The Hardest Market · Austria
Austria's HR data
The rules and costs of employing people in Austria (Vienna), from official sources, in English and Japanese.
Employment rules
| Statutory annual leave | 5 weeks (25 working days); 6 weeks after 25 years |
|---|---|
| Public holidays (2026) | 13 days |
| Notice of dismissal | Employer 6 weeks-5 months by service; employee 1 month |
| Severance required by law | None from employer; 1.53% paid into a severance fund |
| Typical negotiated exit | No official benchmark |
| Probation | Up to 1 month |
| Working hours | 40 h/week (38.5 under most collective agreements) |
| How hard is dismissal? | Moderate: no reason needed, but challengeable as socially unjustified after 6 months |
Employer contributions
| Employer social insurance on the 12 monthly salaries | 21.23% |
|---|---|
| Employer social insurance on the 13th and 14th salaries | 20.48% |
| Family Burden Equalisation Fund (DB) | 3.7% |
| Chamber surcharge to DB (DZ, Vienna) | 0.36% |
| Municipal tax (Kommunalsteuer) | 3% |
| Severance fund (Mitarbeitervorsorge, BV) | 1.53% |
| Vienna underground tax (Dienstgeberabgabe) | €104 a year |
Employee contributions
| Social insurance on the 12 monthly salaries | 18.32% |
|---|---|
| Social insurance on the 13th and 14th salaries | 17.07% |
Take-home pay and employer cost by annual salary
| Annual salary | Employee contributions | Income tax | Take-home | Employer cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €50,000 | €9,070 | €5,377 | €35,553 | €64,961 |
| €70,000 | €12,699 | €10,962 | €46,339 | €90,903 |
| €95,000 | €17,235 | €18,141 | €59,624 | €123,331 |
| €130,000 | €17,601 | €32,367 | €80,032 | €161,765 |
Salaried employee (Angestellter) of a Vienna employer, Austrian tax resident and national (no expatriate allowance), single with no children, no commuter allowance, calendar tax year 2026. Austria's normal white-collar case is 14 salaries a year: 12 monthly salaries plus a 13th (holiday pay, Urlaubszuschuss) and 14th (Christmas pay, Weihnachtsremuneration), each equal to one month's salary. All annual figures here (salary levels, checks) are therefore 14 × the monthly salary, and the model reproduces the special rules for the 13th and 14th salaries: lower social-insurance rate (no Chamber of Labour levy or housing contribution), a separate annual contribution ceiling, and the flat 6% tax after a €620 exemption instead of the progressive tariff. Social insurance at the 2026 rates for Vienna (housing contribution 0.75% each side from 1 January 2026); income tax on regular pay with the €132 employment-expense lump sum and the €496 traffic credit only. Employer side includes the Vienna chamber surcharge (DZ, employer assumed to be a Chamber of Commerce member) and the Vienna underground tax.
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Checked 2026-11-08; 2026 rates.