Working conditions of postdocs at ISTA

All postdocs at ISTA are employed by the Institute, even if they were awarded a stipend or fellowship. They receive an employment contract and are covered by health, work accident as well as retirement pension insurance according to Austrian social security law. In addition, employees can choose between a private accident insurance covering accidents in one’s leisure time or a contribution to a private health insurance.

Working hours and rest period

A full time position corresponds to a normal weekly working time of 40 hours (lunch breaks not included). Postdocs may distribute their working hours at their own discretion and do not have to record their working time. Some funding agencies may however have special policies.

As stated in the postdoc employment contract, in relation to the working hours and the rest periods, the provisions of Section 110 of the University Act 2002 exclusively apply.

For more information about the above please click here to check the English version of the Section 110 of the University Act 2002.

With regards to rest period, the section 110 par.7 dictates:

“Employees shall be given an uninterrupted rest period of 36 hours within the period from Monday up to and including Sunday. The weekly rest period may be reduced to 24 hours if an employee is assured of an average weekly rest period of 36 hours over a 14 day period.”

General overview on working hours

Contract	All In Contract, salary includes all research and training activities of a scientist incl. night/weekend etc.
Normal daily/weekly working hours	8 hours/day – 40 hours/week
Maximum daily working hours	13 hours
Maximum weekly working hours	60 hours BUT maximum average weekly working hours of 48 hours within 17 weeks
Required breaks during work time	30 minutes after 6 hours of working time

Vacation days

Employment goes along with 25 working days of vacation per year, i.e. 5 weeks. There needs to be an agreement between the postdoc and their supervisor about the specific dates of your vacation days. Vacation days need to be recorded in the dpw system. The same holds for sick days and business trips, e.g. a attending a conference. Vacation can be accrued up to 3 years.

Home office and remote working

Home office and remote working: In agreement with their supervisor, postdocs can work from home or remotely within Austria. If you need to work from abroad, you will have to request a business trip or – for longer stays – a secondment.

Postdoc salary levels 2025

There are three salary levels for postdocs at ISTA. The group leader decides which salary level applies. The salary covers all performance by a postdoc, and as such already includes any overtime or work performed on Saturdays, Sundays, and bank holidays.

Level	Salary (full time) paid 14 times a year gross/month, including overtime	Salary (full time) gross/year, including overtime
PD1	5.150 EUR	72.100 EUR
PD2	5.399 EUR	75.586 EUR
PD3	5.648 EUR	79.072 EUR

Net salary calculator and taxation in Austria

To calculate your net salary please click here

You can find more information here below regarding taxation in Austria:

Insurance

All employees with an employment contract are automatically insured in Austria through the ÖGK (“Österreichische Gesundheitskasse”).
ISTA offers on top of the obligatory Social Insurance provided by ÖGK, a private Business Trips Insurance (UNIQA).

Regulation	All employees on a full time or part time contract
Insurance ÖGK (statutory Austrian insurance)	All employees with an emplyoment contract are insured within Austrian social security system covering health, accident, pension and unemployment (exception minimal employments only cover accident insurance)
Insurance during business travel	Covered either trough public insurance or private business travel insurance of ISTA. If a vacation follows before, between or after a business trip, this period, is also covered.