Increased Salary and KIAB Declaration Compliance Measures for Employers Take Effect in 2015

New regulatory provisions have been implemented for foreign nationals, according to amendments to the Austrian Act on Employment Contracts and Adjustments. The amendments, which affect minimum salary compliance and KIAB declarations for EU/EEA/Swiss-based employers, are effective January 1, 2015. 

Minimum Salary Level Compliance Standards 

Immigration authorities determining minimum salary compliance will now be empowered to determine whether employers have paid all remuneration payments due under collective bargaining agreements or other legal agreements. Previously, authorities were only permitted to consider whether the employer complied with the base salary and holiday or overtime pay.

Authorities may visit the Austrian workplace to request documents in German such as employment or assignment agreements, monthly payslips, salary payment statements and time records. Previously, the rules did not provide for a list of documents that were required to be maintained at the Austrian location or a language specification. 

KIAB Declaration Changes

After January 1, nearly all individuals entering Austria for work on behalf of an EU/EEA/Swiss-based employer will require a KIAB declaration, the online informational filing for employees of EU/EEA/Swiss-based companies who are assigned to work in Austria. Employers must file the declaration no later than seven days prior to the employee’s start date. Failure to do so may subject the employer to fines. 

Specifically, employees of EU/EEA/Swiss-based employers who work on a project or through a service agreement, and whose work is more than preliminary or support for a project will require a KIAB declaration, regardless of the project’s duration. Previously, it was unclear whether employers hiring workers for very short term assignments (up to five days) were required to file KIAB declarations. 

Additionally, EU/EEA/Swiss-based employers must now provide additional information when filing KIAB declarations, and they must file a new declaration if there are any changes to information in a prior KIAB declaration. 

What This Means for Employers and Foreign Nationals 

Employers should be prepared to maintain any salary-related documents in German and in Austria during the entire project or assignment period. 

The requirement for EU/EEA/Swiss-based employers to file KIAB declarations for nearly every foreign employee on assignment or staffed in Austria will add an administrative step and will allow the immigration authorities to monitor more foreign employees. 

Violations of these new provisions may result in considerable sanctions ranging from administrative fines to business bans. 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected]. 

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