Historical context for Austria's Good Friday rule before 22 March 2019, with a link to the current Good Friday page and planning guidance.
Until 21 March 2019, Good Friday was a statutory paid holiday for a specific group of employees in Austria. Since the emergency reform on 22 March 2019, the personal holiday mechanism applies uniformly to all employees.
Until this date, Good Friday was a statutory paid holiday only for members of the Lutheran, Reformed, Old Catholic, and Methodist churches.
Qualifying employees had the right to a paid day off. If they worked, they were entitled to double pay (public holiday compensation).
In January 2019, the European Court of Justice ruled the law discriminatory on religious grounds as it denied non-members the same paid holiday.
In response, the legislature introduced the 'personal holiday' under § 7a ARG. All employees can now designate one day of annual leave as a holiday.
The old legal position, the current rule, and their practical planning effects compared.
The holiday entitlement applied only to members of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession (A.B.), the Evangelical Church of the Helvetian Confession (H.B.), the Old Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Methodist Church.
Under § 7(2) of the Act on Weekly Rest and Public Holidays (ARG), members of these four churches received a paid day off. If required to work, they received their regular wage plus holiday work pay ('Feiertagsarbeitsentgelt'), effectively double pay.
A non-church member employee sued for public holiday pay for working on Good Friday. On 22 January 2019, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in his favour: until the law was reformed, employers had to grant the same holiday or double pay to all.
To prevent substantial additional costs for businesses, the federal government abolished the religious-specific public holiday in March 2019. It was replaced by a general 'personal holiday' that counts against an employee's annual leave.
How older calendar years should be read correctly.
In older calendars, Good Friday was a regular working day for the vast majority of Austrians, with paid time off reserved solely for members of the specified churches.
Following the ECJ ruling on 22 January 2019, the amendment to the ARG was rushed through parliament and took effect on 22 March 2019, just in time for Good Friday 2019 (19 April).
For all current and future calendar years, Good Friday is a normal working day. If you want a day off, you must submit a written request to your employer at least 3 weeks in advance.
Current rules, planning tools, and neighbouring dates.
Until 21 March 2019, Good Friday was a paid public holiday in Austria exclusively for members of four specific Christian churches. Discover the mechanics of the old rule, the landmark European Court of Justice ruling, and the subsequent legal reform.
Since 22 March 2019, Good Friday is no longer a public holiday in Austria. Instead, every employee has the right to unilaterally claim it as a 'personal holiday' from their annual leave balance.
Short answers on the historical classification.
Good Friday was a statutory paid holiday only for employees who belonged to one of these four religious communities: the Lutheran Church (A.B.), the Reformed Church (H.B.), the Old Catholic Church, or the Evangelical Methodist Church.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) in Luxembourg ruled on 22 January 2019 (Case C-193/17, Cresco Investigation) that the Austrian law constituted unlawful discrimination based on religion.
Eligible church members who worked on Good Friday were entitled to holiday work pay ('Feiertagsarbeitsentgelt') in addition to their regular salary, resulting in double pay for their hours worked.
No. Before the reform, schools across Austria were closed on Good Friday. Under the current law, it is a regular school day unless it falls during the scheduled Easter school holidays.
Today, Good Friday is not automatically a paid holiday for anyone. Instead, every employee in Austria can unilaterally select one day of their annual leave as a 'personal holiday' by giving written notice at least 3 weeks in advance.
Open the right next step for leave planning, school breaks, calendar weeks, subscriptions or related event context.