AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Edthaler and Christina Hödlmayr, Edthaler Leitner-Bommer Schmieder & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH
6. Collective Relations 6.1 Unions
a works council election to take place. All employees who have reached the age of 16 are entitled to vote. It is up to the workforce, not the employer, to ensure the establishment of a works council by organising and conducting a works council election. Its term of office is five years. If both the group of blue-collar workers and the group of white-collar workers each include at least five of these employees, separate works councils shall be established. 6.3 Collective Bargaining Agreements A collective bargaining agreement is an agreement that the trade union usually negotiates annually with the employers’ representatives for all employees in a certain sector. There are over 800 collective agree - ments in Austria. Every year, the trade unions negoti - ate over 450 collective agreements. A distinction must also be made between white-collar and blue-collar workers in collective agreements, and different col - lective agreements exist in this respect. Collective agreements stipulate, among other things, minimum basic salaries and special payments (13th/14th salary) as well as regulations regarding working hours. Under Austrian labour law, a distinction is made between termination and dismissal for just cause by the employer when terminating the employment rela - tionship. Termination of an Employee An employer’s notice of termination is a declaration of intent by the employer addressed to the employee to terminate the employment relationship in compliance with the notice provisions (notice periods and dates). It is not necessary to state a reason for termination when giving notice. However, in certain cases (eg, care leave or part-time care leave), the employee can request a written justification for the termination from the employer within five calendar days of receiving 7. Termination 7.1 Grounds for Termination
A trade union is an association representing the inter - ests of dependent employees. The unions represent the political, economic and social interests of employ - ees vis-à-vis employers, the state and political parties. The main tasks/rights of trade unions include: • negotiating collective agreements; • supra-company co-determination within the frame - work of the economic and social partnership; and • providing legal advice to members. 6.2 Employee Representative Bodies Works Council As an organ of the workforce, the works council is called upon to safeguard and promote the economic, social, health and cultural interests of the employees. The works council is the body representing the inter - ests of the employees at the company level. Tasks of the works council The works council has numerous powers. These range from concluding company agreements, through involvement in terminations, redundancies and trans - fers, to participation in company supervisory board meetings. The powers of the works council include: • monitoring and control rights (eg, ensuring com - pliance with the collective agreement, company agreements and employee protection regulations); • information rights (eg, on the establishment and termination of employment relationships or on ongoing management matters); • rights of intervention (eg, to improve working con - ditions or in-company training); and • consultation rights (eg, at the request of the works council, the employer must hold joint consultations on a quarterly basis and provide information on important matters). Establishment of the works council The works council shall be established on the basis of a works council election. At least five non-family members with voting rights (irrespective of national - ity) must be permanently employed in a company for
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