Postponed: New statutory notice regime for Austrian blue-collar workers will become effective only as of 1 July 2021 | ZFZ Postcard Cases
Back in 2017, the Austrian legislator decided that as of 01 January 2021, the statutory notice regime applicable to blue-collar workers will be aligned with that of white-collar workers.
These new rules extend employers‘ notice periods from up to four weeks to up to five months. Furthermore, they introduce the end of the calendar quarter (31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December) as statutory end dates for notices issued by employers, if the 15th and/or the last day of a calendar month is not agreed upon as end date with the employee.
Therefore, if the collective bargaining agreement or the employment contract do not already provide for longer notice periods and end dates, the amendment will lead to a massive extension of employers‘ notice periods when terminating blue-collar employment relationships.
Due to the current COVID pandemic, the entry into force of this new statutory notice regime was now postponed by six months. The new provisions will apply to notices issued as of 01 July 2021. They can be found here (in German).