Employee's claim challenging a dismissal at the Labour and Social Court (Austria)
Austria · in German · for employees
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The claim with which an employee in Austria challenges the employer's notice of dismissal at the Labour and Social Court (Arbeits- und Sozialgericht) — as socially unjustified or for a forbidden motive (§ 105(3) of the Labour Constitution Act, ArbVG), in workplaces with at least five permanent employees. The deadline is short: two weeks from receipt of the notice where there is no works council (§ 107 ArbVG) or the works council did not object; if it objected, first ask it to challenge (§ 105(4) ArbVG). The Arbeiterkammer advises and represents its members free of charge. You can file it yourself at first instance. In German, to print, sign and file in two copies.
- Made for use in Austria
- Last updated October 27, 2026
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- Your employer in Austria has dismissed you and you think the dismissal is unfair.
- You were given notice shortly after asking for unpaid wages or overtime.
- After many years with the company you will struggle to find a new job at your age and want to fight the dismissal.
- You want to challenge your dismissal at the labour and social court while the short deadline is still running.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Court: the Labour and Social Court in Vienna, elsewhere the regional court sitting as labour and social court
- Court's postal address
- Employee
- Date of birth
- Employee's address
- Employer
- Employer's postal address (department if any, street, postcode and town)
- Date your employment began
- Job title
- Date of the notice
- Date the notice of dismissal reached you
- Date of termination
- Works council: none set up, no statement, consent, or objection but no challenge by it
- Date you asked the works council to challenge (only after its objection)
- Ground: social unfairness, a forbidden motive or both (after works council consent, only the motive)
- The facts in your own words (for social unfairness, your age, length of service, dependants and job prospects; for a forbidden motive, the real reason for the dismissal)
- Evidence
- City
- Date
Common questions
- By when must a claim challenging a dismissal reach the court in Austria?
- Where there is no works council, or it did not object to the planned dismissal, within two weeks of receiving the notice (§ 107 and § 105(4) ArbVG). If the works council expressly objected, ask it at once to challenge the dismissal; it has one week from being told of the dismissal to do so. If it does not, you may sue yourself within two weeks after that week ends. The deadlines cannot be extended: file the claim so that it is sure to reach the court in time.
- On what grounds can a dismissal be challenged in Austria, and who can challenge it?
- For a forbidden motive — for example because you asserted claims from the employment that the employer disputes and that are not plainly unfounded, because of union membership or because you stood for the works council (§ 105(3) no. 1 ArbVG). Or as socially unjustified: the dismissal harms your essential interests, for instance because you will struggle to find an equivalent job, and the employer cannot justify it by reasons in your person or by business needs (no. 2). That ground requires six months' employment and is ruled out if the works council consented. The challenge applies in workplaces with at least five permanent employees.
- Can I file the challenge in Austria myself, and what costs am I exposed to?
- Yes. At first instance there is no obligation to be represented before the Labour and Social Court. File the signed claim in two copies by post, at the court's registry or through JustizOnline with ID Austria — not by e-mail. In challenge proceedings each side bears its own costs at first and second instance; costs are awarded only before the Supreme Court (§ 58(1) ASGG). The Arbeiterkammer (Chamber of Labour) advises and represents its members free of charge, and the trade union federation ÖGB its members. Also register with the AMS (public employment service) in good time.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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