Employment permits for non-EU citizens will be reorganized as a result of the VfGH decision
Vienna (PK) – In the future, parents should be entitled to up to four weeks off to accompany their children to a rehabilitation stay. The parliamentary groups unanimously endorsed the corresponding regulation at the end of today’s meeting National Council session. A motion by the ÖVP and the Greens, which regulates the employment permit for non-EU citizens, also found a majority. In concrete terms, the AMS should be able to issue such a permit if the employment is necessary for particularly important or for public or supra-company macroeconomic reasons. The approval of the Regional Advisory Board of the AMS, which was previously required, is no longer applicable as a result of a decision by the Constitutional Court.
Legal entitlement to time off to accompany children during rehabilitation
From November 1, 2023, employees are entitled to up to four weeks of leave per year to accompany their child during a rehabilitation stay. For the release, the employees should be entitled to care leave and special protection against dismissal. The parents can split the time off, but apart from in exceptional cases they cannot take it at the same time. This provides for an amendment to an ÖVP-Greens application that was introduced and approved in the social committee. The additionally necessary adjustments in the Agricultural Labor Act 2021 and in the Unemployment Insurance Act will be made by a committee motion.
The basis for the two applications for rehabilitation leave was a ÖVP-Greens application, with which employers’ applications for remuneration of employees in special care periods should continue to be exempt from stamp duties. Due to the general exemption from fees due to the pandemic, no fees were payable until the end of 2022. In order to treat all procedures for special care time in the same way in terms of fee law, the exemption is now to be extended retrospectively from January 1, 2023. It applies to all applications from the special care period, which runs until July 7, 2023. The federal government reimburses employers for the remuneration they have paid to their employees during special care periods.
All three motions were unanimously accepted in today’s National Council. In this context, an SPÖ demand for one was also dealt with rehabilitation leave.
The care obligations are challenging for parents of sick children, explained Rebecca Kirchbaumer (ÖVP). For this reason, the solution of the exemption found with the social partners is important. The employers would not be burdened, Kirchbaumer emphasized the solution via the care leave allowance. It has been shown that the existing exemption options for this area would not have been sufficient, explained Kira Grünberg (ÖVP). The regulation that has now been made is not only important because the presence of the parents contributes significantly to the success of the rehab, but the parents also learn to cope better with everyday life during the rehab.
Alois Stöger (SPÖ) thanked the governing parties for taking up a concern from the opposition. For parents, rehab is a border crossing between different interests and a leave of absence is therefore important. The tenacity of those affected has paid off and today’s decision is making history, Josef Muchitsch (SPÖ) was pleased to say, emphasizing the great importance of support for the children’s recovery.
The regulation is in the interests of the parents and children concerned, signaled Dagmar Belakowitsch (FPÖ) approval of the regulation. Take part of the burden from those who are already under a lot of pressure.
Markus Koza (Greens) explained that he was pleased that a “genuine” legal entitlement was achieved with “genuine” protection against dismissal and dismissal. This is very important for parents in this situation.
Employing people from abroad: The involvement of the regional advisory board is being reorganized
In exceptional cases, the AMS can also grant companies in Austria a work permit for non-EU citizens if they do not have a Red-White-Red Card or another residence permit associated with a work permit. The prerequisite for this is that, among other things, the regional advisory board of the AMS approves the employment permit. However, this provision was rescinded by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the responsible authority cannot make an independent assessment of the legal requirements, but is bound to the approval of a non-official body. With a Amendment to the Foreigners Employment Act this should now be repaired. According to this, an employment permit should also be granted without the unanimous approval of the Regional Advisory Board if the employment of the person from abroad is necessary for particularly important reasons or public or supra-company macroeconomic interests require the employment. The preservation of jobs for domestic employees and the verifiable qualification of the person concerned as a worker in a shortage occupation are explicitly mentioned as particularly important reasons. The motion was accepted by a majority.
The decision of the Constitutional Court must be reflected in the new law, stressed Rudolf Silvan (SPÖ), but criticized the lack of assessment and the failure to involve the social partners. In addition, the “very employer-friendly” application was kept very vague and levered out the regional advisory board as the representative of employers and employees in favor of the regional AMS managers.
The case law is clear and an assessment would call the decision of the Constitutional Court into question, said Tanja Graf (ÖVP). She assumes that the AMS will continue to involve the regional advisory board and coordinate with him. There is “in no way” an attack on the social partnership, explained Bettina Zopf (ÖVP). The regulation would also relieve those who currently have to do much more because there are no workers to be found. The business location is strengthened by the immigration of foreign workers.
On the other hand, Dagmar Belakowitsch (FPÖ) criticized that “door and gate” would be opened so that even more permits would be issued. The regional advisory board will be leveraged so that even more people can be brought to Austria. It is the ideology of the ÖVP to allow even more “cheap workers” onto the labor market, which leads to wage and social dumping.
It is the task of the AMS to enforce laws, explained Markus Koza (Greens). So far, however, the regional advisory board, as a “non-authority”, has been able to “overrule” and undermine AMS decisions. A constitutional solution is now being created that corresponds to the decision of the Constitutional Court.
Julia Seidl (NEOS) called for more respect for the decision of the Constitutional Court. It cannot be that the “Social Partners’ Club” has greater decision-making power than the actual authority itself. The current solution would have been important for tourism companies in particular before the summer season, so that they could get to the employees they needed faster and easier. (End of National Council) pst
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