How do you hire an Austrian employee in 2026?
Austria caps probation at 1 month. During that month, either side can end the employment immediately with no notice at all. After probation ends, the employer minimum notice jumps to 6 weeks. Getting that transition right from day one is where companies run into trouble.
· Austria guide
Illustration · Vienna, Austria
The Austria hire process has five steps. Offer letter, work-authorisation check, written employment contract, onboarding registration, first payday.
Probation in Austria is short. The law caps it at 1 month. During that time, either side can end the employment with no notice.
After probation, the employer minimum notice rises to 6 weeks. The employee minimum resignation notice is 30 days. Austria has no national minimum wage. Pay is set by collective agreements for each sector.
What does the end-to-end Austria hire process look like?
Five steps take you from accepted offer to first payslip. Offer letter, work-authorisation check, written employment contract, social-insurance registration, first payday.
The probation period is just 1 month. That window closes faster than most companies expect.
| Step | What happens | Owner | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Offer letter | Written offer with role, gross salary, start date, and key terms. Include the collective agreement (Kollektivvertrag) that applies to the role. | Client / Teamed drafts | Same day after verbal accept |
| 2. Work-authorisation check | Verify right to work in Austria. EU and EEA nationals present an identity document. Non-EU nationals must hold a valid residence and work permit before the start date. | Teamed | Before the employee starts |
| 3. Written employment contract | Full written contract covering role, pay, working hours, probation terms, and collective agreement references. Issued before or on day one. | Teamed (legal employer) | On or before day one |
| 4. Social-insurance registration | Register the employee with the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (OeGK), collect tax ID (Steuernummer or FinanzOnline number), set up the Abfertigung Neu BV fund contribution, and collect bank details (IBAN). | Teamed | Days 1 to 7 |
| 5. First payday | First payslip issued, Lohnsteuer remitted to the tax authority (Finanzamt), and social insurance contributions paid. Austria pays salary 14 times per year in most collective agreements. | Teamed | End of first pay period |
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Issue the offer letter
Send a written offer the same day as verbal acceptance. Include role, gross salary, start date, probation of 1 month, and the applicable Kollektivvertrag. Austria has no national minimum wage, so the Kollektivvertrag sector minimum is the binding floor.
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Complete the work-authorisation check
Check identity documents for EU and EEA nationals, or verify the residence and work permit for non-EU nationals, before the employee starts. Record the document details and retain a copy.
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Issue the written employment contract
The written contract should be signed on or before day one. It must name the applicable Kollektivvertrag and cannot set terms below its minimums. Teamed's standard Austrian contract meets all current requirements. Clients choose commercial terms; Teamed signs as the legal employer.
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Complete social-insurance registration
Register the employee with the OeGK, set up the Abfertigung Neu BV fund contribution at 1.53% of monthly salary, collect the tax ID (Steuernummer) and IBAN. This runs across days one to seven.
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Issue the first payslip and remit tax
Run the first payroll at the end of the first pay period. Remit Lohnsteuer to the Finanzamt by the 15th of the following month and pay social insurance contributions. The employee receives their payslip and is on the payroll record.
What must an Austrian offer letter include?
The offer letter is not the binding contract. It is the document the candidate uses to decide.
Standard inclusions: role title, reporting line, start date, gross monthly salary, working hours, location, probation period (up to 1 month), and the applicable Kollektivvertrag (sector collective agreement).
Three things to watch in Austrian offer letters:
- Quote gross salary, not net. Austria taxes salary across multiple bands up to a top rate of 50 percent (temporarily 55 percent above EUR 1 million until 2029). Net salary depends on the employee's tax situation. Commit to a gross figure only.
- Name the collective agreement. Austria has over 800 sector-level Kollektivvertraege. Most set binding minimum pay scales. The offer letter should identify which one applies. Undercutting the Kollektivvertrag minimum is not valid. Teamed checks coverage before drafting.
- Reference the 14th salary. Most Austrian collective agreements entitle employees to a holiday bonus (Urlaubsgeld) and a Christmas bonus (Weihnachtsgeld) in addition to the 12 monthly salaries. These are not discretionary. Include them in the offer so the total cost is clear.
Teamed's standard Austrian offer letter template covers all required ground. Clients choose commercial elements. Teamed holds the legal-employer position and issues documents in both German and English where requested.
Austria work-authorisation checks
Every employer must verify work authorisation before the employee starts.
EU and EEA citizens can work in Austria without a permit. Non-EU nationals need a valid residence title that includes work authorisation before their first day.
EU and EEA nationals
Citizens of EU and EEA member states have the right to work in Austria without a separate work permit. The employer checks a valid identity document (passport or national ID card) and keeps a copy. No government portal or online check is required for this category.
Non-EU nationals
Third-country nationals must hold a valid Austrian residence permit that expressly authorises work before employment can start. The employer checks the document, records the permit type and expiry date, and retains a copy. Employment without valid authorisation is a regulatory offence.
Common work permit categories include the Rot-Weiss-Rot Karte (Red-White-Red Card) for skilled workers, the EU Blue Card for highly qualified workers, and the ICT Card for intra-company transfers. Permits are issued by the Austrian immigration authorities (Niederlassungsbehoerde) and, for most skilled-worker categories, require prior labour market clearance from the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS).
Employers in Austria must check that workers from outside the EU and EEA hold a valid residence title with explicit work authorisation before employment begins. Employment without the required permit is an administrative offence under Austrian immigration law.
Source: Migration.gv.at: Ending employment and work authorisation in Austria
Follow-up checks for time-limited permits
For employees on permits with an expiry date, the employer must run a follow-up check before the permit expires. Teamed tracks each expiry and notifies the employee ahead of the renewal deadline. A permit lapse without renewal is a compliance breach.
The Austrian written contract: what must it contain?
Austria requires a written employment contract. It should be signed before or on day one.
The contract is the binding document. It must identify the applicable Kollektivvertrag and cannot set terms below its minimums.
What an Austrian employment contract must include:
- Names and addresses of both parties
- Start date of employment
- Place of work or, for mobile roles, a note that the employee works at multiple locations
- Job title or brief description of the work
- Gross salary and pay intervals. Austria typically pays 14 times per year (12 monthly salaries plus holiday and Christmas bonuses under collective agreement)
- Agreed working hours per day or week and any overtime arrangements
- Annual paid leave entitlement. The statutory minimum is 25 days for a standard five-day week, rising to 30 days after 25 years of service
- Probation period, if agreed (up to 1 month; either side may end employment during probation without notice)
- Notice periods after probation: employer minimum notice is 6 weeks in the first two years of service, rising with tenure. Employee resignation notice is 30 days
- Name of the applicable Kollektivvertrag (sector collective agreement)
- Reference to the Abfertigung Neu (new severance) scheme: the employer contributes 1.53% of monthly salary to a vested BV fund in the employee's name from day one
- Reference to sickness, sick pay, and statutory provisions for continued pay during illness
- Any applicable non-competition or confidentiality terms, in accordance with Austrian limits
Teamed's standard Austrian employment contract meets all current requirements. It is reviewed annually. Clients choose commercial elements such as salary, notice extensions, and bonus structures. Teamed signs as the legal employer.
Key source: USP.gv.at: Notice of termination and employment terms
Onboarding admin in the first week
Days 1 to 7: contract signed, social-insurance registration completed, Steuernummer collected, IBAN collected, and Abfertigung Neu BV fund registered.
Teamed handles the payroll and compliance side. The client handles the cultural and operational side.
| Onboarding task | Who does it | Day |
|---|---|---|
| Employment contract signed | Employee and Teamed | Day 0 or 1 |
| Work-authorisation check completed | Teamed | Day 0 (before start) |
| Steuernummer (tax identification number) or FinanzOnline number collected | Employee submits to Teamed | Day 1 |
| Social-insurance registration with OeGK (Austrian Health Insurance Fund) | Teamed | Days 1 to 3 |
| Abfertigung Neu BV fund contribution registered with the chosen BV-Kasse | Teamed | Days 1 to 7 |
| Bank details (IBAN) collected for SEPA payment | Teamed | Days 1 to 7 |
| Benefits or voluntary pension enrolment | Teamed (admin) and Client (decision) | Days 1 to 7 |
| Equipment and system access | Client | Days 0 to 1 |
| Manager introduction and first-week plan | Client | Days 0 to 7 |
| 30-60-90 day plan documented | Client (manager) | Days 1 to 14 |
How does Teamed handle Austrian employment for you?
Teamed becomes your legal employer of record in Austria for from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency.
The written contract, social-insurance registration, Abfertigung Neu BV fund setup, and the full Austrian employment law stack run on one platform.
Real HR and legal experts handle your Austrian hires, from the first offer letter through every monthly Lohnsteuer remittance and the 14-payment salary structure. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.
EOR payroll, contractor onboarding, and entity setup all live on one platform. An Austrian contractor who converts to full employment keeps their record. Run the Crossover Calculator to see the month your Austrian hire is ready to graduate to your own entity. Start from the Austria hiring overview; each guide takes one layer of Austrian employment law.
Key sources: USP.gv.at: Notice of termination, Migration.gv.at: Working in Austria, and USP.gv.at: Abfertigung Neu.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the probation period last in Austria?
The maximum probation period in Austria is 1 month. During probation, either side can end the employment at any time with no notice required. This is much shorter than the typical six-month probation in the UK or Germany. After probation ends, the employer minimum notice rises to 6 weeks for the first two years of service and scales upward with tenure.
Does Austria have a national minimum wage?
Austria has no statutory national minimum wage. Pay minimums are set entirely by sector-level collective agreements (Kollektivvertraege), of which there are over 800. Most major sectors set entry-level minimums of around EUR 1,800 to 2,000 per month in 2026. The offer letter must identify the applicable Kollektivvertrag and cannot set pay below its minimum for the role.
What is the Abfertigung Neu and does it apply from day one?
The Abfertigung Neu is Austria's vested severance fund system. From the first day of employment, the employer pays 1.53% of monthly salary into a BV-Kasse (employee benefit fund) in the employee's name. The fund belongs to the employee and is portable between employers. It builds throughout the employment relationship regardless of how the contract ends, so there is no qualifying service threshold for the employer contribution to begin.
What notice period does an employee give when resigning in Austria?
After probation ends, an Austrian employee must give 30 days notice to resign. This is a calendar-month notice, and by law it runs to the last day of the calendar month in which it falls. During probation, no notice is required from either side.
What annual leave is an Austrian employee entitled to?
The minimum annual leave entitlement under Austrian law is 25 days for a standard five-day working week. This rises to 30 days after 25 years of service. Austria has 13 nationwide public holidays in addition to annual leave. Most collective agreements match or exceed these minimums.
The one-month probation catches companies out every time. In the UK or Germany you have six months to decide. In Austria you have four weeks. If you have not defined what good looks like before day one, the probation window closes before you have even had a proper performance conversation. We build the decision framework into the onboarding, not the exit.
Austria gives you 1 month of probation. After that, the notice clock starts at 6 weeks.
The Kollektivvertrag sets the pay floor. The Abfertigung Neu fund starts accumulating from day one.
Get the contract right before the employee starts and Austria runs smoothly.
