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Employing an au pair in Austria

Hausgehilfen- und Hausangestelltengesetz (Domestic Workers and Domestic Employees Act)

Last reviewed

This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Employment law changes, varies by region and depends on your exact arrangement. Figures below are researched from official sources but go out of date — always confirm the current position with the official body linked on this page, or with a qualified labour adviser, before you rely on it.

Austria is the clearest case in German-speaking Europe, and it is the opposite of Germany: an au pair in Austria is an employee, covered by the Hausgehilfen- und Hausangestelltengesetz, with the leave, sick-pay and social-insurance entitlements that follow from that. Two numbers do most of the work. The lawful working week is 16.5 hours including time spent on call — roughly half the 30 hours Germany and the Netherlands allow, and by some distance the lowest cap in any country we cover. The minimum is €551.10 a month, paid over fifteen instalments a year rather than twelve. An arrangement that looks like an ordinary 30-hour au pair week is at nearly double the lawful hours in Austria.

Pay floor

€551.10 per month (16.5 hours a week)

For employment relationships beginning on or after 1 January 2026, covering a 16.5-hour week including on-call time, and paid over 15 instalments a year. ⚠️ The figure is the Geringfügigkeitsgrenze and is re-indexed every 1 January, so it goes out of date annually without any change to au pair law. Verified against USP.gv.at, the Austrian government business portal, on 6 September 2026.

What to get right

1

Your au pair is an employee — start there

Austrian law does not carve au pairs out. The Hausgehilfen- und Hausangestelltengesetz applies, which means a contract, registered social insurance, paid leave and continued pay during illness are legal entitlements rather than courtesies. If you have employed an au pair in Germany, do not carry those assumptions across the border — the German cultural-exchange route has no Austrian equivalent.

2

16.5 hours a week, and on-call counts

The weekly working time the minimum is set against is 16.5 hours including time spent on call. Being present and available in case a child needs something is working time here, not downtime. This is the single most checkable figure in the arrangement, and an hours record is what demonstrates it either way.

3

Minimum pay: €551.10 a month

The minimum monthly remuneration is €551.10 for employment relationships beginning on or after 1 January 2026. It is not a rate set for au pairs as such — it is the Geringfügigkeitsgrenze, the marginal earnings threshold, which is re-indexed every 1 January. Expect it to move each January whether or not anything in au pair law changes.

4

Fifteen payments a year, not twelve

Austrian pay runs to 15 monthly payments across a year: twelve monthly, plus two months of holiday pay and one month of Christmas pay (Urlaubs- und Weihnachtsgeld). Multiplying the monthly minimum by twelve understates the annual entitlement by a quarter. Below 18 hours a week the special payments are pro-rated.

5

Register for social insurance

The host family must register the au pair under the ASVG before they start. Statutory accident insurance through the Österreichische Gesundheitskasse (ÖGK) is mandatory.

6

Tell the AMS two weeks ahead (third-country nationals)

For a third-country national, the Public Employment Service (AMS) must be notified not later than two weeks before they begin work, and the confirmation must be in hand before they start. This is a deadline, not a formality — leave time for it. The residence route is Sonderfälle unselbständiger Erwerbstätigkeit.

7

Age limits

The au pair must be between 18 and 28.

8

Written contract

Put the hours, duties, pay and the room-and-board arrangement in writing before they start — the hours figure in particular, given the 16.5-hour cap and that on-call time counts towards it.

Official sources

Check these for the current position — they are the authority, this page is not.

An editable contract template for Austria

NannyTank includes a downloadable employment contract template that references Hausgehilfen- und Hausangestelltengesetz (Domestic Workers and Domestic Employees Act) — you fill in the agreed pay and hours. Available in the app, along with hours, overtime and claim tracking.

Start your free trial →

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NannyTank is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. This page is a starting point to help you know what to look into; it may be incomplete or out of date, and it does not account for your specific circumstances. Confirm anything you rely on with the official bodies above or a qualified adviser.