Employer of Record (EOR) in Austria
Austria pays 14 monthly salaries per year. Not 12.
The 13th salary lands in June as Urlaubsgeld, the 14th in November as Weihnachtsgeld, and collective bargaining agreements make both effectively mandatory for 98% of the private sector workforce.
Miss this in your cost model and you are underpaying from month one.
That 14-salary structure sits on top of an employer social security burden of approximately 29% of gross pay.
Pension contributions alone run at 12.55%.
Layer on health insurance, unemployment insurance, accident insurance, the insolvency fund, the BVK severance fund, FLAF family levy, municipal tax, and chamber contributions.
Your Austrian hire costs roughly a third more than their base salary before you touch the EOR platform fee.
The compliance layer that catches most foreign employers is collective bargaining agreement coverage. CBAs in Austria are not optional add-ons negotiated by a few unionised sectors.
They cover approximately 98% of the private sector and set minimum wages, maximum working hours (often 38.5 hours per week, not the statutory 40), overtime rates, and additional entitlements your EOR must track.
Your EOR provider also needs a specific labour leasing licence from AMS to operate legally. No licence, no legal EOR arrangement.
Austria EOR at a glance
Pricing and coverage reviewed April 2026
Which EOR Providers Are Best for Austria?
Deel
Deel is the highest-volume global EOR provider and covers Austria through an established entity.
Onboarding speed is a strength, typically 1-3 business days from contract signing to active payroll. If you are hiring multiple people in Austria on a tight timeline, Deel generates compliant contracts quickly.
Pricing is USD 599 per employee per month.
Deel handles Austrian payroll across all 14 monthly salary payments, social security contributions at the correct ASVG rates, wage tax withholding, CBA compliance, and statutory leave tracking.
Their platform combines payroll, expenses, time-off management, and contractor payments in one dashboard.
Deel uses a mix of owned entities and local partners across markets. Confirm whether their Austrian entity is wholly owned or partnered before signing.
This affects your compliance chain and who bears liability if a GPLB audit finds a filing error. Deel’s DACH market depth makes it the default starting point for most Austria EOR buyers.
Remote.com
Remote operates its own legal entities rather than routing through local partners.
That gives you a direct compliance chain, with no intermediary between your employee and the entity filing social security contributions with the OGK.
Their IP Guard feature handles intellectual property assignment, relevant if your Austrian hires create protectable work.
Pricing is USD 599 per employee per month.
Remote covers ASVG social security withholding, wage tax, 13th and 14th salary payments, BVK severance fund contributions at 1.53%, CBA identification, and statutory leave administration.
For companies that prioritise owned-entity compliance and IP protections, Remote is a strong default in Austria.
The main limitation is platform depth. Remote’s HR features are solid but less extensive than Rippling’s unified suite. If you need device management or deep HRIS integrations alongside EOR, you may find gaps.
Multiplier
Multiplier is the cost leader at USD 400-450 per employee per month. That saves you USD 150-200 per employee compared with premium-tier providers.
Austria’s compliance requirements are significant, covering CBAs, 14 monthly salaries, and the AMS licence requirement, but Multiplier covers the core obligations at a lower price point.
Multiplier handles Austrian payroll processing, ASVG contributions, wage tax, leave tracking, and employment contract generation.
If you are cost-sensitive and hiring for standard roles where CBA compliance is straightforward, Multiplier gives you the best price-to-compliance ratio in this market.
Rippling
Rippling offers Austrian EOR as part of a unified global HR, IT, and payroll platform.
If you already run US payroll or HR through Rippling, adding Austrian employees keeps everything in one system. Their global payroll engine handles ASVG calculations, wage tax, and the 14-salary structure natively.
Pricing is USD 599 per employee per month. Rippling’s strength is integration, payroll, benefits, device management, app provisioning, and expense management in a single dashboard.
For teams managing employees across the US and Austria, that consolidation saves real administrative time.
The downside is Rippling’s sales process. You cannot self-serve a quote. Budget for the sales cycle when planning your timeline.
Oyster
Oyster charges USD 599 per employee per month and positions itself as the EOR for distributed-first companies.
Their benefits marketplace covers Austria, including supplementary private health insurance options.
Austrian employees already receive mandatory public health coverage through the OGK, but supplementary coverage is a common perk.
If your Austrian hires expect private health insurance as part of their package, Oyster bundles benefits administration into the EOR relationship more cleanly than most competitors.
That saves you from managing a separate benefits broker in a German-speaking market.
Papaya Global
Papaya Global takes a payroll-technology-first approach.
Their platform processes payroll across 160+ countries with a focus on accuracy, auditability, and real-time gross-to-net calculations.
Austrian payroll, with its 14 monthly payments, tiered social security rates, and CBA-driven minimums, benefits from that level of calculation transparency.
Pricing is typically USD 599-650 per employee per month. Papaya is best suited to finance teams that want deep payroll analytics and cross-country reporting.
If your CFO drives the EOR decision and wants line-by-line payroll transparency across DACH markets, Papaya delivers.
Velocity Global
Velocity Global covers 185+ countries and has been operating in Austria for several years. They focus on compliance depth and local support rather than platform features.
If you need a single EOR provider across a large number of countries and want consistency in service delivery, Velocity Global is a solid option for your Austrian headcount.
Pricing is quote-based and generally falls in the USD 500-700 range per employee per month. Confirm their Austrian entity model directly, some multi-country providers use local partners for smaller EU markets.
EOR break-even modeler
How Does an EOR Work in Austria?
An employer of record is a third-party company that becomes the legal employer of your workers in Austria.
The EOR’s Austrian entity holds a valid AMS labour leasing licence (Arbeitnehmeruberlassungsbewilligung), registers for social security with the OGK, handles wage tax withholding with the Finanzamt, administers all 14 monthly salary payments, tracks statutory leave, manages CBA compliance, and issues payslips.
You manage the employee’s day-to-day work. The EOR manages the legal employment relationship. See our employer of record guide for the global model; this page covers Austria-specific rules and costs.
Austria EOR Is Labour Leasing: What That Means for You Austria regulates EOR under its labour leasing framework (Arbeitnehmeruberlassung), unlike Ireland or the UK where EOR is simply standard employment.
The provider must hold a specific AMS licence. Operating without it is illegal and exposes both the provider and the client to enforcement action. Critically, joint GPLB audits conducted by the OGK and Finanzamt can scrutinise both the EOR entity and you as the end-client.
Keep the boundaries between your management role and the EOR’s employment role documented.
This dual audit exposure is the most underappreciated compliance risk in Austrian EOR arrangements. Before signing, ask for the provider’s AMS licence number and verify it directly with AMS. Providers operating through local partners must disclose which entity holds the licence.
Licensed EOR providers in Austria can sponsor Red-White-Red Cards for non-EU nationals, a genuine advantage over markets like Ireland where most providers cannot sponsor work permits.
CBA Coverage at 98% and the Pay Transparency Directive Approximately 98% of Austria’s private sector is covered by collective bargaining agreements.
CBAs set minimum wages, maximum working hours (often 38.5 hours per week rather than the statutory 40), overtime rates, and additional entitlements. Getting the CBA wrong means underpaying: the Law against Wage and Social Dumping (LSD-BG) carries fines up to EUR 400,000.
Ask your EOR specifically how they identify the correct CBA at onboarding and what happens if the sector classification is disputed. Austria must implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive by June 2026, requiring salary ranges in job postings and prohibiting pay secrecy clauses.
From 2026, CBAs can also cover freelance contractors. Confirm your EOR is tracking implementation.
EOR in Austria vs Setting Up a GmbH A GmbH costs approximately EUR 493 in government fees plus EUR 2,000 or more for notary and legal fees, with EUR 10,000 minimum share capital (EUR 5,000 cash on incorporation). Timeline is 2-6 weeks and requires Austrian banking and a registered office address.
EOR by comparison is operational in 3-7 business days with no formation costs and no share capital requirement.
For your first 1-4 hires, EOR is clearly faster and cheaper to launch. At 5-7 employees, annual EOR platform fees start to approach the cost of running your own payroll through a local provider.
For 5 employees at USD 599 per month, you are spending approximately EUR 33,000 per year on platform fees alone.
A GmbH with outsourced payroll costs significantly less at that scale. If you are testing the Austrian market with a handful of hires, EOR lets you move fast without committing capital. Most companies revisit the entity question at 5 employees.
What Does It Cost to Hire in Austria Through an EOR?
Employer Social Security Contributions in Austria Core ASVG contributions: approximately 22% of gross salary.
This breaks down as pension insurance 12.55%, health insurance 3.78%, unemployment insurance 2.95%, accident insurance 1.10%, insolvency fund 0.10%, and BVK severance fund 1.53%. The monthly contribution ceiling is EUR 6,930 (2026).
Ancillary employer costs add another 7% approximately.
Family burden equalisation fund (FLAF) at 3.9%, municipal tax (Kommunalsteuer) at 3%, and chamber of commerce levy at approximately 0.36%. These are often overlooked in cost estimates but are legally mandatory. Total employer burden: approximately 29% of gross salary.
This is before you account for the 13th and 14th salary payments.
When you factor in those two extra monthly payments, your actual annual employer cost is roughly 14/12 of the monthly gross multiplied by 1.29. Austria is one of the higher-cost EU markets for employer contributions.
EOR Fees and What They Usually Include in Austria Most providers charge USD 400-700 per employee per month for Austrian EOR.
Your fee typically covers payroll processing across all 14 monthly salary payments, ASVG social security calculation and remittance, wage tax withholding, and CBA identification and compliance.
Leave tracking (25 days annual leave plus 13 public holidays), BVK severance fund contributions, employment contract drafting, and onboarding and offboarding administration are also included.
Some providers bundle supplementary private health insurance; others charge separately. Austrian employees already receive public health coverage through the OGK, but supplementary coverage is a common perk in professional roles. Check what your provider offers here.
Failure to budget for the two extra salary months is the most common Austria cost-model error we encounter from first-time EOR buyers. Hidden Costs to Ask About in Austria The 13th and 14th salary payments catch employers who budget for 12 months.
These two extra payments are taxed at a reduced flat rate (approximately 6% combined for social security and a fixed income tax component), which is favourable compared with regular monthly taxation. But you still need to budget for 14 months of gross salary per year.
Your EOR should build this into your cost model from the start.
Also ask about: how your provider handles CBA wage increases (most CBAs have annual renegotiations), whether there is a minimum contract term with early termination charges, Red-White-Red Card sponsorship fees for non-EU hires, and how they manage the BVK severance fund contributions and reporting.
Whichapp viewAustria’s 14-salary structure is the cost model failure point for most foreign employers.
The 13th salary (Urlaubsgeld, vacation pay in June) and 14th salary (Weihnachtsgeld, Christmas pay in November) are mandatory under virtually all Austrian collective agreements and must be specified in employment contracts at hire.
Many international cost models include only 12 monthly payments.The actual cost of an Austrian employee is gross monthly salary multiplied by 14, not 12, plus the employer’s approximately 29% social security burden on all 14 payments.
If your EOR provider quotes a monthly cost without clarifying whether the fee includes 13th and 14th salary administration and accrual, ask directly.
Austria’s collective agreements cover over 90% of employees across approximately 450 sector-specific CBAs.
The EOR provider must identify the correct CBA before an offer letter is issued.
Austria Employment Law Every EOR Buyer Should Understand Employment Contracts and Probation in Austria Probation periods are limited to one month under Austrian law. Either party can terminate without notice during this period.
After probation, the full notice period and termination protection rules apply. One month is short by European standards, so your hiring decision carries more weight upfront.
Fixed-term contracts cannot be renewed repeatedly without justification: repeated renewals may be recharacterised as indefinite employment by a labour court.
Leave, Sick Pay and Parental Leave in Austria Annual leave is 25 working days per year, increasing to 30 days after 25 years of service. Austria has 13 public holidays. That gives your Austrian employee 38 paid days off annually.
Sick pay starts at 6 weeks of full pay from day one, increasing with tenure to 12 weeks for long-service employees. After the full-pay period, the employer pays half salary for an additional 4 weeks.
Maternity leave (Mutterschutz) is 16 weeks fully paid, with dismissal protection extending 4 months after its end.
Paternity leave (Papamonat) is 1 month unpaid with a government family-time bonus.
Termination Rules and Notice Periods in Austria Employer notice periods scale with service: 6 weeks under 2 years, 2 months for 2-5 years, 3 months for 5-15 years, 4 months for 15-25 years, 5 months beyond that. CBAs may require longer notice.
The quarterly termination rule catches foreign employers off guard: notice must expire at end of a calendar quarter (31 March, 30 June, 30 September, or 31 December) unless the CBA allows end-of-month expiry. Decide to terminate in January and the earliest effective date may be 31 March.
BVK Severance and Works Councils in Austria For employees starting after January 2003, the employer contributes 1.53% of gross monthly salary to a BVK severance fund throughout the employment relationship.
The accumulated amount is paid on termination regardless of who initiates the separation. Your EOR handles BVK contributions as part of payroll from the first month.
Works councils (Betriebsrat) become mandatory at 5 or more permanent employees, with consultation rights on dismissals and working conditions. Ask your EOR directly how they handle this threshold. How to Choose an EOR Provider for Austria The primary filter is licence status.
Ask every provider whether they own the Austrian entity and hold the AMS labour leasing licence directly, or route through a local partner.
An owned entity gives you a direct compliance chain and clearer liability when OGK filings or Finanzamt queries arise. A partner model is not automatically a problem, but you must know which entity holds the licence and who is responsible if it lapses.
The AMS licence verification question separates providers with genuine Austrian infrastructure from those operating through reseller arrangements. The secondary filter is CBA identification depth.
Austria’s 14-salary structure, CBA coverage at 98%, and the quarterly termination rule require genuine local expertise.
Ask specifically how your provider identifies the correct CBA at onboarding, who bears liability for LSD-BG fines if they misidentify it, and how they handle annual CBA wage renegotiations. Providers that frame CBA liability as shared are effectively shifting it to you.
Finance and Legal both have standing questions here.
Finance needs to confirm that the quoted monthly cost includes 13th and 14th salary administration, 12 payments. Legal needs to confirm liability coverage for GPLB joint audits. Both questions should be answered in writing before you sign.
Also confirm: minimum contract terms, Red-White-Red Card sponsorship capability, and CET-timezone support for monthly payroll cycles.
Which EOR in Austria Is Best for Your Business? Startups and first Austria hires: Multiplier at USD 400-450/month. ASVG contributions, 14-salary handling, and CBA compliance at the lowest price point.
Best where CBA complexity is limited and cost efficiency is the primary driver.
Enterprise with existing HR stack: Rippling at USD 599/month.
Austrian EOR plugged into unified HR, IT, and payroll reporting. The integration payoff is real for teams managing employees across the US and DACH region, though the sales cycle is slower. Europe-first expansion: Remote at USD 599/month.
Owned entities across key European markets, direct compliance chains, and IP Guard for roles creating protectable work.
The right default if Austria is one of several planned EU hires. Finance-driven decision: Papaya Global at USD 599-650/month. Deep payroll analytics, gross-to-net transparency, and cross-country cost reporting across DACH markets.
Austria’s complex payroll, with 14 salaries, tiered social security, and CBA minimums, benefits from that level of calculation visibility.
Check providers that match this market4 providers · links may include affiliate referralsDeelSee current pricing, plans, and how setup works.View details →RemoteSee current pricing, plans, and how setup works.View details →MultiplierSee current pricing, plans, and how setup works.View details →RipplingSee current pricing, plans, and how setup works.View details →
FAQs About Employer of Record in Austria
Is EOR legal in Austria?
Yes, but with a specific requirement. EOR providers in Austria must hold a labour leasing licence (Arbeitnehmeruberlassungsbewilligung) issued by AMS.
Operating without this licence is illegal.
The arrangement is regulated under Austria’s labour leasing framework, not treated as standard employment. Verify your provider’s licence before signing.
How long can you use an EOR in Austria?
There is no statutory time limit on EOR use in Austria.
Unlike Germany (which has an 18-month limit under AUG), Austria does not cap the duration of a labour leasing arrangement.
However, extended EOR use may trigger permanent establishment arguments from Austrian tax authorities.
The decision to transition to your own GmbH is typically financial and strategic rather than legally mandated.
How much does an EOR cost in Austria?
EOR service fees range from USD 400 to USD 700 per employee per month.
On top of this, you pay the employee’s gross salary (14 monthly payments per year) plus statutory employer costs, approximately 29% of gross salary in social security contributions and ancillary charges.
For an employee on EUR 60,000 base salary, your total annual employer cost including the platform fee is approximately EUR 85,000.
Do you need a GmbH to hire employees in Austria? Not necessarily. An EOR with a valid AMS labour leasing licence can legally employ workers in Austria on your behalf.
But you will need your own GmbH if you want full operational control, are building a long-term DACH presence with 5 or more employees, or need dedicated HR management for complex CBA compliance.
GmbH registration costs approximately EUR 493 in government fees plus EUR 2,000 or more for notary and legal costs, with EUR 10,000 minimum share capital.
What is the difference between EOR and PEO in Austria?
In Austria, the EOR is the sole legal employer under a labour leasing licence.
A PEO typically co-employs workers alongside your existing entity.
Since you do not have an Austrian entity (that is why you are using an EOR), the co-employment model does not apply.
If a provider calls themselves a PEO in Austria, they are functionally offering EOR under the labour leasing framework.
What are the 13th and 14th salary payments in Austria?
The 13th salary (Urlaubsgeld) is typically paid in June and the 14th salary (Weihnachtsgeld) in November.
Both are effectively mandatory, CBAs covering 98% of the private sector require them.
They are taxed at a reduced flat rate compared with regular monthly salary, making them tax-efficient for the employee.
Your EOR handles calculation and payment as part of the standard payroll cycle.
What happens if I misclassify a contractor in Austria? Austrian courts assess personal and economic dependence, and the actual lived practice overrides contract labels.
If your contractor is reclassified as an employee, you face retroactive social security contributions for up to 5 years, back payroll taxes, liability for holiday pay, sick pay, overtime, and severance.
Fines under the LSD-BG run up to EUR 400,000.
Joint GPLB audits by OGK and Finanzamt actively investigate these arrangements.
Can an EOR sponsor a Red-White-Red Card in Austria?
Yes.
Licensed EOR providers in Austria can sponsor Red-White-Red Cards for non-EU nationals. This is a genuine advantage over markets like Ireland where most EOR providers cannot sponsor work permits.
Confirm that your specific provider’s AMS licence covers Red-White-Red Card sponsorship before making an offer to a non-EU candidate.
How does severance work in Austria?
For employees starting after 1 January 2003, Austria uses a defined-contribution severance system.
The employer contributes 1.53% of gross monthly salary to a BVK severance fund throughout the employment relationship.
The accumulated amount is paid to the employee on termination, regardless of whether they resign or are dismissed.
Your EOR handles BVK contributions as part of the standard payroll cycle.
Is EOR the right structure for hiring in Austria?
Model the total cost of EOR versus setting up your own legal entity in Austria. Adjust headcount, salary, and entity setup costs to find your break-even point.
Reference data and tools for this country
- Employer Cost & Burden Calculator: model total on-costs including NIC, pension, and mandatory contributions.
- Severance & Notice Estimator: statutory minimums for notice periods and severance pay.
- Worker Classification Risk Auditor: flag misclassification exposure before you hire.
- Payroll Deadline Tracker: tax filing and payment deadlines by country.
Final Verdict: When Does an EOR Make Sense in Austria?
Use an EOR for your first 1-4 Austrian hires, to test the DACH market before committing GmbH capital, or when you need AMS-licensed employment with 14-salary handling and CBA compliance from day one.
Move to your own GmbH once you reach 5 or more employees or need full operational control.
The most common mistake is underestimating Austrian employer costs. Budget for 12 months of gross salary plus the EOR fee and you are missing two full salary months and 29% in social contributions.
Do the full 14-month calculation before you make an offer. If the quoted cost looks too low, the provider is almost certainly showing you 12-month costs, not 14.
This gap reliably indicates a provider without genuine Austrian payroll depth.
Austria EOR Methodology and Disclosure
Whichapp is an independent comparison site. We do not sell EOR, payroll, or contractor management services. We may earn a commission if you book a demo through links on this page.
Compliance information is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Verify requirements with a qualified adviser before making employment decisions.
Data Sources
- Official government and labour ministry publications for this country
- Provider country guides and compliance documentation (verified April 2026)
- G2 and Capterra reviews for listed providers (Jan–Apr 2026)
- Whichapp provider score composite data (see sources & data)
Research Approach
This page was researched using official government and regulatory sources for the country, combined with provider country guides, help centre documentation, and verified user feedback from G2 and Capterra. Compliance rules and costs were cross-checked against applicable labour law and official tax authority publications. No provider was engaged for a paid pilot or contract as part of this research.
Last updated April 2026.
Already have a local entity in Austria? See our guide to payroll in Austria.