We’ll start with the good news: as a worker in Austria, you have one of the most generous holiday allowances worldwide.

As a full-time employee, you’ll get 25 days of paid holiday as a minimum (and if you’re in it for the long haul, that rises to 30 days after 25 years, not necessarily all at the same company).

If you work part-time, the amount of paid holiday you receive is proportional: 20 days per year if you work four-day weeks; 15 days if you work three-day weeks, and ten days if you work two-day weeks.

Any additional holiday allowance will be regulated in either your collective agreement or employment contract; another good reason to read these documents carefully during the negotiation stage of a job offer! 

Depending on the company, the vacation year is either calculated from the first day you start working at the company, or using the calendar year.

More on working in Austria from The Local:

• Working in Vienna: How to find a job in the Austrian capital
• Everything you need to know about preparing your CV in Austria
• How to survive as a freelancer in Austria

How much holiday can I take in my first year of a job?

During your first six months, as a full-time worker you accrue two days of paid leave for each month worked. This means that after working for one month you can take two days off; after working for two you can take four days off, and so on, but you can’t use your full 25-day allowance in these first six months. 

After six months, this no longer applies, and you can use your allowance whenever you agree with your employer.

How much holiday can I take at once?

For the most part, it depends on what you agree with your employer, but there are some rules to be aware of. For example, Austrian law states that as an employee you are entitled to take at least one vacation of at least six days during a working year.

Can I roll over holiday days?

In some situations, you may not want to use up your full allowance in one year, for example if you want to save your days for a big holiday or trip home.

In Austria, it’s most usual that you use up your allowance in the year it is granted for, but you can roll your days over for up to three years.

Note that it is against the law for you and your employer to agree for you to take payment instead of your holiday allowance. The only time this is possible is when your employment ends, in which case you can receive payment for any unused holiday days.

How does holiday pay work?

In Austria you get paid the same amount for days you take as annual leave as you would for any working day, which is called Urlaubsentgelt (holiday pay).

Austria also has the concept of a ‘holiday bonus’, which has a few different names in German: Urlaubsgeld, Urlaubszuschuss, Urlaubsbeihilfe and 14. Monatsgehalt. This isn’t regulated by law, but many employers pay out a ’14th month’ salary which is intended as a holiday bonus — it’s regulated by individual collective agreements or employment contracts. This is usually factored into annual salaries, in contrast to other kinds of bonuses.

Photo: Max Andrey/Pexels

Can my boss tell me when to take my holiday?

Well, it depends. In general, holiday dates are agreed between you and your employer, and by asking for the days you want as early as possible you will boost your chance of getting them.

Your employer does have the right to refuse a holiday request, but special circumstances need to apply that mean it would disadvantage the company, for example if there is a time-limited period where the company is especially busy.

Once the holiday has been agreed with the employer, your employer can only cancel it if there is a business emergency — in other words, if it is the only way to prevent the company suffering financial disadvantages — and in this case they need to compensate you for any costs you incur such as cancellation fees.

In general, your employer cannot force you to take holiday on a specific date, but they might have company-wide holidays in addition to your allowance (for example, many companies offer Christmas to New Year’s Eve as holiday) and there may be general guidelines, for example to ensure that not everyone takes the same two weeks off work.

On the other hand, in Austria you have the right to choose one day where your employer cannot refuse your holiday request. This is particularly useful if you want a religious holiday off work, or to plan for a family occasion or simply celebrate your birthday. You need to agree this in writing with your employer beforehand, at least three months before the date.

What if I fall sick on my holiday?

The Austrian law states that holiday is for rest, and no-one wants to fall ill on holiday.

You can have your holiday ‘converted’ to sick leave if you are ill for three days or more, and present your employer with proof such as a doctor’s note.

Can I take extra holiday unpaid?

There’s no specific provision for this in Austrian law, but it’s something that you and your employer can agree on together.

If you need the unpaid leave for a purpose other than holiday, you may be covered by another regulation. For example, fathers may take one month of unpaid leave after the birth or adoption of a child, childcare leave is possible if your child is ill, and if employees need to take time off to care for a close relative, this is possible under law (if your company has more than five employees and you have been working for at least three months beforehand). It is also possible to take unpaid study or training leave in Austria.

What applies during my notice period?

It is generally still possible to take vacation that you have earned during your notice period.

At the end of the notice period, if you have not taken all the vacation you accrued, you get the remainder paid out to you. 

Public holidays

On top of your annual leave allowance, Austria has 13 national public holidays, and as many as 15 in some regions.

Some are fixed on specific dates whereas others are attached to religious festivals which are on different dates each year. Some states have additional public holidays.

However, note that you won’t actually get all these days off work. If the holiday falls on a weekend, there is no paid day in lieu, which means the actual number of days off varies year to year. This is the case in many European countries, but not in the UK for example.

On a positive note, there are three other bank holidays which are not national public holidays, but many Austrian employers still give them as paid days off: Good Friday (two days before Easter Sunday), December 24th and December 31st. 

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Do you have a question about working or other aspects of life in Austria? The Local gives you more than just the news; we are also here to support you in navigating work and life in your new home country. Get in touch with our editorial team at [email protected] and we will do our best to help you.

Note: This article was updated on October 20th to correct a typo in the sentence “This means that after working for one month you can take two days off; after working for two you can take four days off”. Thanks to the eagle-eyed reader who pointed this out.