From 24-hour care to a permanent position: How to make the transition

Your current situation: self-employed personal care

Being there for someone round the clock, cooking, caring, listening, staying awake through the night – 24-hour care is one of the most valuable jobs in Austria. Tens of thousands of carers, most of them from Slovakia and Romania, keep this system running. Without them, many older people would not be able to stay at home. Many carers have even completed care training or obtained a nursing qualification in their home country – yet still work below their level of qualification in Austria.

This is because, legally speaking, you are almost always self-employed in 24-hour care: you hold a business licence for personal care, work in shifts – usually 14 days in the care recipient’s home, then 14 days off – and invoice your fees. Depending on the agency, federal state and level of care required, this often leaves you with around 1,050 to 1,400 euros net per rotation. That sounds reasonable at first. But there’s another side to being self-employed:

• You pay social security contributions yourself: health, accident and pension insurance are deducted from your fee – and the bills still come in months when you work less.
• No paid holiday, no sick pay: if you’re ill or need a break, you earn nothing.
• No 13th or 14th month’s salary: the special payments customary in Austria do not apply to the self-employed.
• Dependence on agencies: Many agencies charge ongoing placement fees and have a say in which family you are placed with and on what terms.

This work deserves respect – and you deserve an honest answer to the question: does it have to stay this way forever? The good news is: no. Austria is urgently seeking care staff, and there are clear pathways from self-employed care work to a permanent position.

What a permanent position offers you

As a salaried care worker – for example, in a care home, with a home care service or in a hospital – you are no longer considered a self-employed person, but an employee. This means the rules of a collective agreement automatically apply: in the social sector, this is usually the SWÖ collective agreement; for church-run organisations, it is the collective agreements of Caritas or Diakonie. In practical terms, this means:

• 13th and 14th month’s salary: holiday pay and a Christmas bonus are added to your annual salary.
• Paid holiday: at least five weeks per year – and you continue to receive your salary.
• Sick leave with cover: As an employee, you are insured through the Regional Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK); your employer contributes to the premiums, and you continue to receive your salary whilst on sick leave.
• Predictable shifts: shift rota instead of 14 days’ continuous work. You live in your own flat and have time off after work.
• Pension contributions: Your employer pays into your pension scheme – important for later in life.

And what about the salary? According to the SWÖ collective agreement, the starting salary for a care assistant in 2026 will be around 2,600 to 2,800 euros gross per month, including the care allowance – plus additional payments for night, weekend and public holiday shifts. A home care worker usually starts on a gross salary of between around 1,900 and 2,100 euros, depending on the provider, also plus allowances and special payments. As you gain years of experience, your salary automatically moves up to higher bands. The exact amounts vary depending on the collective agreement, federal state and pay grade – you can find reliable figures in your employer’s current salary tables and at the Chamber of Labour.

Important for a fair comparison: gross is not the same as net. However, thanks to special payments, employer-contributed social security, paid holiday and pension contributions, a salaried care worker is almost always significantly better off on an annual basis than a self-employed care worker with a similar monthly income.

There is also a wide range of job opportunities: care homes and residential homes for the elderly, mobile care services (home care), hospitals, day centres and supported living facilities are constantly looking for staff – in cities as well as in rural areas. This gives you something you’d hardly ever have as a self-employed carer: room for negotiation. You can choose where you work, whether you want to work full-time or part-time, and whether you prefer day shifts or night shifts.

Three routes to permanent employment

Which route is right for you depends mainly on whether you already have care training from your home country.

Path 1: Get your existing training recognised

Many carers from Slovakia and Romania have completed a care training programme or a nursing degree in their home country. You don’t have to discard this qualification: through recognition (for EU qualifications) or nostrification (for qualifications from non-EU countries), it is assessed whether your training corresponds to Austrian standards. If certain elements are missing, you can often make up for them by sitting supplementary exams or completing a work placement – so you don’t have to start from scratch. Our guide to the recognition of foreign qualifications explains the step-by-step process, what documents you need and who is responsible.

Option 2: Complete the nursing assistant training programme in Austria

If you have no nursing training – or if the recognition process would be too time-consuming – you can complete the care assistant training directly in Austria. It takes around one year full-time and is offered at nursing colleges and educational institutions throughout Austria. The best part is that you don’t have to get by without an income during this time. The AMS care scholarship supports retraining for care professions with at least 55.01 euros per day – that’s around 1,650 euros a month (as of 2026). Whilst receiving the grant, you’ll be covered by health, accident and pension insurance. You can find out whether you meet the eligibility criteria during a consultation at the AMS. You can also find details at oesterreich.gv.at.

Option 3: Home help as a quicker route into the sector

The quickest route to employment is training as a home care assistant: this comprises around 200 hours of theory and 200 hours of practical training and takes only about three and a half to four months on a full-time basis. As a home help, you’ll support people in their own homes with housework and basic care – tasks you’ll be very familiar with from your experience in 24-hour care. The AMS provides an overview of training providers and the process. Many people use home help as an intermediate step: first getting into work quickly, then gaining further qualifications as a care assistant whilst working. And if you’d prefer to work without any care responsibilities at all: jobs as domestic helpers are also in high demand in Austria.

Healthcare Professions Register: Registration is compulsory

Before you are allowed to work in a care profession in Austria – as a care assistant, senior care assistant or qualified nurse – you must register with the Health Professions Register. This is not a formality that can be put off: without registration, you cannot practise the profession; without the right to practise, you cannot have an employment contract.

There are two registration authorities: the Chamber of Labour is responsible for care assistants and nursing assistants, as well as for all employed nursing staff. Gesundheit Österreich GmbH registers, amongst others, graduates of universities of applied sciences and people who work predominantly on a self-employed basis. To register, you’ll need proof of your qualifications (or, in the case of foreign qualifications, the recognition certificate), proof of identity and, depending on your profession, further documents. Once registered, you’ll receive a professional ID card; the registration is valid for five years and is then renewed.

The register also offers you protection: it officially recognises your qualifications. Employers can verify that you are authorised to practise the profession – and you can prove that you are a recognised care worker and no longer ‘just’ a care assistant. For many who have worked for years below their level of training, this registration is a significant milestone.

Practical tip: Submit your application as soon as your recognition process is complete or you have your Austrian certificate in hand – then you can start working straight away.

German as the key

Whichever of the three routes you choose – there’s no getting round one thing: German. For advanced nursing (qualified health and nursing care), the authorities generally require level B2; for nursing assistants, the requirement is usually B1 to B2. And even where a certificate isn’t mandatory, your German will determine the outcome of job interviews, your success in training and your day-to-day life within the team. You can find out which exams count and how to pass them in our guide to German B2 for care workers.

Your big advantage as a care worker: you’re already immersed in the language. You speak every day with the person in your care, with their relatives, and with doctors and pharmacists. What you usually still lack for your training and recognition is the technical vocabulary – care documentation, clinical presentations, handover phrases. You’ll learn these fastest using real specialist texts rather than textbook dialogues.

Incorporate language learning into your rotation schedule right from the start: short daily sessions whilst at work, focused study blocks or a course during your weeks off. This way, you’ll reach your target level in parallel with the recognition process – and won’t waste any time.

Your 12-month plan

The change may seem big, but it consists of many small steps. Here’s what your year could look like:

1. Months 1–2: Seek advice. Book an appointment at a recognition advice centre (AST – contact point for people with qualifications obtained abroad) or at the AMS. There, you’ll find out free of charge which route suits your situation and what financial support is available.
2. Months 1–3: Obtain documents from your home country. Diplomas, school reports, training certificates with timetables, birth certificate – ideally with certified translations straight away. Use your scheduled time off to sort out administrative matters in Slovakia or Romania.
3. From month 1 onwards, on an ongoing basis: systematically improve your German. Study every day – in short, regular sessions, at home using a course or study modules. Register early for an exam at your target level; having a fixed date helps keep you motivated.
4. Months 4–6: Submit your application. Submit your application for recognition to the relevant authority – or enrol on the care assistant or home help training programme and apply for the care allowance from the AMS in good time.
5. Months 6–10: Fulfil the requirements. Take any supplementary exams or complete work placements if the authorities require them, and sit your German exam.
6. Months 9–12: Apply in parallel. Don’t wait for the final decision: contact care homes and mobile care services in your preferred region beforehand. Many organisations reserve posts for staff whose training is nearing completion – and your years of experience in 24-hour care are a strong selling point.
7. Finally: Register and get started. As soon as you receive your decision or certificate, apply for entry into the Health Professions Register – and sign your first employment contract.

Not every application process is completed within twelve months – some take longer, some are quicker. The key is to tackle the steps in parallel rather than one after the other: learning German, gathering documents and working are not mutually exclusive. And until you make the switch, you’ll continue to earn a normal income from your care work. Incidentally, this article is not a substitute for legal advice – binding information regarding your specific process can be obtained from the relevant authorities, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Chamber of Labour.

Frequently asked questions

Read more in the guide: German B2 for care workers · Getting foreign qualifications recognised · Domestic help jobs in Vienna