Hiring Austria, explained

SALARY PAYMENT IN Euro (EUR, €)

CONTRACT LANGUAGES German / English

PAYROLL TAX 21.08%

PAYROLL CYCLE Monthly

TIME TO HIRE 24 hours
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The Horizons PEO solution allows you to hire in Austria, without setting up a costly subsidiary.

Horizons has the most fair price point for Austria PEO on the market with zero hidden fees. Contact us for a cost breakdown

With extensive experience in the Austria hiring market, Horizons can hire new employees in as little as 24 hours.

Horizons' HR management platform was built to easily manage Austrian & international teams, based on client feedback at each step of development.

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Hire Employees in Austria — Overview

Austria: Business Environment

FAQs

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Hire Employees in Austria — Overview

Austria — home of Red Bull energy drinks and Swarovski crystals — is a prosperous central European country, famed for its mountainous landscape and the elegance of historic cities like Vienna and Salzburg.
Its economy is centered on the electronics industry, mechanical and steel engineering, the auto industry and food and drink manufacturing. Consequently, Austria has a highly-educated, tech-literate workforce, making it an ideal talent pool for technical professionals.
As with its biggest trading partner, Germany, however, Austria has significant worker protections built into its labor laws. Any company hiring employees in Austria needs to ensure it is fully compliant with local tax and labor laws.

Facts & Stats

Population 8.9M (3.7M labor force)	Capital City Vienna	Languages Spoken German (18th worldwide)
Currency Euro (€)	GDP per capita $52,267	Ease of Doing Business 27th in the world
Minimum Wage None	Average Wage 2521 EUR/ Month	Paid Leave 25-30 days

Austria: Business Environment

Business outlook in Austria

In 2021, Austria bounced back from the Pandemic with a GDP increase of 4.5%. It is projected that in 2022 GDP will increase by 3.6% and in 2023 the economy will slowly grow by 1.4%. in short despite global events, the business outlook in Austria is bright.
Austria is ranked 27^th in the world for ease of doing business. Moreover, Austria is the 33^rd largest economy in the world and it is 17^th in GDP per capita.
Overall, Austria’s outlook is looking positive for any business interested in expanding within German-speaking Europe.

Business regulation in Austria

There are a number of labor laws regarding employment, annual leave, taxes, and insurance in Austria. For example, in Austria you cannot discriminate based on age, gender, or ethnicity; you must allow for up to 25 days of paid annual leave a year; and a prescribed notice period for termination must be followed.
To avoid legal action from employees or regulators, it is crucial that you have an excellent understanding of Austrian labor law before you hire employees there.

Business culture in Austria

Austria is a popular destination for businesses looking to expand into the EU: The Central European country has a diverse history and culture, a strong economy, and strong ties to neighboring countries such as Germany and Italy.
Austria, similar to its neighbor Germany, takes a formal and conservative approach to doing business. Coming to meetings on time and being well prepared is a must-do in Austria. Also, most Austrian employees wear reasonably formal attire, such as dark suits, to work.
It is important to understand that Austrians are not Germans: Although they share a language, their distinct history and culture is important to Austrians.
While German is the first language, English is widely well-spoken throughout the country.

Recruiting employees in Austria – Overview

Competition in Austria can be high for the best talent: Austria is a relatively prosperous country with well-educated candidates that expect attractive employment offers. Nearly half of Austrians have university-level degrees. While compensation will need to be competitive, Austrians are renowned for their work ethic so usually recruiting Austrian employees is an excellent investment for global businesses.

Most important recruitment tools in Austria

Indeed
https://at.indeed.com
Indeed is a widely-used job website in Austria. Since it is a global job website, this is a good site to recruit global talent along with Austrian talent. Austria is in the EU, so all EU citizens have a right to work in Austria, making Indeed a great place to recruit.

Karriere
https://www.karriere.at
Karriere is the leading job website in Austrian for recruiting. This is a site where you can rely on targeting mostly Austrian citizens.

Public Employment Service
https://www.ams.at/organisation/public-employment-service-austria
This is an Austrian government run website for posting jobs. Since it is government-run you can bet most of the recruits are going to be Austrian nationals.

Interviewing employees in Austria – Overview

Interviews in Austria follow the procedures similar to the US and most other European countries. Because of business culture, there is a higher level of formality in Austria than in other European countries. For interviews in Austria is it best to:

Wear formal attire like dark suits (both men and women)
Be punctual. Show up on time for the interview, and if you can at least 5 minutes early.
Greet the candidate with a handshake and ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms.’ salutations (the equivalent of Herr and Frau in German).

Interviews are expected to last between 30 and 45 minutes in Austria. They are typically one on one, however, having a panel of two or three interviewers talk with one candidate is not unusual.

It is important to note that in Austria it is disallowed to ask questions about family and family planning, health status, religious orientation, and sexual orientation. Questions about these topics is best avoided in order to avoid being accused of employment discrimination.

Can I ask the candidate’s previous salary in Austria?

You are allowed to ask, however the candidate does not need to disclose this information to you. As in many countries, it may be considered rude to ask this question, and put off potential employees.

What is the typical salary increase at a new job in Austria?

Generally speaking, a good salary increase at a new job in Austria is between 10-20%. Employees will expect this salary increase when changing from their old position.

Onboarding employees in Austria – Overview

Onboarding employees in Austria includes performing necessary background checks, ensuring payroll and insurance is set up, and ensuring the draft of the employment contract includes everything it needs to, like information about paid time off, severance and termination procedures. Onboarding employees can get a little tricky in Austria due to a large number of labor laws that must be followed.
For example, probationary periods in Austria usually last around 1 month. During this time either party can terminate the employment contract without explanation.
Under normal circumstances, depending on the duration of employment, the termination period can change. For an employee for around two years’ experience, the termination notice must be 6 weeks, and this goes up to 5 months’ notice for employees who have given more than 25 years of service.
Also, in Austria, employees are entitled to 25 days of paid holiday leave a year, in addition to the 13 paid public holidays a year. There are other leave rights like maternity leave and paternal leave that Austrian employees are entitled to.

Best remote working tools to use in Austria

Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Dropbox are all popular remote working tools to use in Austria. The working population in Austria is technologically advanced and will be able to learn your remote working system with relative ease.

Holiday season in Austria – 2024

Holiday Schedule in Austria [2024]

Austria has up to 14 national public holidays that are celebrated annually, with time off work. Below are all holidays in Austria for 2024:

Date	Holiday name
1 Jan, 2024	New Year’s Day
6 Jan, 2024	Epiphany
1 Apr, 2024	Easter Monday
1 May, 2024	Labor Day / May Day
9 May, 2024	Ascension Day
20 May, 2024	Whit Monday
30 May, 2024	Corpus Christi
15 Aug, 2024	Assumption of Mary
12 Oct, 2024	Yom Kippur
26 Oct, 2024	National Day
1 Nov, 2024	All Saints’ Day
8 Dec, 2024	Immaculate Conception
25 Dec, 2024	Christmas Day
26 Dec, 2024	St. Stephen’s Day

What is the typical salary increase employees in Austria expect?

On average, the typical salary increase employees in Austria will expect is around 3% to 4% annually. The increase amount depends on employee performance, the economic market, and the industry the employer is in. Therefore, each year and each employee across different industries will have different expectations. Note that in some industries there are collective bargaining agreements in place that have their annual salary increase already agreed upon.

FAQs

Should I hire freelancers or employees in Austria?

Hiring freelancers or employees may both be suitable, depending on the nature of the job. However, if you are hiring someone to work for you on a fulltime, indefinite basis, they usually need to be hired as an employee. Otherwise, you risk penalties and backtaxes from the Austrian Government for ‘disguised employment‘ (Scheinselbstständigkeit).

Can I hire foreigners in Austria?

Yes, you are allowed to hire foreigners to work for you in Austria. However, in Austria, employment of foreign nationals is only lawful when an appropriate permit has been obtained from the labor market authorities. Also, the foreign candidate must have the proper permit to work.

The first time hiring of a foreign worker in Austria requires a restricted employment permit (Beschäftigungsbewilligung). This is valid for a maximum period of a year, must be applied for by the employer, and relates to a specific job.

Remember that citizens of the EU are exempt from this requirement in Austria, and therefore, are not legally considered foreign workers.

How do I open an Austrian subsidiary?

Setting up a subsidiary in Austria as a limited liability company (known as a GesellschaftmitbeschränkterHaftung or ‘GmbH’) will include:

Obtaining confirmation that your company is really a new enterprise.
Notarizing your statues and articles of association.
Depositing your minimum capital requirement at a bank.
Registering your company at the local court.
Obtaining a VAT number.
Registering trade with the Austrian trade authority.
Registering your employees
Registering with the municipality you are working in.

This process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the type of entity you choose. You will also need to hire people who know the ins and outs of setting up a subsidiary in Austria.

How do I hire employees in Austria?

The practical process to hire employees in Austria takes the form of most other European formalities. You must advertise the opening on popular job websites, conduct interviews, and hire and onboard your employees. The process can get tricky, there are numerous laws regarding the recruitment process and the payroll/onboarding process in Austria that must be adhered to. Labor laws like paid leave, severance, social security, and taxation all need to be sorted out before you can hire employees in Austria.

Looking to hire in Austria? Onboard in 24h.

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Client Testimonials

"As a seed-stage, London-based startup, we were initially hesitant to expand internationally due to the administrative workload involved. Horizons completely took the headache out of the process, allowing us to hire a team of software engineers in Germany."

Gabor SzedlakCo-founder & COO

"I truly appreciated the thoroughness and the professionalism of Horizons personnel while we hired internationally with them. When they advised our international expansion, they spoke confidently and were knowledgable on all subject matters pertaining to international employment."

Gary PaskyVice President of Software Development

"On deciding to begin commercial activities in Asia Pacific, we needed a provider to handle the employment and remuneration of our workforce. With Horizons the result was fast, efficient, and fit-for-purpose. We recommend Horizons as an EOR provider.”

Chris MorrellManaging Director

"The collaboration with the Horizons team is excellent. Both our local employee as well as our HQ in Germany are more than pleased with the support provided and the simplicity of the service. We can highly recommend the Horizons solution to anyone."

Christoph EngelbertCo-Founder & CTO

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Katia FlamandHuman Resources

Horizons has been very effective in providing our company support in all the administrative procedures, sometimes complex, required by the Singaporean administration.

Gerald iannoneSales Director

Horizons’ team provided a superb service from start to finish, making a complex process a simple one. Everything was taken care of in an efficient and accurate manner, with quick communication whenever required. Highly recommended and would use again in the future if the need arises.

Philipp RinbergerManaging Director