In October 2023, 120,000 Hungarians were already working in Austria, of whom 55,000 lived in Hungary and commuted daily. But as of July 1, 2022, their lives have become fundamentally more difficult. Until then, temporary coronavirus measures were in effect Systemsbased on which travelers in all EU member states can also work from home as much as they want.
At the end of the interim procedure a Main rule He came back, that is, officially at most once a week*This is the only day when EU legislation allows 25 percent remote working. It is possible to work from home if the place of work and residence is in another Member State*In addition to the European Union, Switzerland and Norway are also parties to this agreement. All of this can make life difficult for West Hungarians working in Austria, who make up the largest mobile community in the EU. There are those who know nothing about the regulation and their Austrian employer does not care about it either, but there are also those whose 3-day home office has suddenly been reduced to 1 day.
There would be a solution to their situation, but the Hungarian government is not willing to join the EU agreement.
Complex European legislation has difficulty dealing with the institution of remote working and home office. The main challenge is social security rules: this decades-old system of rules, built by numerous bilateral agreements, the EU and Member States, mainly serves to regulate the life and work of office employees or factory workers. However, at the time of its creation, the home office was not yet commonplace.
According to the general rule, everyone will be insured and taxed where they physically work. If someone works from their couch, their location and country determine their Social Security status. In addition, EU rules are also subject to OECD guidelines Framework rules It is also supplemented. These matters can become very complex when, for example, an employee moves across borders Stock option He receives or works in several countries.
In addition, personal income tax and social security rules may differ, so it is possible for tax to be paid in one country and contributions to be paid in another.
Insurance principles
European Union decree Under it, a person can only obtain health insurance in one country, that is, in his actual place of residence. If the traveler spends more than one day a week at home, he must be insured in his country of residence.
In practice, this might mean, for example, that the Austrian company would either have to register its Hungarian employee working in a home office in its Hungarian branch, or, if there was none, it would have to set up a branch office. However, the number of Hungarian workers in Austria is not small on the Austrian level:
In October 2023, 3% of all Austrian employees were Hungarian, and the proportion of Hungarian passengers was 1.4%.
Understandably, this can be expensive and complex for companies that employ passengers. In addition, he does not favor the employee either, because in a Hungarian subsidiary, he will not receive the Austrian salary and will not be subject to the Austrian collective agreement. That’s why it’s better to visit it more often.
Although only one day of housework is allowed by law, in practice, even Austrians who love regulation and inspection often turn a blind eye. However, it will still be important to regulate the issue of working from home legally, because in the case of sick pay or unemployment, the employee can easily end up between the two systems, as well as those who do not care about their social security. The case can face inconveniences when you retire.
However, there will also be a legal or simpler solution: on July 1, 2023, an agreement between the EU member states entered into force. Framework agreementAccordingly, the number of working days at home can reach 50 percent for travelers as well. With Austria, all other neighboring countries signed this, except Hungary.
Hungarian regulations are not visible
We have asked the Ministry of Interior responsible for the issue for months to find out why They don’t call To the Framework Convention, where a decision is expected to be taken on this matter, but they did not respond to our request. We did not find any information about this topic on government websites. For those affected, all details are available on the Austrian Social Security website will find you.
It seems that the Hungarian state administration was not informed of the need to respond to the changing legislative situation of the European Union.
All of this is also interesting because Hungary already has one of the lowest rates of working from home in Europe, trailing only Bulgaria and Romania. There are two main reasons for this: In Hungary, the proportion of factory assembly work is very high, which by definition cannot be done from home. On the other hand, not in the Hungarian public administration Really available Internal office, while in developed countries state administration is also at the forefront of its use.
From this point of view, it is understandable that the Hungarian government is not interested in improving the living conditions of Hungarian citizens moving across the border, because it does not support this for its employees either.
Meanwhile, in the end, the Hungarian government creates losses for itself, because if hundreds of thousands of Hungarians working abroad could work legally for a longer period of time, the tax revenues would be higher through their consumption. From this point of view alone, its inability or unwillingness to join the international agreement is incomprehensible.
19 European countries for the relevant framework agreement join So far, only Romania and Bulgaria, with the exception of Hungary, are from Central Europe, and in the latter mobility affects much fewer people. The agreement is not limited only to the European Union level, but Switzerland is also a member of it. This is also important because, with the exception of Austria, most Hungarians work in Germany and Switzerland, and even they cannot officially work from home when visiting their homeland. (The UK does not even plan to join the agreement.)
The possibility of a home office will also be important for Hungarian mobility due to increasingly difficult border traffic into Austria. Somfalva (Schattendorf) in Burgenland closed the border with Agfalfa in Hungary and then collected tolls. The border at Vertorakos – ironically the site of the European picnic – was also closed, so he is no longer there Restrictions A road that can be used without it leads to Austria in the vicinity of Sopron.
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General life, Austria, Home office, Social insurance, Telework, EU regulations Read more in this category
