Unemployment Insurance Act (Austria)

Unemployment Insurance Act

Under amended s.10(1) of the Unemployment Insurance Act, an unemployed person who refuses employment or training is deprived of unemployment benefits for at least four weeks after the refusal (or six or eight weeks in the case of a second and third refusal during a one-year period).

The amendments also revise the prerequisites for initial entitlement to benefits (s.14), the maximum number of weeks of benefits (s.18) and the reckoning of time spent on involuntarily reduced hours, maternity leave or training (s.21).

The amendment Act sets forth new benefit tables and amends provisions concerning benefits available under other social insurance schemes and the treatment of spouse’s earnings. New provisions specify rights of unemployed persons who have contributed to schemes in countries covered by a bilateral agreement with Austria on unemployment insurance.