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LIVING IN AUSTRIA

EXPLAINED: How to maximise your annual leave in Austria in 2022

It's time to start planning your 2022 holiday year before your colleagues snap up all the most coveted days. Here are our tips for making the most of your annual leave in Austria.

Published: 21 December 2021 15:14 CET
Hammock by cabin
Plan your time off right this year using our tips. Photo: Carla Fuller/Unsplash

Austria can already boast some of the most generous annual leave worldwide, with 25 days’ minimum for full-time employees and an additional 13 public holidays. 

As in many European countries, but unlike the UK for example, most Austrian holidays are tied to specific dates rather than weekdays. If they happen to fall on a weekend, you do not got a day off in lieu.

That means that 2022 actually only offers ten weekday public holidays, while two of the three ‘de facto’ public holidays (which employers are not obliged to give as days off, but many do) also fall on weekends, so most employees will get 11 days off work in addition to their annual leave.

In 2021, just nine of the 13 public holidays fell on weekdays, but by contrast all three of the ‘de facto’ public holidays did, meaning that most people with employment in Austria got 12 days off this year.

Some savvy annual leave planning can help you maximise your days however, for example by taking advantage of five possible four-day weekends throughout the year, which only require one day of annual leave each.

It’s worthwhile thinking about this early in the year, because forward planning is almost a national sport in Austria, so you don’t want your colleagues to snag all of the best days off before you.

January

Saturday, January 1st (New Year’s Day)

The public holiday year of 2022 doesn’t get off to a great start, with the first holiday lost to the weekend. A large number of employers offer December 31st as a day off, though they’re not obliged to, so maybe you’ll enjoy a three-day weekend at least.

Thursday, January 6th (Epiphany)

Your first chance at a long weekend comes in the first week of the year, with a four-day weekend if you take Friday the 7th off work. Schools in Austria have this Friday off in 2022, extending the Christmas break until January 10th to make things easier with Covid-19 testing rules.

April

Monday, April 18th (Easter Monday)

Good Friday (Friday, April 15th in 2022) isn’t a public holiday in Austria, but many employers still give their workers the day off without needing to use annual leave. If that applies to you, you can book time off from April 11th to get ten days off in a row with four requested annual leave days.

May

Sunday, May 1st (Labour Day)

Another holiday is lost to the weekend…

Thursday, May 26th (Ascension Day)

…but later in the month you can take Friday, 27th off to get a four-day weekend.

June

Monday, June 6th (Pentecost)

Great news, it’s a three-day weekend. 

Thursday, June 16th (Corpus Christi Day)

Another Thursday public holiday gives the chance to take a ‘bridge day’ and get a second June long weekend.

If you take off May 27th and May 30th-June 3rd, you can get a 12-day holiday for the price of six annual leave days, or if you take off the time between the two June bank holidays (June 7th-10th and 13th-15th), plus Friday 17th, you can get a string of 16 days off for the price of eight days’ annual leave. For people who don’t have to plan around school holidays, this could be an excellent time to plan your main summer break.

More on working in Austria from The Local:

August

Monday, August 15th (Assumption Day)

Another three-day weekend here.

October

Wednesday, October 26th (National Day)

November

Tuesday, November 1st (All Saints Day)

Another chance for a bridge day on the Monday.

December

Thursday, December 8th (Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

Another bridge day opportunity.

Sunday, December 25th (Christmas)

Monday, December 26th (Boxing Day)

In 2022, December 26th gives you one day off, but the other public holidays (December 25th and January 1st, 2023) as well as December 24th and 31st which are not official public holidays but are given by many employers, all fall on the weekend. This means that if you want time off over the holiday, you need to save some of your annual leave to make up for this.

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WORKING IN AUSTRIA

Can I get unemployment benefits in Austria if I’m self-employed?

If you work in Austria as a freelancer or self-employed person, it may be confusing to understand your rights, especially when it comes to unemployment benefits.

Published: 25 April 2024 13:36 CEST
Can I get unemployment benefits in Austria if I'm self-employed?

Self-employed workers or freelancers know they often have fewer benefits than their employed friends and co-workers. This is usually because companies must pay into several social systems offering mandatory benefits to their workers. But if you are your boss, you might not have contributed to the same systems and, therefore, will not have the same rights.

According to Austria’s Public Employment Service AMS, self-employed persons can pay into unemployment insurance voluntarily to have access to the same benefits.

The agency said that in order to apply for unemployment benefits for the first time, applicants need to have paid into unemployment insurance for 52 weeks in the last 24 months. If they were employees subject to unemployment insurance and then became self-employed workers, that period working in a company also counts towards their observation period, and they may apply for unemployment benefits. 

READ ALSO: What to do when searching for a new job in Austria

If you have already received unemployment benefits previously, the so-called observation period you must be working before drawing the benefit again is at least 28 weeks (196 days) in the last 12 months. 

How can I sign up for unemployment insurance?

This is not done with the AMS, the agency says. Instead, you can contribute to unemployment insurance via your social insurance, which, in the case of freelancers and self-employed people, is the SVS. 

You can sign up in writing, but you have to do so in specific periods, depending on when you start your self-employment. You can check out more HERE.

You are then able to choose between three monthly contribution amounts, €52.14, €208.57 or €312.85 (2024 values), which will significantly influence your daily unemployment benefits: €28.43, €46.35 or €64.11 respectively (2024 values). 

You can apply online for unemployment insurance.

READ ALSO: Can I go on holiday while receiving unemployment benefits in Austria?

How to claim unemployment benefits in Austria

The first step to claiming unemployment benefits in Austria is registering as unemployed with the AMS. Then, you can apply to make a claim.

Applications should be submitted via an eAMS account, which is the AMS’s online portal. Registration for an eAMS account can be found here.

For anyone unsure about this process, the AMS can be contacted by phone or email. The AMS team will then send out an application form for unemployment benefits by post.

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