New Document Retention Requirements; General Enforcement Increased
April 8, 2016
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Immigration authorities have implemented a new requirement for employers of foreign nationals to store diplomas and resumes at the Austrian worksite and are increasingly enforcing document retention requirements and implementing fines for noncomplying companies.
New Requirements
Employers must now maintain resumes and diplomas for all foreign workers, especially for employees from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Authorities have requested such documents in recent audits.
General Record-Keeping Requirements
In addition to resumes and diplomas, as a reminder, employers must also maintain the following documents at the worksite:
- KIAB declaration (a document filed with the Law Enforcement Unit to Combat Illicit Work and with the Austrian Tax Authority);
- Signed assignment agreement;
- Signed Information Sheet for employees hired by staffing or hiring agencies;
- A1 certificate issued by the social and health insurance authority in the employee's home country;
- Each pay slip from each foreign worker’s home employer during the entire assignment period;
- Proof that the stated salary has effectively been paid to and received by the employee; and
- Time sheets for each day of the foreign worker’s assignment in Austria.
The employer must maintain the above documents at the worksite for the duration of the entire project, even if the employee has left Austria prior to the originally-declared end date. Employers must maintain the documents of employees hired through staffing or hiring agencies for five years following the worker’s last day of work at the Austrian location. All documents should be available in German and English.
What This Means for Employers
Employers should be prepared to produce all the documents listed above in a short timeframe in case of an audit, and should work with their immigration professional to ensure the documents are ready for production.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
