Grants to Employers for Continued Payment of Wages during Major Damage / Mountain Rescue Operations - SBG

In the state of Salzburg, a flat-rate subsidy of €200 per day supports companies whose employees are released from regular work duties due to a major damage event or mountain rescue operation. The aim of this measure is to compensate for continued payment of wages for personnel who are members of a recognized disaster relief or mountain rescue organization and have been continuously deployed for at least eight hours. Eligible for funding are all companies whose employment relationships are subject to Austrian labor law (Employees Act, General Civil Code, Agricultural Labor Act) and that are not majority publicly owned. Applications can be submitted continuously until the end of the quarter following the deployment to the Office of the Salzburg State Government.

For the application, the form “Compensation for Release from Work for Companies” and a confirmation from the deployment organization regarding membership and duration of deployment must be submitted. Payment is made after positive verification and availability of funds to the specified company account. Random checks by the responsible department ensure the proper use of the grant; in case of incorrect information, a reclaim will be initiated. This funding initiative is based on the Salzburg state guideline for compensation of continued wage payments according to the Disaster Fund Act and has been in effect without a time limit since September 1, 2019. Companies of all sizes benefit from this unlimited budgeting and thereby strengthen their willingness to release employees for life-saving operations.