Legal Services

We are leading in the area of employment law. Schima Mayer Starlinger unites the entire employment law team around Georg Schima and Birgit Vogt-Majarek, which emerged from Kunz Schima Wallentin, a law firm which split in October 2018. The team established the former law firms outstanding position in the field. Our employment law team is regularly ranked by Legal500, JUVE and Chambers in the highest rating group.

As an exclusive Austrian partner law firm in the worldwide and unique lawyer network IUS LABORIS www.iuslaboris.com we are very familiar with cross-border issues and regularly manage consulting projects, which take place simultaneously in many jurisdictions. Our clients therefore benefit from this membership at IUS LABORIS, the world’s largest association of employment and HR law firms, covering members across Europe, the US, South America, Russia, Asia, New Zealand and the Middle East. In Austria we are the only contact person.

With our expertise in employment law as well as social law including relevant income tax law and the large team we cover all areas of this wide-ranging and complex legal area: Our spectrum ranges from classic contract law to company agreement and collective agreement law, working time law, employee protection law, data protection law, company pension and pension fund law up to public service law and medical law. We advise national and international companies, in particular Austrian and international banks, industrial and service companies in all matters of individual and collective employment law as well as employment law with a Union reference. We provide employment law assistance in founding subsidiaries and companies, as well as redimensioning companies and closing or relocating companies. Regularly, we are involved in business transitions of all kinds – including cross-border. Our team takes care of the necessary steps to enable foreign employees to work in Austria. We provide comprehensive advice on all questions of employee and data protection law and represent our clients in administrative criminal proceedings, if necessary. Contribution to the development and ongoing adaptation of complex working time models as well as to the design and change of occupational pension schemes is part of our services.

We are regularly involved in advising on internal investigations into potential misconduct by employees or executives and collaborate with forensic experts, eg major accounting firms. In negotiations concerning the conclusion or amendment of company agreements of any kind, we advise our clients and, if necessary, conduct the negotiations. In dealing with works councils, we advise our clients on all conceivable aspects: from special problems of works council election, questions of exemption and remuneration of works council members, complex legal issues regarding the supervisory board, separation of works council members, which can lead to disputes etc. Furthermore, we participate in the design of collective agreements and social plans and legally secure rationalization processes and restructurings.

In legal disputes, we mainly represent medium and large companies, but also executives, in particular executive board members of public limited companies, savings banks and cooperatives as well as managing directors of limited liability companies.

However, employment law is not just a national matter for us because our clients often have to comply with EU law requirements in ever-increasing numbers. EU employment law is closely linked to the internal market and the EU fundamental liberty of freedom to provide services, capital, persons and goods. We advise our clients in all matters of employment law with regard to EU law. For example, we utilize interests under the EU Posting Directive and protect employers against the risks of the Wage and Social Dumping Control Act.

We ensure the non-discriminatory organization of employment agreements as well as the minimization of risks in the design of atypical employment relationships. When restructuring companies and transnational business transfers, we ensure that our clients comply not only with national law but also with EU law. Of course, the judicial assertion and the defense against labor law claims enshrined in EU law are part of our service offer.

Services

• Collective and individual employment law
• Operational restructuring and business transitions
• Justification and termination of employment
• Manager employment contracts and variable compensation models for executives
• Design and adaptation of working time models
• Company pension schemes and pension fund law
• Privacy-labor
• Internal investigations in companies, advice on the prevention, detection and legal assessment of employee misconduct including whistleblowing
• Design and amendment of works agreements
• Collective agreement special subjects
• Cross-border personnel deployment, immigration
• Wage and social dumping
• Representation in proceedings before national and international courts as well as administrative authorities

Contact: Georg Schima, Birgit Vogt-Majarek, Philipp Gamauf