Posting Workers to Austria: Declaration, Pay Rules, Documents and the A1

Posted workers stay employed by the foreign employer; the EU rules on posted workers set the frame.

Five key figures apply as of 5 November 2026.

• LSD-BG in force since 1 January 2017
• Report before work starts (§ 19 LSD-BG)
• Documents in German or English (§§ 21, 22 LSD-BG)
• Full Austrian labour law after 12 or 18 months (§ 2(3) LSD-BG)
• Notification and document fines up to EUR 20,000 as one offence, whatever the number of workers (§ 26(1) LSD-BG)

Which Austrian Rules Apply When You Post Workers to Austria

Posting to Austria is governed by the LSD-BG, BGBl. I Nr. 44/2016, in force since 1 January 2017 and last amended by BGBl. I Nr. 66/2026, which gives effect to Directive 96/71/EC and the Enforcement Directive 2014/67/EU in Austrian law. Under § 1(4) LSD-BG, Swiss postings count as EEA postings.

The Zentrale Koordinationsstelle of the Amt für Betrugsbekämpfung (Anti-Fraud Office, Federal Ministry of Finance) receives reports, the BUAK (construction workers' holiday and severance fund) checks building sites, and the Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde (district authority) imposes fines.

The official website is entsendeplattform.at, run by the BMASGPK (Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection) with the BUAK (checked 5 November 2026). The Posting of Workers Directive sets the minimum host terms that the LSD-BG fills.

Prior Notification in Austria: Who Reports, When and Which Postings Are Exempt

A foreign employer must report every posting to Austria to the Zentrale Koordinationsstelle before work starts, whatever its length, using only the electronic forms of the Federal Ministry of Finance (§ 19 LSD-BG): form ZKO 3 for a posting and ZKO 4 for hiring out workers.

The exemptions in § 1 LSD-BG include meetings and fairs, intra-group specialists for up to 2 months per calendar year (§ 1(6)) and workers earning on average over 120 % of thirty times the daily maximum contribution base of § 108(3) ASVG (§ 1(8) Z 2): EUR 8,316 gross a month in 2026.

Third-country nationals posted under § 18(12) AuslBG (Employment of Foreign Nationals Act) need no work permit; the AMS (Public Employment Service) confirms the posting within two weeks, and work may start before. Form details sit under ZKO 3 and ZKO 4 reporting step by step.

The table below sums up the rules, checked 5 November 2026.

Drivers and Road Transport Operations in Austria

Drivers posted to Austria under Directive (EU) 2020/1057 are declared through the EU's IMI system, and § 19a LSD-BG adds date of birth, social insurance number and nationality to the EU data, for 1 day to 6 months.

Under the LSD-BG, these drivers need no contact person (§ 23); a missing declaration costs up to EUR 20,000 (§ 26a(1)) and a driver without the documents up to EUR 1,000 (§ 26a(2)).

Every obligation before, during and after a posting is listed in the posting compliance checklist.

Pay and Working Conditions in Austria: What Foreign Employers Must Grant

Posted workers in Austria are entitled to at least the pay that Austrian statute, ordinance or collective agreement grants comparable workers at the place of work (§ 3(3) LSD-BG), plus the Sonderzahlungen (special payments) paid pro rata for each pay period on top of current pay (§ 3(4) LSD-BG). Assembly work of up to 3 months is exempt from these pay rules (§ 3(5)); construction work is covered from day one (§ 3(6)).

Travel between Austrian workplaces is reimbursed under Austrian rules (§ 3(7) LSD-BG), applying the posted worker remuneration concept of Article 3 of Directive 96/71/EC.

Extra Conditions after 12 and 18 Months in Austria

After 12 months in Austria, Austrian labour law applies in full where it is more favourable to the worker, except the rules on concluding and ending the contract, including non-competition clauses, and the company pension and severance acts (BPG, BMSVG) (§ 2(3) LSD-BG).

Under § 2(3) LSD-BG, a reasoned notification in German or English, sent with an Änderungsmeldung (change report), moves that point to 18 months.

Both periods run on the labour-law clock of Article 3(1a) of Directive 96/71/EC. During long-term posting the worker stays posted.

Construction Work and the Holiday Fund in Austria

Workers posted to Austria for construction work fall under Section VIb of the Bauarbeiter-Urlaubs- und Abfertigungsgesetz (BUAG, Construction Workers' Leave and Severance Act), and for an employer from the EEA or Switzerland the report to the Zentrale Koordinationsstelle counts as the first report to the BUAK (§ 33g(2) BUAG).

Under the BUAG, the posted worker's leave pay (§ 33e) is claimed against the BUAK, and the claim lapses on 31 March of the third following year (§ 33f(2)).

For postings beginning after 31 December 2026, BGBl. I Nr. 66/2026 lets pay documents be kept through the voluntary BauID card (§ 22a LSD-BG), free for BUAG workers. Other holiday funds are compared under posting in construction.

Documents, Language and the Contact Person in Austria

During the posting, the employer must keep the ZKO report, the A1 (or, where it could not be obtained before the posting, the A1 application with proof of foreign cover in German or English) and any home-state authorisation at the workplace or electronically accessible (§ 21(1) LSD-BG), together with the pay documents in German or English for the whole posting (§ 22(1) LSD-BG).

Under § 22(1) LSD-BG, pay documents are the contract or Dienstzettel (written statement of terms), payslips, proof of payment, allowance records, time records and wage classification documents. Documents held by a registered branch, an Austrian group company, tax adviser, lawyer or notary are delivered by the end of the second following working day (§ 21(2) LSD-BG).

The Ansprechperson (contact person) must be present in Austria (§ 23 LSD-BG), although Article 9(1)(f) of Directive 2014/67/EU does not require presence. The guide to documents for posted workers lists what inspectors ask for.

Inspections, Fines and Client Liability in Austria

The Amt für Betrugsbekämpfung and, on construction sites, the BUAK check posted work in Austria, and a missing, late or incomplete report or missing documents cost up to EUR 20,000 as one offence regardless of the number of workers (§ 26(1) LSD-BG, since 1 September 2021).

Underpayment (Unterentlohnung) costs up to EUR 400,000 (§ 29(1) LSD-BG). The Court of Justice held in C-64/18 Maksimovic (12 September 2019) that Article 56 TFEU precludes minimum fines cumulated per worker without a ceiling.

Fines elsewhere are compared under posting penalties in other countries.

Each LSD-BG cap below applies to its breach, as of 5 November 2026.

Social Security Cover for Work in Austria and the Austrian A1

A worker posted to Austria from another EU or EEA State or Switzerland stays insured in the sending State for an anticipated duration of up to 24 months under Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, and the A1 issued there binds Austrian institutions and courts until the issuing State withdraws it.

A missing A1 or application breaches § 21(1) LSD-BG and is fined under § 26(1) Z 3 LSD-BG. UK-detached workers keep UK legislation for up to 24 months (Article SSC.11 of the TCA Protocol); EU-UK derogation agreements proposed on 15 October 2026 (COM(2026) 550) are pending as of 5 November 2026.

For postings from Austria, the ÖGK (Austrian Health Insurance Fund) handles employee A1 applications filed through ELDA (electronic data exchange with the social insurance institutions), the SVS serves the self-employed, and the BMASGPK handles exception agreements under Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004.

Proof of cover for work in Austria depends on the sending State.

Rules Applying from 2 November 2028

Regulation (EU) 2026/2359 of 7 October 2026 has been in force since 1 November 2026, but its new Article 12 and the prior-notification rules apply only from 2 November 2028; until then today's rules apply, and persons sent before that date stay under the old Article 12 (Article 87b(4) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004). The revision of Regulation 883/2004 lists every change.

From then, under Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 as amended, the employer notifies before the activity, with an acknowledgement where the A1 is not issued at once (Article 15(1), (1a)). Business trips, and up to three consecutive days within 30 days except Annex 6 construction work, are exempt from that notification (Article 15(1b)). A person recruited to be posted needs three months of prior affiliation, not one (Article 14(1)). The take-over by Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland is pending as of 5 November 2026.

Austria Compared with Other Posting Countries

Austria asks for a report before every posting, and its maximum fine of EUR 400,000 was among the highest the Commission reported for national posting rules in COM(2024) 320 (as of 30 April 2024), behind Germany's EUR 500,000.

The posting rules by country compare 32 States; three neighbours have their own pages.

• posting workers to Germany
• posting workers to Switzerland
• posting workers to Liechtenstein

Detail Pages on the Austrian Rules

Two detail pages take the Austrian procedures further.

Pending EU Changes Affecting Austria

As of 5 November 2026, the EU e-declaration regulation proposed on 13 November 2024 (COM(2024) 531, 2024/0301(COD)) is pending: Parliament adopted its first-reading position on 20 October 2026, and the Council's is awaited. Host States would opt in voluntarily.

Today the ZKO forms are the Austrian route; the EU e-declaration page tracks the proposal.

Questions on Posting to Austria

Four questions recur on posting to Austria.

Does a one-day job in Austria have to be reported?

Yes. § 19 LSD-BG sets no minimum duration: every posting to Austria is reported before work starts, unless a § 1 LSD-BG exemption applies, such as intra-group specialists for up to 2 months per calendar year.

How long can a worker be sent to Austria?

Austrian labour law sets no end date but applies in full after 12 months, or 18 with a reasoned notification (§ 2(3) LSD-BG); sending-State social security cover lasts up to 24 months of anticipated duration (Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004).

Can the pay records for Austria be kept in English?

Yes. § 22(1) LSD-BG accepts the pay documents for a posting to Austria in German or English, and § 21(1) LSD-BG accepts the proof of foreign social security cover, used where the A1 is not yet available, in either language.

Which proof of social security cover does a UK employer need in Austria?

A worker detached from the UK keeps UK legislation for up to 24 months under Article SSC.11 of the TCA Protocol on Social Security Coordination; the UK-issued A1 is the proof, and the LSD-BG reporting and document rules still apply in Austria.