Austria Public Holidays
Discover upcoming public holiday dates for Austria and start planning to make the most of your time off.
Public holidays are regulated by the Federal Act Regulating Weekly Rest Periods and Public Holidays of 2010. This Act is very specific about national holidays and employers should familiarise themselves with this Act.
One of the most important parts of the Act is Chapter 3, Section 13a. This section prohibits any employer from requiring an employee to work on December 8. Anyone who desires to take this date off, even if their job position is one of necessity, cannot be reprimanded in any way. This section also prohibits the government from deploying troops on this day or making any other type of military move. Employees who do choose to work on this day receive additional holiday pay for their effort.
According to the Labour Laws of Austria and Chapter 2, Section 8 of this Act, employees are entitled to receive holiday pay for any national holiday that occurs on a regular working day. National holidays that occur on typical days of rest, such as Sundays, are not paid holidays.
It should be noted that Maundy Thursday (three days before Easter) and Good Friday (two days before Easter) are often celebrated as holidays. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are also not national holidays. However, most businesses close at noon on these dates and celebrations are held throughout the country.
Each province has a national holiday for their patron saint that is only celebrated within their province. These are national paid holidays; however, they are only recognised in their specific area.
There may be additional religious holidays celebrated in Austria that are not officially recognised as public or national holidays. The only exception is that the Protestant religion is guaranteed Good Friday as a national holiday.