Assistance for the Solidarity Premium Model
Austria-wide subsidy for wage costs for companies that reduce employees' regular working hours by up to 50% and hire replacement workers. Funding is available until the annual budget is exhausted.
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Grant criteria
Funding objective
Support for companies that enable their employees to reduce their regular working hours and hire replacement workers – with the aim of increasing labor market participation and reducing unemployment.
Eligible expenses
- Wage costs
- Social security contributions
Non-eligible expenses
- Overtime and additional working hours
- Allowances, commissions, and bonuses
- Allowances that are not paid regularly
Eligible to apply
- Companies
- Public Institutions
Funding requirements
- Workforce reduces regular working hours by a maximum of 50%.
- Reduction of regular working hours and new gross salary contractually agreed.
- Hiring of a replacement worker who previously received unemployment benefits or emergency assistance, or who is taken on from an inter-company apprenticeship.
- Replacement worker has not been employed by the company in the last 2 years.
- Company pays social security contributions based on the contribution basis before the reduction.
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Documents required for application
- Application for assistance with the solidarity premium model
- Personal appendix to the application
- Contractual agreement on reduction of normal working hours
- Collective agreement or works agreement
- Payroll account (proof of remuneration)
- Confirmation from the regional health insurance fund (reimbursement amounts)
Evaluation criteria
- Order of application receipt
- Availability of budget
Description
Subsidy for the Solidarity Premium Model: This nationwide Austrian grant program supports companies and public institutions in enabling their employees to reduce their regular working hours by up to 50% while simultaneously hiring replacement workers. The Solidarity Premium Model aims to increase labor market participation and reduce unemployment. It funds 100% of the wage costs as well as the associated social security contributions for a duration of up to 24 months, provided the annual budget has not been exhausted. Eligible expenses include exclusively gross wages and social security contributions; overtime, per diems, commissions, and irregular allowances are excluded. Approval is granted based on the order of application receipt and the availability of funds.
Interested companies from all sectors may hire replacement workers who were previously registered as unemployed or directly taken on from inter-company apprenticeship training and who have not been employed by the subsidized company in the past two years. A contractual agreement on the reduction of regular working hours including the new gross salary as well as the application must be submitted before the start of the replacement employment. Required documents include, among others, the subsidy request, the personal data sheet, the agreement on working time reduction, the collective agreement or company agreement, payroll account evidence, and the reimbursement confirmation from the regional health insurance fund. The decision is made based on fully submitted applications and budget availability. Further details and application forms are available from the Public Employment Service.