What belongs on site? What applies to postings? Who checks what? Explained briefly – with the legal basis for each topic. A date is only shown where a rule applies from a specific day.
Which documents belong on site?
Which documents a person needs depends on where they are employed and insured. This is how WORK-ID is set up:
Employed in Austria
Photo ID (passport or national ID card)
ÖGK registration before starting work
Optional: safety briefing, statement of employment terms, working-time record, other ID cards
Posted from another EU country
Photo ID, A1 certificate and posting notification (ZKO 3) – ZKO 4 for leased workers
Employment contract or statement of terms, posting contract, wage classification documents
Every month: working-time record, payroll record, payslip and proof of wage payment
Payroll records in German or English
Non-EU citizens posted by an EU company
All of the above, plus the EU posting confirmation issued by the AMS
From a non-EU country, employed in Austria
Photo ID, residence permit with work authorisation, ÖGK registration
Foreign companies: company register extract, service notification, liability insurance
In WORK-ID the list follows automatically from nationality and company. The traffic light shows what is missing or expiring – monthly records with “For which month?”.
Legal basis: §§ 21, 22 Wage and Social Dumping Act (LSD-BG)
Making payroll records available electronically
Payroll records of posted and leased workers do not have to sit on paper in the site hut. The law allows two ways:
Keep them at the place of work – in German or English, for as long as the person works in Austria.
Make them accessible electronically – directly on site and at the time of the inspection.
With the second way, the moment of the inspection is what counts: the records must be available on site straight away – not after a call to the office or by email the next day.
In WORK-ID each person's monthly records are ready. During an inspection, the contact person shows a fresh inspector QR code and the inspector opens the site's complete folder on their own device – in German or English. The site notice names the contact person.
Legal basis: Section 22(1) Wage and Social Dumping Act (LSD-BG)
Reporting deadlines for postings at a glance
What
When
Basis
Posting notification (ZKO 3, ZKO 4 for leased workers)
before work starts
s. 19(1) LSD-BG
Change notification, e.g. different period, later start, end
without delay
s. 19(4) LSD-BG
Monthly report for construction workers with start, end and changes – posted workers included
between the 1st and 15th of the following month
s. 22(2), s. 33g(2) BUAG
End of employment
without delay
s. 22(2b) BUAG
Long posting – additional Austrian terms of employment
after 12 months, with a justified notification after 18 months · applies since 1 September 2021
s. 2(3) and (4) LSD-BG
Payroll records such as working-time records, payslips and proof of payment have no reporting deadline of their own – they must exist for every month while the person works in Austria.
In WORK-ID these dates land automatically in the deadline calendar – from your people's posting details, exits and documents. Tick off what's done and add the rest to Outlook, Google or your phone as a calendar file.
Legal basis: Wage and Social Dumping Act (LSD-BG), Construction Workers' Holiday and Severance Pay Act (BUAG)
What counts during an inspection
Inspections on Austrian construction sites usually come unannounced – for example by the financial police or ÖGK. They mainly check whether everyone is registered, whether posted workers were properly notified and whether pay complies with the law and collective agreements.
Who is here? Everyone on site must be able to identify themselves.
Is the paperwork there? Registration, A1, posting notification and payroll records must be produced immediately.
Is the site registered? Depending on the company and size, sites must be reported before construction starts.
If something is missing, heavy administrative fines can follow – for each person affected.
In WORK-ID you see before the inspection who is assigned to the site and whose documents are outstanding, tick off the site registration – and then show a fresh inspector QR code.
Legal basis: LSD-BG, ASVG
Liability as a client and for leased workers
Client liability: anyone who passes construction work on to another company is liable for that company's social security contributions up to 20% of the contract price paid. The liability does not apply if the contractor is on the HFU list at the time of payment – or if 20% of the contract price is transferred directly to the Service Centre. There is also a tax-related client liability.
Leased workers: companies using workers from a labour leasing agency share responsibility – for example for occupational safety – and may in some cases be liable for the leased workers' pay. Cross-border leasing is notified with ZKO 4.
In WORK-ID the HFU list, tax clearance certificate and liability insurance are standard documents for every Austrian subcontractor. Mark companies as labour leasing agencies – their people then appear as leased, with ZKO 4 in the checklist and deadline calendar.
These pages explain the rules in simplified form and do not replace legal or tax advice. The laws in force and the information from the competent authorities are what counts.
Knowing the rules is good. Following them automatically is better.
WORK-ID knows which papers who needs, and shows in good time what is missing.