Social security law for employers

At the end of the 1990s, Austrian legislators significantly changed the previous social security coverage of employees on the one hand and (commercial) self-employed workers on the other hand by introducing “new self-employment”. Since its founding, our law firm has repeatedly dealt intensively with the legal issues of social security law allocation and the drafting of contractual relationships in the border area between employment contract (service contract), independent service contract and work contract and has followed the development of case law and literature in this important area from the outset.

We can therefore clarify delimitation issues just as quickly and profoundly and develop practical design options. This question concerns, for example, the legal relationships of subcontractors, interns, outsourced solo self-employed workers, speakers or platform workers (crowd work, clickwork).

Complaints from authorities and social security institutions can also arise due to legal relationships that already exist — sometimes for many years — and lead to subsequent requalification. As a result of back payments of payroll tax and social security contributions as well as possible administrative penalties, this entails significant cost consequences for the company — especially when a larger number of the company's contractual partners are affected. Here, we use our expertise to assist our clients through the social security allocation procedures (carried out by social security institutions ÖGK and SVS) as well as in proceedings, often initiated in parallel by affected employees, before employment and social courts or before appellate courts up to the Supreme Court. When claims are made against employers during GPLA audits, we provide support from the very beginning and try to achieve the best possible result for our clients.

With our expertise, we also assist our clients with other issues relating to social security reporting and contribution requirements. Whether an employer has met its reporting obligations and has paid income tax and social security contributions in the correct amount can be checked in the joint audit of payroll contributions and contributions (GPLB, formerly known as GPLA or PLAB). In doing so, our qualified advice and representation can also protect against unpleasant cost consequences and contribute to a quick, successful conclusion.

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