Since October 2021, there has been a legal period of at least 6 weeks in Austria for the termination of workers by employers. For seasonal industries, such as tourism or the construction industry, practical shorter deadlines or more flexible regulations can be agreed in the industry collective agreement. For the hotel and catering industry, the trade associations had agreed with the vida union on a 14-day notice period in the collective agreement.
Since this agreement was subsequently disputed by the vida trade union, the hospitality trade associations appealed to the Supreme Court (OGH) in October last year for clarification. “There is no comprehensible reason why the regulation agreed between us and the union should no longer be valid,” say the representatives of the hospitality trade associations, Susanne Kraus-Winkler and Mario Pulker.
In the decision now available, the OGH confirms the essential legal arguments of the professional associations. The question of the seasonal industry is still open and needs to be clarified in the next step. “For us there is no doubt that the hotel and catering industry is a seasonal industry. If additional data is needed to clarify this question for the reports already submitted, we will of course bring it in,” the officials are confident that in one next step, a final clarification is brought about, thus creating legal certainty for companies and employees. (PWK190/ES)
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