🏖️ Can my employer decide when I take my holiday?

Yes

Quick answer

Yes — «the employer determines the timing of the holiday». That is the wording of § 1173a Art. 32 para. 2 ABGB. He need only take your wishes into account so far as they are compatible with the interests of the business. What you have a right to is the duration, not the dates: at least 4 weeks per year of service, and at least 5 weeks up to the completed age of 20 (Art. 30 para. 1). The second widespread error: «whatever I don't take, I get paid out». While the employment relationship runs, paying holiday out in money is prohibited (Art. 33 para. 2) — saving it up for a cash settlement is not a lawful arrangement.

📋 The rules

At least 4 weeks of holiday per year of service; for employees up to the completed age of 20, at least 5 weeks (§ 1173a Art. 30 para. 1 ABGB).
The employer determines the timing (Art. 32 para. 2). Holiday is as a rule to be granted as a continuous block and within the current year of service, at the latest in the following one; for young employees at least two weeks must be continuous (Art. 32 para. 1).
Reduction (Art. 31): if you are prevented from working for more than one month in total in a year of service, the employer may cut the holiday by one twelfth for each full month of absence. Up to one month of absence through no fault of your own: no reduction at all.
During the employment relationship, holiday may not be compensated in money (Art. 33 para. 2). During the holiday, the full pay attributable to it is owed (Art. 33 para. 1).
Departures from Art. 30, 31 and 32 para. 1 are possible only through a standard or collective agreement, and only if the arrangement is at least equivalent for employees as a whole (Art. 34).

🔓 Exceptions

Pregnancy and childbirth: if an employee is prevented from working for up to five months for these reasons, her holiday may not be reduced at all (Art. 31 para. 3).
Collective agreements often give more: the retail agreement grants 5 weeks (25 days) from the month of the 50th birthday, with a 10.64 % supplement on hourly pay instead of 8.33 %. The agricultural standard contract gives 5 weeks to under-20s, to over-50s and from the 10th year of service.
Working during your holiday: holiday pay can be refused or reclaimed if you work for a third party for payment during the holiday and thereby harm the employer's legitimate interests (Art. 33 para. 3).

⚠️ Penalties & fines

There is no fine here — if the employer refuses holiday or holiday pay, that is a civil claim, to be enforced before the Landgericht. The harm nobody sees coming lies in the deadlines: claims from the employment relationship lapse after five years (Art. 69 para. 2). Mandatory entitlements cannot validly be waived during the employment relationship or for one month afterwards (Art. 69 para. 1): a waiver signed on leaving is void within that month — but effective after it. Sign too readily on your way out and you give away holiday pay.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

How many weeks of holiday do I get?

At least four per year of service, and at least five up to the completed age of 20 (§ 1173a Art. 30 para. 1 ABGB). A collective agreement can give more — retail, for example, grants five weeks from the 50th birthday.

Can my employer simply fix the dates?

Yes, he determines the timing (Art. 32 para. 2). He must consider your wishes only so far as this is compatible with the interests of the business — your entitlement is to the duration, not the dates.

Can I have my holiday paid out instead?

Not while the employment relationship runs: compensating holiday in money is prohibited (Art. 33 para. 2). An agreement to save holiday up and cash it out is not lawful.

Is my holiday cut if I am ill for a long time?

Only beyond one month of absence per year of service, and then by one twelfth for each full month (Art. 31). Up to one month of absence through no fault of your own, nothing is deducted.

Can I work somewhere else during my holiday?

Expect it to cost you the holiday pay. If you work for a third party for payment and thereby harm the employer's legitimate interests, he may refuse the holiday pay or reclaim it.

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