Background information

When there is a lack of employment in times of crisis, the use of holidays or time credits is a way of coping with the situation. The employee retains his or her job and has no loss of pay. The employer does need liquidity because labour costs do not decrease in the short term. However, he can release provisions and must grant correspondingly less vacation after the crisis. The variant of using compensation for time off is possible if it is agreed that overtime and overtime work is not paid in money but in free time.

Content of measure

Generally, on the use of holidays, there is an obligation to agree: The use of vacation must be agreed between employer and employee, if possible in writing and documented. Time off in lieu must also always be agreed between the employer and employee.

Exceptionally, the employer can unilaterally order leave and time off if measures according to a the Second COVID-19 Law lead to restrictions on entering holdings and as a result of such measures, services cannot be provided. In this case, the employer can (but does not have to) order the consumption of leave within the following framework:

• Leave entitlement from previous years in full;
• Leave entitlements from the current leave year to a maximum of two weeks;
• In total, a maximum of 8 weeks of leave and time off in lieu can be order unilaterally by the employer.

The Civil Code of Austria (ABGB) was changed accordingly in order to allow for this crisis measure.

Use of measure

Currently no information available.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Company / Companies	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Direct consultation outside a formal body	Direct consultation outside a formal body

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

The social partners were consulted on the COVID-19 laws.

Views and reactions

No reactions identified.

Sources

• 25 February 2020: WKO Factsheet on the use of holiday and time credits (www.wko.at)
• 21 March 2020: Second COVID-19 Law (www.ris.bka.gv.at)