The Austrian Telework Act

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the Austrian Parlament passed new home office regulations that have been in force to date. Home office was defined in Section 2h of the Austrian Employment Contract Law Amendment Act (AVRAG) as the continued provision of work by the employee in their home.

The Austrian National Council has now passed the Telework Act (TelearbG). As a new provision, the term “home office” is to be replaced by “telework”. Telework has a broader scope of application. It includes all work performed outside of a company-owned location while using IT equipment and

As with home offices, telework must be agreed in writing between the employee and the employer.

The new and broader definition of telework has also led to an adjustment of the regulation on statutory accident insurance. Until now, an employee in home office was only protected against occupational accidents. Now, a distinction is to be made between telework in a narrower sense and telework in a broader sense:

• Telework in the narrower sense:

Next to the employee’s working hours in his own home and at a secondary residence, it also includes work in the home of a close relative or in a co-working space. In these cases, it is also a requirement that these places are close to the employee’s home or at least not much further away than the “regular workplace” in the company. Accident insurance covers the working hours as well as commuting.

• Telework in the broader sense:

This category includes places not covered by telework in the narrower sense, such as coffee houses, parks, holiday apartments or distant family visits. Since in these cases personal economic interests are pursued, only the actual working hours are insured. Commuting Accidents are not covered by accident insurance.

The Telework Act came into force on January 1^st , 2025. Existing home office agreements and company agreements remain valid in the same extent as before.