Why freezing the threshold for marginal employment can unexpectedly pose a challenge.
The marginal employment threshold (“Geringfügigkeitsgrenze”) in Austria has been frozen. It will remain unchanged at € 551.10 for 2027 as well. What sounds like a straightforward rule at first glance can be a pitfall in practice.
If marginal employees earn exactly at or just below the statutory threshold and a collective agreement applies to the sector in question, a pay rise under that collective agreement may result in their remuneration exceeding the part-time threshold.
A particular challenge arises from the fact that collective agreements are increasingly not finalised at the start of the year. If pay rises are agreed with retroactive effect, this may mean that employment can no longer be classified as marginal with retroactive effect.
Normally, one could ensure that the marginal employment threshold continues to be met by reducing working hours accordingly. However, in the case of a backdated pay rise, it is no longer possible to apply this adjustment retrospectively.
What does this mean for employers?
You should therefore check at an early stage, particularly in the case of employees on marginal employment whose pay is close to the marginal employment threshold:
- What increases under collective agreements can be expected for the employees in question?
- Are the agreed rates of pay close to the threshold?
- Is there a need to take action regarding the future organisation of working hours?
Timely analysis helps to avoid subsequent corrections and surprises in payroll processing.
Our payroll team will be happy to assist you in reviewing your marginal employment arrangements in good time and correctly assessing the potential implications of collective agreements. So that ‘marginal’ remains marginal.