Access to Information on Labor and Social Regulations and Compliance in the Posting of Foreign Workers in Construction in Austria

In this article, the authors examine information provision, access to rules on posting, and rule compliance by companies from the perspective of information providers and users. Using a mixed-method approach, they first study the role of access to information for rule compliance in the posting of workers in Austria and then discuss company-level factors that may mitigate this relationship. The analysis is based on an original dataset of 36 mapped information channels available in Austria, 10 interviews with information providers, and the results of a new company survey conducted in Austria with 26 respondents from individual construction companies. The assessment of the channels of information, the practices of information providers, and the companies’ experiences, challenges, and needs provides a nuanced understanding of company behavior regarding rule compliance in the posting of workers. The findings reveal a potentially important link between the access to and use of information on the rules about the posting of workers as a relevant factor in rule compliance, which is recognized by both the supply side and the demand side.
Keywords: posting of workers, construction companies, rule compliance, access to information, Austria