Number of 'minimally employed workers' continues to grow

In mid-2003, there were some 220,000 'minimally employed workers' in Austria, defined as those earning no more than EUR 309 per month. Most of those involved in this growing form of non-standard employment are women part-time workers. While labour law treats such minimally employed workers almost on the same terms as 'standard' employees, their status is rather precarious in terms of both social insurance and income. The Chamber of Labour has highlighted the problems affecting this group.

In Austria, 'minimally employed workers' (geringfügig Beschäftigter) are defined as employees whose income per year does not exceed a fixed amount (calculated as a monthly average) laid down by law and upgraded annually. For 2003, this monthly pay limit amounts to EUR 309.38. Nearly all minimally employed workers are part-time workers.

With the exception of the rules on notice of termination of contract laid down by the White-Collar Workers Act (Angestelltengesetz, AnG), this form of 'atypical' work is covered by the same labour law regulations as all other employment. Thus, minimally employed workers have, for instance, the same leave rights (including any extra nursing leave for parents) as 'standard' employees. If their employment relationship exceeds a continuous three-year period, this employee group is also entitled to severance pay. Minimally employed workers also also entitled to any extra payments, such as holiday pay or a special Christmas bonus, laid down in the relevant collective agreement.

As regards social security, minimally employed workers are insured against accidents at work. However, they are not covered by general health and pensions insurance, since the employer is not obliged to register them with the relevant social insurance institutions (AT0011234F). Since 1998, however, each minimally employed worker has the possibility of opting for a voluntary health and pensions insurance if they want to be insured against risks of illness and old age (AT9705115N). Currently, the voluntary contributions for the relevant regional sickness insurance funds (Krankenkassen) – which also include pensions insurance – come to EUR 43.65 per month. The employer is obliged to pay social insurance contributions only when it employs several minimally employed workers together earning more than one and a half times as much as the legal threshold for minimally employed workers (ie currently EUR 309.38).

The incidence of this form of non-standard work has been continuously increasing. According to statistics from the Association of Social Security Providers (Hauptverband der Sozialversicherungsträger, HSV), there has been a significant annual growth in the number of minimally employed workers since 1995 - see the table below. In May 2003, approximately 220,000 employees performed this kind of work, of whom 156,100 were women (ie about 71%).