Home Office & Law in Austria: What Employers and Employees Need to Know

Austria as a Home-Office Pioneer: The Home Office Act 2021

While many countries still leave the topic of home office legally vague, Austria took a clear step in April 2021: with the Home Office Act (BGBl. I Nr. 61/2021), a comprehensive statutory basis for working from home was created for the first time. Since then, the ground rules for employers and employees have been considerably clearer – even if practice shows that many companies have not yet fully implemented the new requirements.

This article summarises everything you need to know in 2025: from the obligation to conclude an agreement to cost reimbursement and the tax-deductible home-office flat rate.

The Most Important Rule: Home Office Only with a Written Agreement

In Austria, home office may not be ordered or demanded unilaterally – neither by the employer nor by the employee. Home office mandatorily requires a written agreement, which can be terminated by either party at any time with one month's notice to the last day of the calendar month – unless a longer notice period has been agreed.

This agreement should cover at least the following points:

• ✅ Extent and allocation of home-office days (fixed or flexible)
• ✅ Provision of or cost reimbursement for work equipment
• ✅ Availability hours and communication obligations
• ✅ Data protection and IT security
• ✅ Provisions for terminating the home-office agreement

Important: A works agreement under the Labour Constitution Act (ArbVG) can also regulate home office. In companies with a works council, the works council has a right of co-determination in the introduction and design of home-office arrangements.

Working Hours Act in the Home Office: Fully Applicable, Even at Home

The Austrian Working Hours Act (AZG) applies without restriction to employees working from home as well. The following key points are particularly relevant in practice:

• ✅ Normal working time: Maximum 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week.
• ✅ Overtime: Up to 10 hours per day is permissible; under flexitime arrangements, up to 12 hours under certain conditions.
• ✅ Rest period: At least 11 hours of uninterrupted rest between two working days – even if a brief reply is sent in the evening.
• ✅ Mandatory breaks: At least 30 minutes' rest break after 6 hours of working time.
• ✅ Recording obligation: Employers are required to document the start, end, and duration of daily working time – regardless of the place of work.

Cost Reimbursement: What Must the Employer Pay?

One of the most practically relevant innovations of the Home Office Act concerns cost allocation. The employer is generally obliged to provide the digital work equipment necessary for home office – i.e. a laptop, headset, mouse, keyboard, and similar items.

When Employees Use Their Own Devices

If private devices are used for work with the employer's consent, the employee is entitled to reasonable cost reimbursement. This also includes a proportionate share of internet and electricity costs. The exact amount of this reimbursement is not precisely defined by law – it is to be agreed between the parties or regulated by collective agreement.

Ergonomic Equipment

The Home Office Act also obliges the employer to ensure an ergonomically suitable working environment. In practice, this is difficult to monitor directly – it is therefore common for the employee to complete a structured self-disclosure questionnaire about their home workstation situation, supplemented by advisory services from the employer (e.g. ergonomic training or cost subsidies for a suitable office chair).

The Tax-Deductible Home-Office Flat Rate in Austria

Austria has introduced one of the most attractive tax arrangements for home office in Europe. Since 2021, employees can claim a home-office flat rate as a tax deduction:

• ✅ €3 per home-office day, for a maximum of 100 days per calendar year
• ✅ This results in a maximum tax-free flat rate of €300 per year
• ✅ Prerequisite: the employer has confirmed the home-office days on the wage slip (L16)
• ✅ In addition, ergonomic work equipment (e.g. desk, office chair) can be deducted as income-related expenses – up to €300, provided more than 26 home-office days were worked in the year

Tip for employers: Enter the home-office days correctly on the annual wage slip – without this information, your employees cannot claim the flat rate as a tax deduction. It is a simple but much-appreciated benefit.

Accident Insurance: Am I Covered in the Home Office in Austria?

Yes – in Austria too, workplace accidents in the home office have been covered by statutory accident insurance since the Home Office Act 2021, provided the accident is causally connected to professional activity. The insurance is provided through the AUVA (General Accident Insurance Institution).

Covered, for example:

• Falls at the desk or within the immediate work area
• Journeys to childcare that are connected to work
• Journeys between the home-office dwelling and the employer's premises

Not covered:

• Private activities during working hours (e.g. cooking, shopping)
• Leisure activities during the lunch break
• Accidents outside the agreed work area within the home

Data Protection and IT Security in the Home Office

The GDPR naturally also applies in the home office – and employers bear responsibility for the data-protection-compliant handling of company data, even when it is processed at home. In practice, this means:

• ✅ Clear written data protection instructions for the home office
• ✅ Mandatory VPN for access to internal systems
• ✅ No use of private, unsecured cloud services for work documents
• ✅ Screen not visible to third parties (flatmates, family members)
• ✅ Physical documents stored securely and not left lying around openly
• ✅ Update of the record of processing activities and, where applicable, a data protection impact assessment

Employee Protection: What Applies to the Home Workstation?

The Employee Protection Act (ASchG) also requires employers to carry out a risk assessment for home-office workstations. Since employers have no direct access to employees' private homes, this is usually done in practice by means of a structured self-disclosure questionnaire completed by the employee. This documents, among other things: lighting, ergonomics, noise levels, and safety at the home workstation.

Conclusion: Austria Has Clear Rules – Make Use of Them

The Austrian Home Office Act has simplified and clarified a great deal. Anyone who knows and implements the legal requirements – written agreement, cost reimbursement, time tracking, data protection – creates a foundation on which home office truly works: legally sound, transparent, and fair for both parties.

Invest a few hours now in well-structured agreements and a digital time-tracking system – and save yourself conflicts, fines, and uncertainty in the future. Your team will thank you for it.