AK SERVICE TIP

Staying with the company after the apprenticeship?

AK expert Manuel Pfister knows everything there is to know about apprenticeships(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stock adobe, AK Stmk/Kanizaj)

Can apprentices actually give notice and what is meant by a period of continued employment? Manuel Pfister, expert for youth and apprenticeship training at the Styrian Chamber of Labor, has the answers to these and other questions.

The continued employment period after the apprenticeship period enables the former apprentice to gain a foothold in working life. Authorized apprentices who have completed their apprenticeship are obliged to employ the former apprentice for a further three months in the learned profession. This period can be extended by the collective agreement.

If an apprentice has only completed half of the prescribed apprenticeship period with the last authorized apprentice, the duration of the continued employment period is reduced to half of the regular period.

When the period of continued employment begins depends on the end of the apprenticeship contract and the final apprenticeship examination.

The period of continued employment can be concluded through a permanent or fixed-term employment contract.

Waiving the continued employment period

In the case of a fixed-term employment relationship, this cannot be terminated prematurely unilaterally. In the case of an open-ended employment relationship, the apprentice can waive the continued employment period before the start date or terminate the employment relationship during the continued employment period in compliance with the notice periods or terminate the employment relationship by mutual agreement with the authorized apprentice.