Remuneration

Minimum wage and labour rights of agricultural workers (sezonieri video #1) from Sezonieri Kampagne on Vimeo.

Here you find all information about wages, bonuses, overtime, housing and meals, as well as pay accounting and working time records.

To see the minimum wage of your region, please click on the region in which you are working. This is the minimum gross salary you are entitled to. In most cases you are entitled to higher wages, if you, for example, are doing special work.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Vorarlberg Tyrol / Tirol Salzburg Carinthia / Kärnten Styria / Steiermark Upper Austria / Oberösterreich Burgenland Lower Austria / Niederösterreich Vienna / Wien

WAGES/REMUNERATION

As “ Erntehelfer” / harvest worker in Austria you are entitled to a minimum wage. This varies depending on the Austrian province you are working. Your origin from another country is irrelevant to the level of minimum wage you have to get.

The minimum wages listed on this website are gross wages. What does that mean? From the gross wage statutory charges (such as income tax or social security contributions) are deducted by your employer. He/she passes them on to the competent authorities (tax office, social security). What remains is the net wage, which is paid to you. That is: the gross wage minus statutory deductions is your net salary.

The wage must be paid for all your work, including all additional tasks.

SPECIAL ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS (CHRISTMAS BONUS AND HOLIDAY ALLOWANCE)

In addition to your minimum wage you are entitled to special payments, Christmas bonus and holiday allowance. Both amount to 1/6 the annual income you earn in Austria.

Christmas bonus is an additional income for you and will be paid once a year. The payment is intended to contribute to buy gifts and to allow for extra expenses for celebrating Christmas. The Christmas bonus is a yearly payment of one monthly wage. If you are employed for a shorter period than one year, you get it proportionately.

Holiday pay is also an extra payment. It should help you to afford yourself a relaxing holiday. It is paid either at a particular date (regardless of the time of your holiday consumption) or at start of summer, usually once a year. The holiday pay is also one monthly per year or its proportionate share.

The extra payments are often paid with the final settlement at the end of your employment.

OVERTIME

All your overtime hours have to be paid. You are also entitled to an additional payment for work on Sundays and public holidays. For each hour of overtime you get a special overtime premium that is at least 50 % higher than your gross hourly wage.

Example: Your hourly rate is 7 €: One hour of overtime is worth at least € 10.50.

For work at night time, on Sundays and rest days granted for Sunday work, you receive a 100% premium to the gross hourly wage.

Example: Your hourly rate is 7 € : One hour of overtime at night or on Sunday is worth 14 €.

For public work-free holidays you are entitled to continued pay of your regular wage. Are you working on these days, you must receive a 100 % overtime premium to gross hourly wages.

COSTS FOR ACCOMMODATION AND MEALS

For accommodation (apartment, heating and lighting) your employer may charge you per month a maximum of € 1.31 per day or € 39.24 per month.

If in addition to lodging full board is provided (this includes at least breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner), your employer may charge in total (= for accommodation and meals) a maximum of € 6.54 per day or € 196.20 per month. Charges for accommodation and meals should not exceed this sum.

KEEP YOUR PAYSLIP – RECORD YOUR WORKING TIME BY YOURSELF

Once a month you are supposed to get a written payslip. It shows the calculation and the amount of your salary. Please keep these payslips and everything that you signed in case we need them for a later verification!

It is important that you record your working time in writing (for instance in a small notebook) and any amount received for it (mainly cash amounts!) and prove it by documentation.

Sometimes employers exert pressure to make you sign false records. Sometimes less work hours are paid than you have actually worked, or you are asked to sign that you received a bigger amount of money than you have actually received.

If such false records are signed under pressure, it is unpleasant and incorrect, but remains for the moment without consequences. It is important, that in return you record down for later verification, when and how many hours you actually worked and how much money you received for it in order to subsequently document the actual working time and payment received.

FINAL SETTLEMENT

At the end of your employment, you are in any case entitled to a final settlement. Again you get a written payslip with all the your working hours, additional hours, Christmas and holiday pay et. listed. Using this you can check if the payment of your wages was correct or you can also have it checked by us for you.

At the latest at the end of the employment relationship your outstanding wage and overtime payment falls due and have to be paid by the employer.

In addition, the pro rata Christmas bonus and holiday pay will be paid to you at the latest at the end of your employment.

If you did not consume the entire holiday (or no holiday at all), you also have to be paid your outstanding holiday. The amount of this payment depends upon the length of your employment. Your average overtime and allowances are also included in this payment.

Work certificate
At the end of the employment relationship you are entitled to a certificate of service. This certificate has to confirm the duration and nature of your job. Ask for it anyway and take good care of it! It may be important for your pension many years later!