Parental part-time work in professional football: working hours and season planning after birth

Parental part-time work in professional football needs a clear working-time agreement and a season schedule that implements it. Under section 15h of the Austrian Maternity Protection Act, the core questions are the length of the employment relationship, the size of the establishment and the permitted working-time band.

In a professional club, the agreed distribution of working time must fit training, matches, travel, meetings and recovery. A fixture list does not replace an agreement on the start, duration, amount and distribution of part-time work. This article starts with parental part-time work after birth and does not explain maternity protection or parental leave.

Section 15h(1) MSchG gives an employee an entitlement to part-time work until the child reaches the end of the eighth year of life. The basic maximum is seven years. The actual period of the employment prohibition under section 5(1) MSchG and parental leave taken by either parent for the same child are deducted. The period between the seventh birthday and a later school entry is added to the maximum period.

The employment relationship must have lasted continuously for three years when the part-time work starts. Immediately preceding employment relationships with the same employer count towards that period. Certain interruptions connected with a promise or agreement to re-employ, as well as parental leave under the MSchG, are also relevant to the statutory minimum period.

The employee must also work in an establishment with more than 20 employees. Where the number of employees changes seasonally, the average number in the previous year is relevant. A club should therefore record the legally relevant establishment size at the start of the part-time work instead of relying only on the size of the professional squad or the number of registered female players.

In establishments with up to 20 employees, a works agreement under section 97(1)(25) ArbVG can create an entitlement under the rules of section 15h. The player contract, the club’s organisation and any such agreement therefore belong in one review. The entitlement cannot be inferred from the sporting calendar alone.

The entitlement under section 15h(1) MSchG exists only if weekly normal working time is reduced by at least 20 percent and does not fall below twelve hours. This band limits the statutory entitlement. The comparison therefore starts with the normal weekly working time before the reduction and then tests the proposed schedule against both thresholds.

The relevant starting point is normal weekly working time. A season schedule with changing matches does not answer that question by itself. The contract, amendments and established allocation of duties should show the regular working-time basis and how the reduced hours are intended to be distributed across the season.

Part-time work may be used until the child reaches the end of the eighth year of life, subject to the maximum period and deduction rules in section 15h. The start and end should therefore not be chosen solely by reference to the first and second half of a season. The statutory period and the agreed arrangement must be considered together.

Training, matchdays and travel can be distributed differently within the reduced working time. The band does not, however, convert an entire matchday into an arbitrary number of hours. The actual contractual duties and the agreed distribution remain decisive for the season schedule.

Section 15h MSchG requires an agreement on the start, duration, amount and distribution of part-time work. The employer’s operational interests and the employee’s interests must be taken into account. For a professional football player, the agreement should therefore create a working-time structure that allows both club operations and childcare to be planned.

The start should be tied to a specific date. The duration needs a clear end date or a clearly described period. The amount is expressed through the reduced weekly working time. The distribution explains on which days and in which time windows work will generally take place. These points should align with the player contract and its amendments.

The club may explain its operational needs, such as a dense fixture list, fixed team training or international travel. Those factors do not replace a concrete assessment of the player’s childcare interests. The player, in turn, should describe available time windows clearly enough for the club to assess the practical organisation.

A dated written version with a responsible contact person is useful for implementation. It should also explain how schedule changes are communicated. This makes it possible to distinguish the original agreement, the season plan and any later adjustment discussed by the parties.

A season schedule should translate parental part-time work into concrete time windows. In addition to matches, it should include team training, individual sessions, mandatory meetings, travel, medical appointments and recovery where these periods are relevant to the employment relationship. The article on working time, travel and rest periods in professional football explains the general classification of these periods.

Home and away matches can create different burdens. A player may be available for a particular match while the travel or a compulsory post-match programme falls within the childcare window. The schedule should therefore show the relevant time blocks and their distribution, rather than recording only whether the player was selected.

Childcare needs can also be translated into recurring windows. The agreement may, for example, reserve particular afternoons, mornings or days of the week. The workable solution depends on the contract, the training structure and the player’s interests. It does not automatically guarantee a particular decision for every individual match.

When a match, journey or training session changes at short notice, the actual working time should be compared with the agreed distribution. An updated schedule, a short reason and a record of the discussion help keep the sporting operation and the part-time arrangement traceable.

Section 15i MSchG allows the parties to agree part-time work where there is no entitlement under section 15h(1) or (4), or where that entitlement has already been exhausted. The agreement can cover the period until the child reaches the end of the eighth year of life. It also covers the start, duration, amount and distribution of the part-time work.

The weekly normal working time must still be reduced by at least 20 percent and must remain at least twelve hours. The difference lies in the starting point: section 15i provides an agreement for cases where the statutory entitlement does not apply or is no longer available. The parties’ consent and a precise written text are therefore especially important.

For a club season, the agreement should be as specific as an entitlement-based arrangement. It should describe the start, duration, weekly amount, distribution and the treatment of training, matches and travel. The existing article on return-to-work part-time arrangements in professional sport concerns a return after illness and addresses a different legal question.

A voluntary season arrangement without identifying its legal basis does not fully answer the working-time question. The parties should establish whether they are implementing an entitlement under section 15h or making an agreement under section 15i. The schedule can then be built on a defined foundation.

The first review should include the complete player contract, amendments, the employment start date and any earlier employment with the same club. Add the established normal weekly working time, the requested reduction and a realistic proposal for the start and duration.

The club should record the number of regularly employed people in the relevant establishment and, where employment fluctuates seasonally, the previous year’s average. The team plan, training calendar, fixtures, travel instructions and meetings belong in the operational review. The number of professional female players does not automatically provide the relevant figure for section 15h.

The player and club should place the childcare windows and the club’s operational requirements in one time overview. Mark fixed childcare periods, mandatory appointments, possible replacement periods and the person who confirms a short-notice change.

The article on maternity protection in professional football addresses protection during pregnancy and maternity. For parental part-time work after birth, the contract and working-time questions must be reviewed separately. Keeping the documents in separate topic folders helps avoid mixing the legal frameworks.

Looking only at the fixture list: Matches are one part of the contractual duties. Training, travel, meetings and other bound periods belong in the review as well.

Using the squad size as the establishment figure: Section 15h focuses on the establishment and, where numbers fluctuate seasonally, the previous year’s average. An internal squad list does not replace that assessment.

Setting weekly hours while leaving distribution open: Without time windows, it remains unclear how childcare and season duties can work together.

Treating a season arrangement as parental part-time work: The calendar should rest on an entitlement or agreement and should not replace the legal working-time terms.

Handling changes only orally: When fixtures, travel or training move, the original distribution and the agreed adjustment should remain identifiable.

What are the requirements for an entitlement under section 15h MSchG?
The employment relationship must generally have lasted continuously for three years when the part-time work starts. The employee must also work in an establishment with more than 20 employees unless a works agreement under section 15h(4) applies. Weekly working time must be reduced by at least 20 percent and remain at least twelve hours.

Can the player reserve particular training days or afternoons?
The distribution of part-time work must be agreed. The club’s operational interests and the employee’s interests are relevant. A specific childcare window can therefore form part of the schedule, but it must be coordinated with the player contract and the season operation.

Is a reduced number of weekly hours without a season schedule enough?
The number of hours alone is usually not enough for practical implementation. The start, duration, amount and distribution should be connected to training, matches, travel and other mandatory appointments.

What is possible when there is no entitlement under section 15h?
Under section 15i MSchG, the parties can agree part-time work until the child reaches the end of the eighth year of life. The agreement must still meet the 20 percent reduction and twelve-hour thresholds and specify the start, duration, amount and distribution.

Does parental part-time work automatically extend the player contract?
Parental part-time work regulates working time. It does not automatically extend the contract term. The term, options and any amendment must be reviewed separately under the player contract.

Start with the player contract and all amendments, the length of employment, the established normal weekly working time and the requested reduction. Then check the establishment size and decide whether the arrangement is based on an entitlement under section 15h or an agreement under section 15i.

Transfer the chosen working-time structure into the season schedule. Mark training, matches, travel, meetings, childcare windows and possible changes. The written arrangement should show which periods are fixed and how an adjustment is discussed.

If you want parental part-time work, its distribution or its compatibility with a professional player contract reviewed, prepare the contract, season schedule and a short chronology of the discussions. Mag. Bernhard Brandauer, Rechtsanwalt, will help you identify the next practical steps.