As 2020 gets underway, this article summarises the most
important developments in Austrian employment law in recent and
upcoming months.
Entitlement to a ‘dad’s month’
In the past, one month’s parental leave (known as
‘dad’s month’) could only be agreed between
employer and employee, so the employer had to specifically agree on
this. For births taking place on or after
1 December 2019, however, fathers have a legal right to
take parental leave for one month within eight weeks following the
birth of their child. The employee must inform the employer of his
intention to take a dad’s month three months before the
predicted date of birth at the latest. After the birth, the father
must immediately notify his employer. The actual start date of the
dad’s month must be communicated not later than one week
after the birth. During the dad’s month the father receives
no payments from his employer but a ‘family time bonus’
of EUR 22,60 per day paid by the Austrian health
