Parental leave

Mothers/fathers who are employees have an entitlement to parental leave up to the child's second birthday, provided they live in the same household as the child and both parents take parental leave..

the minimum period of leave is two months. if only one parent takes leave, this can only be taken until the end of the child's 22nd month of life, with some exceptions. As a rule, it is not permitted for both parents to claim parental leave at the same time. If only one parent takes parental leave, it can - apart from exceptions - only be taken until the end of the child's 22nd month of life. The duration of the entitlement to parental leave does not need to match the duration of the entitlement to childcare allowance (→ oesterreich.gv.at). In case of parental leave,  protection against dismissal and redundancy must be taken into account.

Furthermore, mothers/fathers have the option of reducing their working hours ("parental part-time work"). This is possible irrespective of whether parental leave has been claimed previously. However, it is not permissible for one parent to take parental leave and the other to take parental part-time leave for the same child at the same time. However, it is possible for both parents to be on part-time parental leave for the same child at the same time.

Companies with more than 20 employees are affected by the entitlement to part-time employment. Mothers and fathers whose employment relationship has lasted for an uninterrupted period of three years are entitled to part-time employment for seven years until the child's eighth birthday, minus the period of maternity leave after the birth and the parental leave of both parents and, if applicable, plus the period between the child's seventh birthday and the date on which the child starts school. If the entitlement to part-time parental leave no longer exists for the eighth year of the child's life, part-time parental leave can be agreed for this period. The framework conditions for part-time employment (the start and duration of part-time employment as well as the extent and location of working hours) must be agreed between the parents and the employer. If there is no general entitlement to part-time parental leave, part-time parental leave can be agreed until the child's eighth birthday.

Further links

• Parental leave (→ oesterreich.gv.at)^{German Text only}
• Part time (→ oesterreich.gv.at)^{German Text only}
• Father month – time off for fathers to celebrate the birth of a child (→ oesterreich.gv.at)^{German Text only}
• Short video about "My right to parental part-time work" (→ YouTube)
• Leave (annual leave, parental leave etc.) (→ EURES)
• Parental leave and part time (→ BMAW)^{German Text only}
• Pregnancy, parental leave, part-time parental leave and family allowance (→ Wirtschaftskammer Wien)
• Parental leave: information for companies (→ Wirtschaftskammer Wien)^{German Text only}
• Parental leave (→ AK)^{German Text only}
• Leaving during parental leave (→ AK)^{German Text only}
• Brochure "Parental leave, part-time parental leave, family time & co" (→ Sozialministerium)^{German Text only}

Legal basis

• Mutterschutzgesetz (MSchG)
• Väter-Karenzgesetz (VKG)
• Angestelltengesetz (AngG)
• Arbeiter-Abfertigungsgesetz (ArbAbfG)
• Betriebliches Mitarbeiter- und Selbständigenvorsorgegesetz (BMSVG)
• Arbeitszeitgesetz (AZG)