average earnings (of the last year or the last 13 weeks) are to be used.
You must agree on a transfer to the new severance pay law in writing with your employer. There are two options:
ATTENTION: Do not sign agreements without first consulting with the works council or trade union .
With the new severance pay law, all employees who entered into a new employment relationship from 1 January 2003 onwards are entitled to severance pay. However, the payment of severance pay depends on the type of termination of the employment relationship. Since 1 January 2008, severance pay has also applied to freelancers and self-employed persons.
The new severance pay outsources severance pay to severance pay funds (= company provision funds). From the 2nd month of the employment relationship, your employer must pay 1.53 percent of the gross salary (including holiday and Christmas bonuses) to the health insurance fund each month with the social security contribution. The health insurance company checks this contribution and forwards it to the severance pay fund.
Severance pay contributions must also be paid for the following periods: military service, training and civilian service (employer), maternity leave and sick leave (employer), period of receipt of childcare allowance (Family Burden Compensation Fund = FLAF), end-of-life care (FLAF), educational leave (AMS).
IMPORTANT: The assessment basis and severance pay contribution must appear on the pay slip. This gives you the opportunity to control the amount of the contribution.
The severance pay fund must maintain an account for you as an employee, which is used as the basis for calculating the severance pay. Once a year on the balance sheet date (even after the termination of the employment relationship), you must be informed in writing about the accrued severance pay entitlement and the main features of the investment policy.
In principle, there is an entitlement to severance pay every time the employment relationship is terminated and is directed against the company severance fund.
You can choose one of the following:
ATTENTION: You must make a written decision within six months of the end of the employment relationship. If you do not make a choice, the money will continue to be invested in the severance pay fund.
After three years of payment, you are entitled to payment in the event of termination by the employer, dismissal through no fault of your own, justified resignation, dissolution by mutual agreement, expiry of time or termination of maternity.
ATTENTION: In the event of voluntary termination, there is no entitlement to payment of the severance pay. The severance pay remains in the severance pay box (there is no right of choice).
When you retire, you can choose between the following options:
If paid out, the severance payment is taxable at 6 percent, and if an annuity payment is made, it is tax-free.
IMPORTANT: If you retire, you must exercise your right to vote within three months, otherwise the severance pay will be paid.
The sum of the severance pay contributions paid is guaranteed by law. However, the amount depends very much on how much interest the assessment of the contributions earns. The severance pay entitlement is reduced by the administrative costs, which may amount to between 1 and 3.5 percent of the contributions. The amount paid out by the severance pay fund is taxed at 6 percent.
Each company parks the contributions for severance pay in a different provision fund. Once a year, each pension fund sends a letter with information on the contributions made, the severance pay entitlement acquired so far and the investment results. With a total of 8 severance funds in Austria, the flood of paper can grow quite a bit. This is not only annoying, it also makes it difficult to keep track of everything.
You can therefore merge severance payments and transfer them to the current severance fund. However, the severance payments that have been parked so far must have been dormant in the severance funds for at least 3 years without contributions.
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