Welcome to the WORK in AUSTRIA Customer Area

Please read our Terms of Use carefully and in full. Any use of our services as part of the online platform WORK in Austria Customer Area (hereinafter referred to as the “platform”) shall be subject to these Terms of Use.
 

Preamble

Austrian Business Agency österreichische Industrieansiedlungs- und WirtschaftswerbungsgmbH (hereinafter referred to as “ABA”) is a non-profit company under the auspices of the Republic of Austria whose objective is to promote Austria as a business, work and film location.

The object of the services provided by ABA is, on the one hand, to support international skilled workers with a comprehensive range of information and, on the other hand, to support companies based in Austria in recruiting international skilled workers.

The core services of ABA are designed to advise and support international skilled workers, their family members, and Austrian companies as employers when applying for residence permits. Within the framework of our cloud-based platform, users may share documents with ABA and submit enquiries (e.g. in connection with applications for Red-White-Red Cards), while ABA employees offer advice and support. Users may access our platform online and via various types of devices (e.g. desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone). Our platform is hosted by the independent operator Microsoft (SharePoint Online). SharePoint Online is a collaboration and data exchange platform using servers at Microsoft cloud data centres. We expressly point out that the Microsoft Privacy Statement as well as the Microsoft Services Agreement apply.

If only the masculine form is subsequently used when referring to people, this is done for reasons of simplification and always includes female or otherwise non-masculine persons.

General provisions

By using our platform, you agree to these Terms of Use.

ABA reserves the right to amend these Terms of Use from time to time. The current version is always available on our platform. Please access our Terms of Use at regular intervals to stay up to date on the latest version. If the user objects to our changes, ABA shall be authorised to close the user’s account and delete the user’s profile, including all data and files uploaded by the user.

Definitions

• An “international skilled worker” is any natural person who has completed vocational training (“professional competence”) or a university degree (or will do so in the foreseeable future) and does not have Austrian citizenship, as well as Austrians living abroad with corresponding vocational training. The term also includes university students in Austria without Austrian citizenship.

• An “entrepreneur” is a natural or legal person or partnership with legal capacity that conducts commercial or independent professional activities.

• A “company user” is a natural person who uses the platform on behalf of a company or generally represents a company. By using our services on behalf of a company, the company user agrees to these Terms of Use and warrants that they are authorised to subject the company to these Terms of Use. The company user shall be held responsible for uploading and removing/deleting documents of a foreign employee via the platform; the platform generates an individual folder for each foreign employee. The company user shall be held responsible for the lawfulness of the collection and transmission of the personal data of their foreign employees. The company user shall inform their foreign employees about data processing and draw their attention to the data protection information on the platform.

• A “user” – whether a company user or an international skilled worker – is any person who registers on the platform in order to subsequently use the platform and its services.

Registration

The use of our platform is voluntary. Creating a profile and uploading information or documents (e.g. passport, certificates etc.) enables us to provide consulting services in the sole interest of the international skilled worker or the company.

We process your personal data to fulfil our obligations under these Terms of Use, to which you agree when registering or using our platform. We use your data to grant you access to our platform and our services, including the ability to create and upload content and interact with us. The creation of a profile is an active measure undertaken on the part of the user and requires the user to provide certain personal data for this (e.g. first and last name, date of birth, e-mail address, citizenship, country of residence). The user declares to provide truthful, accurate, up-to-date and complete information; the user is responsible for the lawfulness of the collection and entry of personal data.

After successful completion of the registration, the platform generates an individual token and link to a specific storage location (folder) each time the user logs in. The user receives access to their content and documents as required and on a need-to-know basis.

In the course of the registration process, the user shall choose a password to access the respective user profile at any time. The user may change the password in the profile settings at any time.

There shall be no right to registration and use of the platform.

Obligations of the user

The use of our platform requires the responsible handling of personal data; any personal data transmitted by the user to ABA shall be minimised/restricted as much as possible.

The user may upload up to 20 files. Only PDF and image files may be uploaded. PDFs may not be larger than 5 MB, image files no larger than 10 MB. The total size of uploaded files may not exceed 100 MB.

The user agrees to receive electronic notifications from ABA. The user agrees to be contacted by ABA by means of distance communication (e.g. telephone, e-mail) in accordance with Section 107 Telecommunications Act (TKG 2003). This consent may be revoked at any time. The user is aware that only limited confidentiality is guaranteed for unencrypted e-mails.

The user shall be responsible for any and all actions taken via their user account/profile, even if these activities are not carried out by them or without their knowledge or consent. The user shall prevent any unauthorised use of the platform and shall exclude unauthorised users from using or accessing the services. The user may not intentionally or unintentionally disclose their account information.

The user may not provide any information via the platform that may be defined as “special categories of personal data” pursuant to Article 9 GDPR and “personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences” pursuant to Article 10 GDPR. The user agrees not to transmit, disclose or otherwise make available any such data to ABA.

Any access to our platform in the following ways shall be prohibited. The user shall not perform the following actions – neither in whole nor in part – under any circumstances:

1. change or falsify any information content on the platform;
2. take any action that is likely to impair the smooth operation of the platform (e.g. any function that may lead to a disproportionately high load on platform infrastructure;
3. spread viruses, Trojans, and other harmful files on the website;
4. copy or reproduce, translate, reverse engineer, derive source code, modify, disassemble, decompile, or create related works based on or in relation to the platform;
5. reproduce, modify, edit, publicly distribute, lend or store content, e.g. of texts, parts of texts, and image material of the platform, in particular on end devices or media to which other persons or companies have access, including the implementation of this content on third-party websites and the inclusion of this content in electronic databases (any integration of individual pages in external frames shall be strictly prohibited).

We specifically point out that any offence against the secure operation of the platform may be prosecuted under civil and criminal law.

The user agrees that ABA may statistically evaluate all uploaded data, information and files, and may assess them in anonymised form for reporting purposes and the like.

The user shall be liable to ABA for any and all damages arising from culpable non-compliance with these Terms of Use, and shall indemnify and hold ABA harmless in this respect (e.g. in the event of a claim against ABA by an authority or third party due to incorrect or even unlawful information provided by a user). In case the user grossly violates their obligations under these Terms of Use, their profile on the platform shall be deleted without notice.

With regard to documents/data/information the user makes available to ABA, we would like to explicitly point out in accordance with Section 223 Austrian Criminal Code (StGB), “anyone who draws up a forged document or falsifies a genuine document with the intent to use it in legal transactions to prove of a right, a legal relationship or a fact” shall be liable to prosecution. According to the Austrian Criminal Code, “anyone who uses a forged or falsified document in legal transactions to prove a right, a legal relationship or a fact” shall be punished in the same way. If there are any grounds for suspicion, ABA expressly reserves the right to inform the competent authorities of these grounds for suspicion in order to prevent any damage to Austria as a business location and to protect the interests of the company (employer).

Obligations of ABA

ABA reviews the documents and forms uploaded by the user, and advises and assists in the correct completion of official forms and applications.

The consulting services, responses to enquiries, and the provision of any other services are based solely on the data and information provided by the user. ABA shall consider the information and documents provided to be correct, proper and complete. Any facts that are communicated or transmitted incorrectly and/or incompletely cannot be taken into account.

ABA provides its support services in German and English free of charge.

All our consulting and support services are provided free of charge and to the best of our knowledge and belief. Enquiries shall be processed and answered within a reasonable period of time. ABA works on a best-effort basis. As the services provided by ABA depend on the individual needs of the client as well as on the processing time of any third parties involved (e.g. authorities, banks etc.), ABA cannot guarantee a specific processing time for its own services. 

ABA is not a public authority and has no sovereignty. Under no circumstances does ABA decide on the matter itself (e.g. on issuing a “Red-White-Red Card”). ABA is not involved in any decisions of the respective authority and, therefore, cannot guarantee the positive outcome of any procedure or requested benefit or service.

ABA declares that it has obliged all employees commissioned with data processing to maintain confidentiality in writing before commencing their work or that these persons are subject to an appropriate legal obligation of confidentiality, and that ABA has taken necessary steps to ensure the security of data processing in accordance with Article 32 GDPR. All user documents are stored in encrypted form.

ABA reserves the right to change, complement or reduce the external appearance and/or the underlying technology or functionalities of the platform at any time, to partially or completely terminate the operation of the platform, or in this regard to delete uploaded data, information and files of users without their inferring any legal claims or consequences, as ABA is under no obligation to store or continue to show uploaded data and information. ABA does not offer any storage services. 

Content uploaded or made available

The platform enables the user to upload any content such as photos, texts, graphics etc. (“content”) and make it accessible to ABA and its employees. The user alone shall decide which files, documents and other information are uploaded to the platform for the intended purposes and functionalities.

The user shall comply with applicable legal provisions (in particular the provisions of competition law and the protection of intellectual property as well as the Telecommunications Act (TKG 2003), Federal Law Gazette I 70/2003, as amended, and the obligations of the owners of terminal devices specified therein).

The content shall be the property of the user or the person who provided the content to the user for storage or uploading to our platform. These Terms of Use do not give us any rights to the user’s content, except for the limited rights that enable us to provide our services in accordance with these Terms of Use.

The user shall grant ABA a free, limited, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable licence to store, reproduce, distribute, modify and perform the user’s content within the framework of provision of the platform. This licence shall end upon deletion of the content from the platform.

The user shall guarantee that their content does not violate any copyrights, trademark rights, patents or other intellectual property rights of third parties and does not disclose any business secrets. Furthermore, the user shall guarantee that they will not use or upload any content that is unlawful, unauthorised, defamatory, obscene, invasive of another person’s privacy, harassing, abusive, hateful, racist or otherwise offensive or inappropriate

ABA accepts no liability whatsoever for the content stored, modified, disseminated, transmitted, displayed or otherwise made accessible by the user. ABA shall not be responsible for the content, accuracy or topicality of the data provided or made available by the user. With regard to this content, ABA shall assume the role of a solely technical distributor/host. ABA shall not be obliged to monitor this data in general or to investigate circumstances that any indicate illegal activities. Nevertheless, ABA reserves the right (without any obligation to do so) to monitor, store, remove and publish any activities on the platform at any time in order to fulfil all applicable laws, regulations and other legal requirements. ABA may only be held liable in accordance with Section 16 (1) E-Commerce Act (ECG), if ABA becomes aware of illegal content and does not remove/block it immediately after becoming aware of it. If the user or a third party is of the opinion that any content violates rights or laws, please report this to workinaustria@aba.gv.at.

Insofar as the content posted contains personal data of third parties (e.g. family members of the international skilled worker; foreign employees of a company), the user shall be liable the content transfer to ABA (and the associated processing) to be lawful and compliant with the law. The company user acknowledges and agrees that they alone decide to upload documents of a foreign employee via the platform and that ABA shall bear no responsibility for the actions of a company user. The user declares that the third party has given its consent for ABA to process the data within the framework of the platform.

Warranty and liability

ABA offers its support and consulting as service activities. These services are not provided with the object of achieving a specific outcome. The user shall acknowledge and accept the risks of success associated with our free consultation.

ABA provides assistance and instructions. The user alone shall be responsible for implementing and making decisions. All actions and measures taken by the user based on our consulting services shall be the sole responsibility of the user. In case residence permits are issued for a limited period of time, the respective user will keep a record of the time limit for any application for extension on their own responsibility. If, in individual cases, ABA offers a reminder service in the form of a reminder e-mail, ABA shall send an e-mail to the last e-mail address provided to ABA. The user shall bear the risk of access, for example in the event of a change of address, but also in all other cases. Under no circumstances shall ABA be liable for any failure by the user to meet the deadline.

The use of any ABA consulting and support services is free of charge and voluntary – it is as such a gratuitous transaction. As free and voluntary services, ABA accepts no liability and/or guarantee for the correctness, completeness, topicality, and accuracy of the information provided.

ABA shall carry out its consulting services with reasonable care and to the best of its knowledge and belief. ABA does not offer any guarantees as to the usability or (commercial) utilisation of the information, advice or information provided by ABA. ABA accepts no liability for damages incurred by the user or third parties in connection with the utilisation and/or use of the information provided.

ABA accepts no liability for the timeliness, completeness or accuracy of the information provided. Any liability for errors in data transmission or delays shall also be excluded.

As the services provided by ABA are free of charge, any claims to liability and/or compensation are excluded, in particular liability claims relating to direct or indirect damage, consequential damage and/or any other disadvantages, whether material or immaterial, caused by the use or non-use of the information provided or by incorrect, incomplete or out-of-date information.

Availability

The platform is offered to the user subject to availability. However, our users shall not be entitled to the use of the platform. The use of the platform itself in particular may be temporarily interrupted at any time due to maintenance work, updates or technical improvements, or due to the revision of content and/or its presentation.

ABA does not guarantee the uninterrupted availability, reliability, functionality or accuracy of our services. We shall not be held liable for transmission failures or any delays caused by technical reasons. Moreover, we give no guarantee that the websites are free from computer viruses or other harmful components, or that content is safe or protected, and will not be lost or damaged. The integrity and confidentiality of the stored data is not guaranteed.

Although we use reasonable care and expertise in the provision of our platform, we accept no further warranties with regard to our services. Any warranty and liability, in particular for damages resulting from the use of our platform, are excluded. The same shall apply to claims for damages by a user or third party due to the use or non-availability of ABA services.

Data protection

The use of our services within the framework of the platform shall be subject to our Privacy Policy. By using our platform, the user accepts our Privacy Policy. Please note that our Privacy Policy only offers information on how ABA itself processes your personal data, if you use Microsoft applications together with us.

The users agree and declare their consent that ABA has access to all personal data and other information which users upload to the platform voluntarily and entirely in their own interest, and that ABA is entitled to use and store this data and information. Various types of data are processed when the platform is used; the scope of data depends on the information provided by the user. Depending on the “purpose” of processing, we use different legal bases. These legal bases range from contractual necessity and legitimate interests (ours, those of the user, or those of another party) to the fulfilment of a legal obligation, the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, and the protection of essential interests.

Microsoft may access the documents/data/information uploaded to the platform by the user. Please note that we have no influence on Microsoft’s data processing. If you require information about the processing by Microsoft, please refer to the corresponding declaration (see Preamble above).

Any data/documents/information transmitted by the user shall be routinely deleted 36 months after the last login. In the event of explicit consent from the user, the deletion period may be extended by a further 3 years (e.g. in case of residence permits issued for a limited period for a possible application for extension).

Contact/Support

We are looking forward to hearing from you. Please note that you may only contact us in your own name. The user is aware that only limited confidentiality can be guaranteed for unencrypted e-mails.

Miscellaneous

There shall be no third-party beneficiaries of these Terms of Use (e.g. family members of the user or foreign employees of a company).

Should individual provisions of these Terms of Use become invalid in whole or in part, they shall be replaced by a provision that comes closest to the economic purpose. All other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

The place of jurisdiction shall be the registered office of ABA in 1010 Vienna. In cases where this is not permissible, the statutory place of jurisdiction shall apply. Austrian law shall apply exclusively with the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The contractual language is German.