Employment 2025

AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Edthaler and Christina Hödlmayr, Edthaler Leitner-Bommer Schmieder & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH

Customer Protection Clause An agreed customer protection clause aims to pro - tect the employer’s customer base and to prevent the poaching of the existing customer base. Customer protection clauses are generally regarded as non- compete clauses by case law. The statutory provi - sions on non-compete clauses are therefore to be applied mutatis mutandis. 3. Data Privacy 3.1 Data Privacy Law and Employment During the employment relationship, employee data is stored, processed and forwarded and further data is collected, eg, during employee checks. Data pro - tection provisions in the context of labour law can be found in both the EU General Data Protection Regu - lation (GDPR) and the Austrian Data Protection Act ( Datenschutzgesetz ). The employment of foreign nationals in Austria is guid - ed by the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals ( Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz ). Foreign workers can only be employed in Austria under certain conditions. In connection with the employment of workers, every person who does not have Austrian citizenship is considered a foreigner. The employ - ment of foreign workers in Austria is only permissi - ble if they are generally excluded from the scope of application of the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals or if they have official approval for their employment. The Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals provides for a large number of exemptions for various groups of persons. Exempted are, for example, persons entitled to asylum, artists or certain executives. Furthermore, there are – among others – the following possibilities for the official approval of the employ - ment of a foreigner: 4. Foreign Workers 4.1 Limitations on Foreign Workers

• Red-White-Red Card/Blue Card EU – qualified workers from third countries can settle permanent - ly in Austria and work here with the Red-White-Red Card/Blue Card EU; and • access to the labour market for pupils and stu - dents – pupils and students with an appropriate residence permit may also be gainfully employed if this does not interfere with their education as their primary purpose of residence. The specific type of employment permit that a for - eign national must obtain is determined based on their individual circumstances. In addition to the cri - teria of the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals, the requirements under immigration law for the residence of a foreign national in Austria must be observed. 4.2 Registration Requirements for Foreign Workers Foreign workers require a combined work and resi - dence permit allowing employment with a specific employer (eg, Red-White-Red Card), free employ - ment market access (eg, Red-White-Red Card plus, Permanent Residence – EU) or an employment market authority authorisation (employment permit) in addi - tion to their residence permit (eg, students) or visa (seasonal workers). This depends on the specific indi - vidual case. In Austria, as of 1 January 2025, the legal framework for “home office” has been extended to telework. In the past, there were no general statutory rules on mobile work, and legal provisions only applied to work from home. With the new law, the distinction between home office and telework loses importance. The provi - sions that were previously limited to home office now apply to telework in general. Telework is understood to mean the regular perfor - mance of work outside the employer’s premises, either at the employee’s residence or at another location of their choice. This may include, for example, a relative’s home, libraries, coffee shops, or co-working spaces. 5. New Work 5.1 Mobile Work

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