Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

WORKING IN AUSTRIA

How long do I have to work for in Austria to get unemployment benefits?

Losing your job can be a massive shock on plans and family finances, but in Austria, many people are entitled to several unemployment benefits. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 15 March 2023 16:32 CET
Updated: 13 April 2023 09:55 CEST
A close u
Some unemployment benefits are changing in Austria (Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash)

Austria has a hefty social system, with high taxes and social contributions paying for public services and benefits to citizens. As a result, workers in Austria are in a particularly advantageous position, as they may be entitled to many benefits even if they quit or lose their jobs.

Here’s what you need to know about Austria’s unemployment benefits, who are entitled to them and how to get them.

Am I entitled to unemployment benefits?

According to Austria’s employment service (AMS), people are entitled to benefits if they meet the following conditions: 

  • They are able to work, willing to work and unemployed.
  • They have registered as unemployed with their local AMS.
  • They are employable in the labour market.
  • They are willing to work at least 20 hours per week (unless they have specific childcare obligations).
  • They have worked for a certain period subject to unemployment insurance (Anwartschaft)
  • The maximum period of entitlement to unemployment benefits has not expired. 

Here’s how long you need to work for entitlement:

  • In general, you must have worked 52 weeks in the last two years, subject to unemployment insurance (regular and registered part and full-time employment are subject to this insurance).
  • If you are applying for unemployment benefits for the second time or more, 28 weeks of work in the last year is also sufficient. 
  • If you are under 25, 26 weeks of work is enough, even if you are applying for the first time.

The entitlement and requirements are the same regardless of your citizenship, though centre-right politicians of the ruling ÖVP party have publicly said they’d favour a reform increasing the working time for non-Austrians. However, there are currently no formal plans for a change. 

People are also entitled to benefits regardless of whether they quit or were fired from a previous job.

READ ALSO: What measures against foreigners is Austria’s far-right trying to take?

How much money are people paid?

AMS itself says: “the calculation of unemployment benefits is complicated”. This is because it is based on a series of principles, mainly on the previous monthly contribution bases within the social insurance institutions. It will also depend on how long you have contributed to the system.

However, the basic unemployment benefit amount is usually 55 percent of a person’s net income. 

You may also be entitled to a supplement if the basic amount is lower than a guideline rate. A family supplement may also be if you make a “significant contribution” to a child (including stepchild, adopted, foster or grandchild). The family supplement may also be given if you have a spouse or partner with little or no income.

READ ALSO: Where in Austria the unemployment rate is lowest

How long will I receive unemployment benefits?

In principle, people can receive unemployment benefits for 20 weeks. 

However, the duration increases if you have worked for three years (to 30 weeks), have reached the age of 40 and have worked for six years within the last 10 (to 39 weeks), have reached the age of 50 and have worked for nine years within the last 15 ( to 52 weeks), receive unemployment benefits after completing an AMS “vocational rehabilitation program (to 78 weeks under certain conditions) and attend a specific training (up to four years extension).

How do I apply for unemployment benefits?

Application to the benefits is made through AMS. You need to register as unemployed and apply either at your AMS  office with the help of your advisor or via your eAMS online account; if you have registered by phone, you will receive your application by mail. 

READ ALSO: REVEALED: What are the best paying jobs in Austria?

What if I am self-employed?

In general, self-employed people do not pay into unemployment insurance and therefore are not entitled to AMS benefits. 

However, you may voluntarily pay into the insurance and have the same rights as employed workers. This means that you’ll need to have contributed for 52 weeks within the last two years to apply for a first time – if you had a regular employed job before becoming self-employed, that time could count towards the 52 weeks total.

Do I get unemployment benefits in Austria if I have worked in the EEA/EU area or Switzerland?

This is tricky, and it depends on whether you kept ties to Austria during your employment abroad. 

The AMS treats periods during which you worked in another country from the EEA, the EU or Switzerland as Austrian working periods if:

  • You have worked and earned at least one day in Austria above the marginal earnings threshold after the employment relationship in the EEA/EU area or Switzerland.
  • Or if you have returned to Austria at least once a week during your employment in the EEA/EU area or Switzerland.
  • Or if you have always maintained your connection to Austria during your employment in the EEA/EU area or Switzerland, including if you have the centre of your vital interests in Austria (always registered in Austria, family in Austria, etc.).

Your AMS advisor will be able to know your case and whether or not you are entitled.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

WORKING IN AUSTRIA

Why are people in Austria paying more taxes despite federal reforms?

Workers in Austria are still among those with the highest tax burdens in the world, with the taxes and contributions taking more than 40 percent of wages even as the country introduced sweeping tax reforms.

Published: 26 April 2024 12:21 CEST
Why are people in Austria paying more taxes despite federal reforms?

It’s often said that Austria is a country with high quality of living and high taxes, but a new OECD study shows just how high the tax burden is here compared to other OECD countries.

According to the report, Austria has the third-highest tax burden on workers and the so-called “tax wedge”, how much of a worker’s wage is taken by the government,  increased as well.

According to the OECD, in most countries, the increase in labour taxation was primarily driven by increases in personal income tax.

This is because nominal wages increased in 37 out of 38 OECD countries as inflation remained above historic levels. However, since most of these countries do not have automatic indexation of tax systems, high inflation tends to increase workers’ tax liabilities by pushing them into higher tax brackets. 

However, Austria’s federal tax reforms removed this in the country in 2023. This means that once inflation rises, the tax brackets that define how much taxes you will pay on your income will also rise – and they have risen in 2023 and in 2024 since the change. 

The measure was known as the “end of the cold progression” in Austria and should have protected workers’ incomes from inflation losses.

READ ALSO: The tax benefits that parents and families receive in Austria

What is the tax ‘wedge’?

The OECD defines a tax wedge as “income tax plus employee and employer social security contributions, minus cash benefits.” 

In other words, if an employer has a labour cost of €100, how much will they actually see in their pockets, and how much of this goes to the state? According to the organisation, the percentage is the tax wedge.

In Austria, €100 earned by a single employee without children was taxed at an average of €47.2 last year. The amount was only smaller than in Germany (47.9 percent) and Belgium (52.7 percent) and it rose compared to the previous year when it was still at 46.9 percent.

The average of the 38 OECD countries was 34.8 percent.

Married single-earner couples with two children also have high tax burdens, with a tax wedge of 32.8 percent (OECD average: 25.7 percent), which is the eleventh-highest tax and contribution burden within the OECD for this group (2022: 13th place). For married dual-earner couples, the wedge was 40.6 percent.

The tax wedge for individuals or households with children is generally lower than those without children, as many OECD countries grant households with children a tax advantage or cash benefits.

READ ALSO: Why it’s worth filling in your annual tax return in Austria

Why is Austria’s tax burden higher this year?

Despite the tax reform presented by the government, Austria’s tax wedge has increased compared to the year before. 

The reason is the relief granted in Austria in 2022 in the form of one-off state payments. With the rising cost of living, the federal government released several temporary measures to help people in the country cushion the effects, including the popular €500 Klimabonus payment every person who had been a resident of Austria for at least six months was entitled to. 

These payments and increases in family allowances reduced the tax burden in 2022 – but they no longer exist or were drastically cut in 2023. Because of that, the tax burden is rising again. 

“The abolition of cold progression and the other measures have merely prevented the tax burden from rising more sharply,” Wifo economist Margit Schratzenstaller told Der Standard.

The report said the increased tax issues show that there is still a need for action. Compared to other industrialised countries, Austria’s tax burden on work for a single person without children is ten percentage points higher. Of course, the expert noted, the fact that many industrialised countries have a different social system with fewer publicly funded benefits also plays a role here. However, labour is also expensive in Austria compared to the EU average.

READ ALSO: What foreign residents in Austria should know about taxes

“The fact that the tax burden on the middle classes has increased is due to the government’s failure. Instead of structural relief, there have been one-off payments that have evaporated,” said Lukas Sustala, head of Neos-Lab, the think tank of the liberal opposition party.

NEOS representatives have urgently called for a ‘comprehensive tax reform’ to alleviate the heavy labour burden, with a significant reduction in non-wage labour costs, according to an ORF report.

In addition, NEOS proposes the creation of ‘tax incentives for full-time work’ – including a full-time bonus and tax exemption for overtime pay. Simultaneously, NEOS aims to eliminate ‘part-time incentives of any kind’, offering a potential boost to the economy and workers’ incomes.

Economist Schratzenstaller also recommends action: She suggests reducing social insurance contributions, for example, for health insurance companies. However, it’s important to note that intervening in this area could affect the largely autonomous financing of Austria’s healthcare system, which is funded mainly through workers’ and companies’ payments via social insurance contributions. 

SHOW COMMENTS