With effect from 1 May 2025, a new provision in the collective agreement for the hotel and catering industry will come into force regarding the recognition of previous service periods and industry experience. This regulation affects both new and existing employment relationships and entails significant changes in categorisation and salary assessment, particularly for HR managers.
Here you will find our document with detailed information for download.
Crediting of previous service periods from employment group 3
For employees in wage/employment group 3 and above, the following differentiated regulation will apply in future:
- Relevant previous periods of employment with the same employer must be recognised in full.
- Relevant periods with other employers within the industry - regardless of whether acquired in Austria or abroad - are to be taken into account for a maximum of three years. Crediting only takes place insofar as the current employer does not already have three creditable years.
Important for existing employment relationships
The new crediting obligation also applies to employment relationships that existed before 1 May 2025. Employers are obliged to ask their employees in writing to disclose previous periods of service and to draw their attention to the deadlines that threaten to expire. The deadline for employees to report previous periods of service ends on 30 September 2025. If no notification is made within this period, the entitlement to crediting expires retroactively.
Industry experience for unskilled labour (group 5)
For so-called auxiliary staff, who are usually categorised in employment group 5, the new regulation provides for a separate regulation on industry experience:
- In future, employees with at least ten years' experience in the hotel and catering industry will be upgraded to employment group 4.
- Within Group 4, however, years of service are only taken into account if the industry experience was acquired in the same company.
Need for action for employers
The new collective agreement regulation requires a proactive approach to employees' professional careers. Companies in the hotel and catering industry are required to, in particular:
- establish internal processes for recording and documenting prior service periods,
- to inform all existing employees in good time and in writing,
- and to evaluate the effects on classification, remuneration and payroll accounting in good time.
The implementation should therefore already be taken into account in personnel and payroll planning. Our payroll experts will contact the affected companies in good time. Please feel free to contact us with any specific questions you may have.
Download: Document on previous periods of service
Status: 05/05/2025
Source: Kraft & Kronberger specialised publications
Photo: Adrien Olichon
