European Employment Law Update - 2021 Edition

In line with the European trend, teleworking has recently been on the rise in Austria. While homeworking was often considered the exception before the COVID-19-crisis, it is now clear that many companies will continue to rely on this additional option and that employees will increasingly work from home in the future. By using mobile information and communication technologies, it is frequently possible to perform work not only from home (or at the employer's premises), but anywhere in the world, be it at home, on the road in a train, or a foreign country. All these forms of mobile working, including homeworking, fall under the umbrella term "teleworking".

Until now, there was no separate legal regulation for teleworking in Austria. On the occasion of the Covid-19 pandemic, new statutory provisions were introduced in spring 2021, which regulate basic requirements and framework conditions for working from home (but not teleworking in general).