An employer of record in Austria employs your hire through an Austrian entity, registers them with social insurance, and runs one of Europe's more layered payroll stacks: comprehensive social contributions split between employer and employee, several employer-only levies that sit outside the headline rate, and the 13th and 14th salary payments that Austrian collective agreements typically provide. Austria is also a country where collective agreements reach most of the workforce, so a compliant employment contract is drafted against the applicable agreement, not just the statute. For a company without an Austrian entity, the EOR carries all of this; the figures below, from PwC's current summary, are what to expect on the invoice.
The social insurance stack
Austrian social security combines sickness, unemployment, pension, accident and smaller components into one contribution collected through payroll. PwC's summary puts the combined burden at 39.05% of gross salary, split 20.98% employer and 18.07% employee: pension is the largest piece at a combined 22.8% (12.55% employer, 10.25% employee), sickness insurance runs at a combined 7.65%, unemployment at 5.9% shared equally, and accident insurance at 1.1% is employer-only. Contributions apply up to a maximum assessment basis, which PwC puts at EUR 6,930 per month for current payments, so the employer percentage stops growing above the ceiling. These rates are set nationally and are not negotiable per hire, which makes them the easiest line to verify on any EOR quote.
The employer-only levies outside the headline rate
Austria layers several further employer costs on top of the social insurance split, and this is where quotes most often diverge. The family burdens equalisation levy adds 3.7% of payroll, municipal payroll tax adds 3% of monthly gross salaries, the chamber of commerce contribution runs between 0.31% and 0.40% depending on province, and the mandatory staff provision fund, Austria's portable severance system, takes 1.53% of monthly gross salary, paid by the employer into a fund the employee keeps across jobs. Vienna adds a small public transport levy per employee per week. None of these appears on the employee's side of the payslip, and an EOR quote that shows only the 20.98% employer social insurance share is missing several points of real cost.
The 13th and 14th salaries, and the collective agreement layer
Austrian pay is customarily structured as fourteen payments: twelve monthly salaries plus a holiday payment and a Christmas payment, provided for by the collective agreements that cover most Austrian employment relationships. A quoted annual salary must therefore be explicit about whether it is a twelve-payment or fourteen-payment figure, because the difference is a double-digit share of cost, and cross-border offers regularly go wrong exactly here. The collective agreement also sets minimum pay scales by role and seniority, working time rules and overtime premiums, so the right agreement has to be identified before the contract is drafted. A capable Austrian EOR will name the applicable agreement for your hire's role unprompted; one that cannot is drafting against the wrong baseline.
What to check on an Austrian EOR quote
Ask for the invoice modelled line by line for your hire's actual salary: employer social insurance at 20.98% up to the ceiling, the family levy, municipal tax, chamber contribution and staff provision fund each itemized, and the 13th and 14th payments spread across the year rather than surfacing as surprise invoices in June and November. Confirm which collective agreement applies and that the salary meets its minimum scale. Since every number above is published, the itemization is a transparency test rather than a negotiation. Austrian employer obligations are administered through the state's business service portal, and rates are adjusted annually; the applicable collective agreement and contract control, and nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Questions people ask about employer of record austria
How much does an employer pay on top of gross salary in Austria?
Employer social insurance is 20.98% of gross salary up to the monthly ceiling, and the employer-only levies, family burdens levy at 3.7%, municipal tax at 3%, chamber contribution around 0.31% to 0.40% and staff provision fund at 1.53%, come on top, before the 13th and 14th salary payments are counted.
Are the 13th and 14th salaries legally required?
They come from collective agreements rather than a single statute, but those agreements cover most Austrian employment, so in practice a compliant offer includes them. Always confirm whether a quoted salary is a twelve-payment or fourteen-payment figure.
What is the contribution ceiling?
PwC's current summary puts the maximum assessment basis at EUR 6,930 per month for current payments; social insurance contributions are calculated only up to that base, so costs flatten above it.
What is the staff provision fund?
Austria's portable severance system: the employer pays 1.53% of monthly gross salary into a fund held for the employee, who keeps the accumulated balance across job changes. It replaces old-style severance for employment relationships under the current system.