Befristete Arbeitsverhältnisse an Universitäten – Die Neuregelung des § 109 UG

Section 109 of the Austrian University Act is the most important labor law provision for Austrian public universities. This provision addresses the conditions under which universities may conclude employment contracts for limited periods. The legislator is changing the paradigm: In the future the total duration of all fixed-term employment contracts that a university has concluded with each employee will be relevant. In the event that such a contract is terminated and subsequently a new contract is concluded, the duration of the employment relationship will no longer be calculated separately. The new provisions raise various interpretation issues, which are discussed in this paper.