EMPLOYMENT LAW

The employee must have worked for the same employer for at least one year, and the contract must have ended for a reason listed in the law. These include termination by the employer without just cause, termination by the employee for just cause, military service, retirement, a female employee leaving within one year of marriage, and death. As a rule, an employee who resigns is not entitled to severance pay.

It is the compensation owed by a party who terminates an indefinite-term employment contract without observing the statutory notice periods. The notice period ranges from two to eight weeks depending on the employee’s length of service.

Employees on indefinite-term contracts with at least six months’ service at a workplace employing thirty or more workers. A mediator must be approached within one month of service of the termination notice and, if no agreement is reached, the lawsuit must be filed within two weeks of the date of the final report.

Work exceeding 45 hours a week is overtime and is paid at a fifty per cent premium. It can be proven with timesheets, entry–exit records, correspondence and witness statements. The limitation period for employee receivables is five years.

The employer must notify the Social Security Institution (SGK) within three working days; keeping treatment records and accident reports is important. A claim for material and moral damages can be brought against an employer at fault. Mediation is not mandatory for workplace accident damages claims.

Mobbing is systematic and persistent behaviour aimed at wearing an employee down. In such a case the employee may terminate the contract for just cause, claim severance pay and seek moral damages. Gathering correspondence, witnesses and medical records early on is decisive for proof.