Lower Austria's annual balance sheet 2024

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(Bild: P. Huber)

Dismissals during sick leave, unpaid overtime and unpaid wages after company insolvencies - these were the "hot topics" that the experts at the Lower Austrian Chamber of Labor had to deal with last year: 163,000 employees sought advice and help in 2024, and almost 100 million euros were fought for.

Markus Wieser can't really be happy. And this despite the fact that the President of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Labor can present a true record balance sheet for 2024. More than 163,000 employees sought advice from the experts last year - more than ever before. The amount of money won is also unprecedented: the social partners won 99.8 million euros, some of it in court. "We have to intervene in every eighth case after personal consultations," says Wieser. In just over 7,000 cases, the only option was to go to the labor and social court.

Fitter dismissed after stroke
For example, a fitter from the Neunkirchen district was pressured by his boss to resign by mutual agreement after suffering a stroke. The man did not agree - and was presented with a notice of termination that was backdated by six weeks while on sick leave. The chamber sued and won 17,500 euros.

Large insolvencies such as Kika/Leiner pose a major challenge for our advisory teams. This case alone involved 7,000 applications.

Markus Wieser, NÖ-Präsident der Arbeiterkammer

The sum that an employee from the Zwettl district had to fight for was similarly high. She had worked from home for a Swiss company and had accumulated 1200 hours of overtime. However, because she had asserted her claims in good time and in writing, she was paid out everything in the end. "After four months, claims for overtime and vacation payouts expire in retail and gastronomy, for example," warns Wieser.

Going to the AK also brought an apprentice (16) from the Mostviertel region a whole month's pay - he no longer wanted to just peel potatoes and quit. The boss owed him his wages.