All companies meeting the following prerequisites are governed by the BUAG posting regulations:

• An employer
• who, during an existing employment relationship,
• temporarily uses workers whose normal place of work is not in Austria,
• for continuing work performance or within the framework of personnel leasing
• for construction work as defined by BUAG
• in Austria.

Also included are workers who are not normally stationed in Austria, but are commissioned to work in the Federal territory by employers not headquartered in Austria.

The work performed in Austria affects the decision whether the BUAG posting regulations are applicable to a worker posted in Austria.

How does a claim to leave arise?

The affected workers have a right to paid leave for the duration of their posting. This claim is against BUAK and may be asserted by the worker or by the company employing the worker through submission of the form "Application for leave remuneration in acc. with § 33f BUAG”.

Regulations up to 31 of December 2010

Employment periods also shorter than a full calendar week (due to the commencement or end of an employment relationship or due to the loss of individual working days for which the employer is not obliged to pay) will be added to other such employment periods and the resulting full entitlement weeks will be acknowledged. After 47 entitlement weeks, the worker has a claim to 30 business days or 25 working days (5 weeks).

Regulations since 1 of January 2011

After 52 entitlement weeks in the period of one year, the worker has a claim to 30 business days or 25 working days (5 weeks). The claim to leave rises proportionally to the entitlement weeks (§4 para. 1 a BUAG). Each calendar year the accrueing of entitlement years starts again. The entitlement weeks are no longer added up over the years but counted separately each year. On the "Arbeitnehmerinformation” (quarterly workers information letter) only the calendar years are quoted. If the amount of entitlement weeks exceeds 52 weeks the claim rises to the maximum of 25,2 or 30,2 annual leave days. The worker has only a claim to 30 business days or 25 working days (5 weeks). The additional amount of entitlement goes into the annual leave accounts. The worker does not have a financial loss.

Interim regulations

With 31 of December 2010 the cumulative period ends and the entitlement weeks are converted into leave days (commercial rounding). The workers were informed by February 2011 with the "Arbeitnehmerinformation” (quarterly workers information letter) of their up to 31 of December claimed annual leave days. The new cumulative period starts with 1 of January 2011.

Should the employee have already accrued 1150 entitlement weeks (creditable weeks in the construction sector overall), his claim to leave shall increase to 36 business days or 30 working days (6 weeks).

The claim shall be subject only to the extent to which the employer pays the stipulated wage supplements for the entitlements. Please click here for information on calculating the supplements for annual leave.

Who pays out the leave remuneration?

BUAK pays the (net) leave remuneration directly to the worker, but only to the extent that the company has remitted payments to BUAK.