Return-to-work part-time in professional sport: section 13a AVRAG

After a long illness, an employed professional athlete can agree a temporary return-to-work part-time arrangement with the club. Section 13a of the Austrian Labour Contract Law Amendment Act requires, among other things, at least six weeks of uninterrupted incapacity for work, an employment relationship lasting at least three months, a written agreement and confirmed fitness for work from the start of the part-time arrangement.

The sporting return needs its own plan. Training load, matchday demands, recovery and contractual duties must fit the agreed working time. Sporting readiness and fitness for work under employment law are separate questions.

Section 13a(1) of the Austrian Labour Contract Law Amendment Act links return-to-work part-time to at least six weeks of uninterrupted incapacity for work because of illness or an accident. The employment relationship must also have lasted three uninterrupted months. Both dates should be checked from the records before the club plans a return.

The arrangement presupposes fitness for work for the period from its start. Continuing incapacity for training is therefore a separate issue. The medical condition and the contractual deployment plan require distinct but coordinated reviews.

The preparation should bring together certificates of incapacity, the employment agreement, amendments and the planned return. The existing article on injury-related unavailability addresses the separate question of how an ongoing injury is assessed during the contractual relationship.

The player and employer agree the return-to-work part-time arrangement in writing. Weekly normal working time is reduced by at least one quarter and no more than one half. It may not fall below twelve hours during the arrangement. Monthly remuneration must also exceed the amount referred to in section 5(2) of the General Social Insurance Act.

Under section 13a(2), the agreement must state the start, duration, extent and distribution of the part-time employment. Where a competent works council exists, it must be involved in the negotiations. Working time may be distributed differently for certain months if the statutory lower limits and the agreed average are respected.

The temporary change to working time does not otherwise change the services owed under the employment contract. The club should therefore state which training sessions, matchdays, travel and meetings fit within the agreed periods. During the arrangement, the employer may not order additional work above the agreed hours or unilaterally change the agreed distribution of working time.

The existing article on working time in professional football explains travel time and rest periods in the season plan. Return-to-work part-time builds on that framework and does not replace it.

The agreement requires confirmation that the player is fit for work from the start of the return-to-work part-time arrangement. The player and club must also generally receive advice on its design through case management under the Work and Health Act. That advice includes the reintegration plan.

The reintegration plan must be taken into account when the arrangement is designed. Section 13a(1) provides for the involvement of the occupational physician responsible for occupational medical care or an occupational medical centre. The advice may be omitted under the statutory conditions where the relevant parties and occupational medicine provide documented agreement.

In professional sport, the plan should reflect the real workload. It can include training sessions, matchdays, travel, physiotherapy, video analysis and recovery periods. It does not decide the sporting line-up. It sets the working-time basis within which the club must organise the contractual duties.

The arrangement becomes effective at the earliest on the day after the notice of approval of the reintegration allowance under section 143d of the General Social Insurance Act has been served. The first training day must therefore not be determined by the club calendar alone.

The return-to-work part-time arrangement lasts at least one month and no more than six months. It must begin no later than one month after the end of the incapacity for work. The player and club should compare the end of the illness period, the allowance approval and the written plan before fixing the return date.

If the occupational-medical suitability continues, the arrangement may be extended once for at least one and no more than three months. The extension requires another written agreement. Simply continuing the existing training plan does not replace that document.

After the arrangement starts, the player and employer may agree a change to the part-time employment no more than twice. This can concern an extension or a change in the number of hours. Each change should be kept in a dated and comprehensible version.

A player contract connects working time with sporting duties. The return must therefore place team training, individual training, matches, travel and recovery within a realistic time window. The club should compare the working-time agreement with the medical plan and the season calendar.

Return-to-work part-time does not automatically create a right to a particular squad position. It regulates the temporary reduction and distribution of working time. Whether a sporting duty can be performed within those hours depends on the contract, the reintegration plan and confirmed fitness for work.

The existing article on assignment to the second team addresses limits on a unilateral change to training location and deployment. That issue remains separate from return-to-work part-time and must not be concealed by a new working-time agreement.

During the arrangement, the player is entitled to remuneration calculated pro rata to the reduction in working time. Section 13a(6) refers to section 3 of the Continued Remuneration Act for the calculation. Payroll should therefore match the agreed hours and any permitted distribution across the period.

Players and clubs should keep the written agreement, reintegration plan, fitness confirmation, approval of the reintegration allowance, training schedules and payroll records together. Changes should have a date and a clear version. This shows which hours and duties were agreed at each point in time.

Common mistakes: failing to document the illness period, treating a training attempt as proof of legal fitness for work, setting the start before the allowance approval, falling below the minimum hours, silently scheduling additional work or treating a squad-assignment issue as a working-time issue.

How long must the illness period last?
Section 13a(1) requires at least six weeks of uninterrupted incapacity for work because of illness or an accident. The employment relationship must also have lasted three uninterrupted months.

Can the club assign additional work during the arrangement?
Section 13a(3) prohibits the employer from ordering work above the agreed working-time amount. The employer may also not unilaterally change the agreed distribution of working time during the return-to-work part-time arrangement.

Does the arrangement begin with the first planned training session?
The start depends on the written agreement and the statutory requirements. It becomes effective at the earliest on the day after the notice of approval of the reintegration allowance under section 143d of the General Social Insurance Act has been served.

Can the player return to the original working time earlier?
The player may request an early return in writing if the occupational-medical suitability of the arrangement no longer exists. The return may take place no earlier than three weeks after the written notice of the wish to end the arrangement.

First secure the illness period, the duration of the employment relationship and the fitness confirmation. Then put the reintegration plan, case management, written working-time agreement and approval of the reintegration allowance into one chronology.

Transfer the plan into the season calendar. Mark training, matchdays, travel, recovery and changes. Check whether the player-contract duties can be performed within the agreed extent and whether the club avoids additional work or a unilateral change to the distribution of working time.

If you want to organise a return-to-work part-time arrangement, a reintegration plan or a return to team sport legally, keep the employment agreement, illness records, medical confirmation, calendar and communications together. Mag. Bernhard Brandauer, Rechtsanwalt, can clarify the next sensible steps with you.