Educational leave and educational part-time employment
General information
Educational leave can be agreed between an employer and an employee for a period ranging from a minimum of two months up to a maximum of one year, with no remuneration being paid during this period. Prior to the planned start date, a continuous period of employment of at least 12 months with the same employer is required. Educational leave can also be taken over multiple periods, in which case each period of leave must last for at least two months, and the total duration of all periods of leave must not exceed one year. A new period of educational leave cannot be taken until four years after the start of the previous period of educational leave (this is known as the framework period).
Seasonal employees may also agree periods of educational leave under certain conditions.
Employees who have been employed for an uninterrupted period of 12 months are able to agree educational part-time employment for a period of four months to two years with their employers. This allows them to take advantage of educational opportunities while remaining employed, and without having to take the entire period as leave. Working hours must be reduced by at least a quarter and by no more than half of the previous working hours. Weekly working hours must be at least ten hours. Like educational leave, educational part-time employment can also be agreed over a number of different periods within a four-year framework period. The duration of each period must be at least four months, and the total duration of all the individual periods within the framework period may not exceed two years. This framework period also applies when agreeing any extension of educational part-time employment arrangements.
The agreement on educational leave and part-time education must be made in writing. In addition to the start and duration of the leave and, in the case of part-time employment, the extent and location of the working hours must also be specified. Furthermore, the agreement must contain information on the current level of education, the educational measure and the educational goal. The agreement must take into account the interests of the employee and the requirements of the company, and the works council must be involved in the negotiations at the request of the employee if a works council responsible for the employee has been established in the company.
The agreement on part-time education shall take effect at the earliest on the day after notification of the award of the further training allowance has been delivered. Part-time education may only commence from this point in time. This ensures that the loss of income is cushioned.
The employees concerned are also obliged to inform their employer immediately of the notification from the Employment Service regarding the granting or non-granting of the further training allowance.
Additional earnings from employment with another employer are permitted, provided this employment qualifies as marginal employment.
Requirements
- Duration of employment
- At the time of application, you must have been in continuous, fully paid employment with your current employer in Austria for at least twelve months and be subject to full social insurance contributions.
- In the case of seasonal employment, the applicant must have been in employment subject to full social insurance contributions in Austria for the three months immediately prior to submitting the application and for a total of at least twelve months within the last 24 months.
- No childcare allowance or maternity allowance was claimed in the last 26 weeks prior to the start of training.
- In the case of completion of a master’s or diploma degree, at least four years of employment in Austria with full social security contributions are required, with at least twelve consecutive months of this period spent with the current employer. An agreement between the employer and the employee regarding educational leave or part-time study is required. This agreement must be made in writing, and must state the start date, duration, and in the case of part-time education, scope and location of the part-time employment. The permitted limits of any reduction in working time must be taken into account in the contract. The working hours must be reduced by at least a quarter, and by a maximum of half, of the employee's previous normal working hours. Weekly hours worked while engaged in part-time education must amount to at least ten hours.
- Eligible training courses
- Funding is available for labor market-relevant training and further education courses that are applicable across different companies.
- To be eligible for further education assistance, courses must have a minimum duration of two months and comprise at least 20 hours per week; for studies, a minimum of 20 ECTS per semester or 16 hours per week or ECTS applies if childcare is not available.
- To be eligible for part-time continuing education assistance, the program must have a minimum duration of four months and comprise at least 10 hours per week; for studies, a minimum of 10 ECTS per semester or 8 hours per week or ECTS applies if childcare is not available.
- For modular training courses, a module must last at least two months (further training allowance) or four months (part-time further training allowance); the training objective must be specified in the training plan.
- Proof of participation
- Progress in training must be demonstrated after completion of each module or at least every six months, as well as at the end of the funding period.
- Proof shall be provided in the form of certificates confirming successful completion of training; if such certificates are not available, confirmation of at least 75 percent attendance during the training must be submitted.
- In the case of studies, proof of ECTS credits earned per semester or within six months is sufficient.
Competent authority
The Arbeitsmarktservice (AMS)German text office covering the employee's main residence.
Additional information
Agreements on educational part-time employment will generally be considered invalid for the duration of the four-year framework period for educational leave. Likewise, agreements on educational leave are invalid during the framework period for educational part-time employment. However, if a period of educational leave has been agreed, and if that agreed period of leave does not take up the entire allowance available, employees can switch from educational leave to educational part-time employment. This switch can be made only once. As soon as such an agreement is made, no further educational leave may be agreed for the current framework period. The same applies to switching between educational part-time employment and educational leave. By law, a conversion ratio of one to two applies when calculating allowances when an employee switches between educational leave and educational part-time employment.
