Last updated on Febuary 6, 2024.

Paid Time Off (PTO) in Austria

Vacation Leave Quota

At least 5 weeks (which is 30 days)

All employees are entitled to an uninterrupted paid holiday during the working year. The employee is entitled to 30 working days of paid annual leave, and after 25 years of service, the employee is entitled to 36 working days paid holiday. The entitlement of 30 to 36 days of paid annual leave applies only to employees who work from Monday to Saturday, which is a typical working week in Austria. Employees who work from Monday to Friday are entitled to up to 25 working days of paid annual leave.

The entitlement to paid vacation begins in the first six months of the first year of work in proportion to the length of service. After six months the employee can claim his full vacation entitlement on a pro-rata basis. Starting with the second year of work, the entitlement to paid vacation shall apply in full.

Carry Over

Entire vacation should be taken during the calendar year.

Payment of Unused Vacation Upon Termination

Employers are required to pay the unused holiday entitlement to their employees. 

Sick Leave in Austria

No fixed number of days.

Sick Leave

Employees are entitled to paid sick leave in the event of illness or injury. Employees are entitled to the full wage for up to six weeks. Entitlement to full remuneration increases to:

8 weeks, if the employee has been employed for one year without interruption.

10 weeks, if the employee has been employed for 15 years without interruption.

12 weeks, if the employee has been employed for 25 years without interruption.

After the period of paid sick leave expires, the employee is entitled to a further four weeks on half-pay.

Child Care Leave

Employees are entitled to take between 2 and 12 months of unpaid leave.

Two weeks (average working week) leave a year per employee to care for sick children under the age of 12 years, and one week for other dependants/family members needing care, with full earnings replacement.

There are two other different forms of care leave. First, employees have a statutory right to take at maximum six months of family hospice leave for the purpose of nursing terminally ill family members or seriously ill children. If the leave is taken for severely ill children, it can be extended to nine months.

Second, if their employer agrees employees may take a long-term care leave to organise care or care for frail dependants/family members for a duration of three months (initially) per dependent. The minimum duration for this leave is one month. It can be extended from three to six months (per dependent) if the health status of the dependent person worsens substantially.

Special Care Leave

Employees who have to care for children up to the age of 14 or people with disabilities, or who have family members in need of care, are entitled to a legal entitlement to special care leave of up to 4 weeks up.

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Maternity Leave in Austria

All employed women are entitled to 16 weeks Maternity leave with 16 weeks’ payment (100 percent of average income), except for short-time employed women and self-employed workers who are eligible for Maternity leave only if they are voluntarily health-insured.

Unemployed women are eligible for maternity payment only if they have completed three months of continuous employment or have been compulsorily health-insured for 12 months within the last three years.

In case of danger to the health of the mother or unborn child, women are eligible to take leave earlier than eight weeks before delivery; in case of premature or multiple births or births by Caesarean section, women are eligible for 12 weeks after birth (in exceptional cases even 16 weeks)

Paternity Leave in Austria

There is no statutory entitlement for paternity leave. For children born after 1 March 2017 fathers are entitled to a so-called ’family time bonus’, which is a monetary benefit for employed fathers who exclusively dedicate their time to their family within 91 calendar days after the birth of the child, i.e. interrupt their employment (in agreement with the employer) for a full-time leave period between 28 and 31 days.

Parental Leave

Parents are entitled to leave until the child reaches 2 years of age. The entitlement is per family.

Leave may be taken by one parent only (mother or father) or by both parents on an alternating basis (the whole period can be divided into a maximum of three parts alternating between parents, with each part at least two months)

Both parents cannot take leave at the same time except for one month the first time they alternate leave; during this month both parents can receive the Childcare benefit; in that case, Parental leave ends one month earlier.

Bereavement Leave in Austria

Up to 3 days.

Employees are entitled to 1 to 3 days of leave for bereavement purposes.

Jury Duty Leave in Austria

Jury duty leave is not specified by law.

Military Leave in Austria

Military leave is not specified by law.

Voting Leave in Austria

Voting leave is not specified by law.

Public Holidays in Austria for 2024

13 public holidays

Also:

• 24th September – Saint Rupert’s Day (Salzburg only)

• 15th November – Saint Leopold’s Day (Vienna only)

Sources

1. Local Laws & Regulations, https://www.atlashxm.com/en/countries/austria

2. Payroll and Benefits Guide Austria, https://www.papayaglobal.com/countrypedia/country/austria/

3. Definitive Guide to Hiring in Austria, https://www.globalexpansion.com/countrypedia/austria

Check out our Leave Laws page to learn more about laws in various countries.