On 20 July 2023, the Austrian National Council passed a significant increase in penalties for the violation of business and trade secrets. This was necessary due to a significant increase in secrecy violations.
Business and trade secrets are information of high commercial value. Therefore, business and trade secrets are usually protected by comprehensive confidentiality agreements.
On 1 February 2023, the Austrian National Council passed the so-called Whistleblower Protection Act (HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz). This law regulates a set of obligations for companies in relation to whistleblowing, with the setup of an internal “whistle-blowing system” a priority. This new law will come into force shortly — following a formal confirmation by the Federal Council of Austria, which is still pending. The Austrian legislator is finally implementing the requirements of the EU Whistleblower Directive, although with a delay of more than a year.
Since 3 June 2022, a draft of the Whistleblower Protection Act exists, which is supposed to implement the EU directive in Austria. The law is expected to enter into force in the third quarter of the year. After that, companies will still have room for practical implementation, but preparations should be started promptly.
Does your company not want to default on the implementation of the EU Whistleblowing Directive? Then do not wait any longer to start planning your organization’s whistleblowing regime. We have prepared a multijurisdictional analysis matrix covering five key areas with respect to whistleblowing laws in the form of a questionnaire. The questionnaire covers questions about the directive’s scope and implementation requirements for internal procedures, protection of whistleblowers and data privacy issues.
We are pleased to introduce you to ERIC, our digital Employment Risk Check.
With a few clicks, ERIC uses a traffic light system to tell you whether there is room for improvement in your company’s employment law compliance.
This virtual session will give you a comprehensive overview on the topic of “flexibility of working place and working time” as well as “protection of health and data”. Please note that this event will be in held in German only.
Against the background of the EU Posting Workers Directive and the ECJ case law, the Wage and Social Dumping Prevention Act (“Lohn- und Sozialdumping-Bekämpfungsgesetz”, “LSD-BG”) has been amended effective as of 1 September 2021. In summary, the scope of the Wage and Social Dumping Prevention Act was limited and the provisions regarding administrative penalties were mitigated. However, provisions for long-term postings are now stricter.
The world of work after COVID-19 is not the same as before. The pandemic has triggered a change in employment law and created new challenges.
Reasons for a clear and definitive YES to COVID-19 vaccinations
Mandatory vaccination is not to be expected. Nevertheless, employers and employees can greatly benefit from COVID-19 vaccinations. This is true from a health, economic and legal perspective. Companies which recognize these benefits (early on) will have a significant competitive advantage.
Mandatory vaccination is not to be expected. Nevertheless, employers and employees can greatly benefit from COVID-19 vaccinations. This is true from a health, economic and legal perspective. Companies which recognize these benefits (early on) will have a significant competitive advantage.