open letter
Protestant pastors demand free Good Friday
Since Good Friday is no longer a public holiday for Protestants, there have been regular debates about the "personal holiday". Now there is another open letter.
Looking back: In the past, Good Friday was considered a public holiday for members of the Evangelical Lutheran, Evangelical Reformed, Evangelical Methodist and Old Catholic Churches in Austria. However, this changed in 2019. An employee who does not belong to any of these churches had sued for public holiday pay. The case went all the way to the European Court of Justice.
"Personal public holiday"
The Court found that the regulation constituted discrimination on the grounds of religion. The federal government's solution was to abolish Good Friday as a public holiday. Instead, there is now a "personal holiday" regardless of religious affiliation. Employees are entitled to this once per vacation year.
Hardly any difference to vacation day
The day is deducted from the existing vacation entitlement. The "personal holiday" must be notified to the employer in writing at least three months in advance. In practice, the difference to a normal vacation day is therefore not particularly great. Only if the employer asks the employee to work on the day anyway is the employee entitled to pay for the hours worked and the vacation pay.
Little used
The AK and WK cannot say how many take advantage of the "personal holiday". However, it can be assumed that it is little used. And the Protestant church is also not very happy with the solution. Last year, Lutheran Protestant Bishop Michael Chalupka spoke out in favor of making Good Friday a "public holiday for all".
Talks sought with politicians
Now the Protestant pastors of Burgenland are also calling in an open letter for Good Friday to be established as a public holiday for all Austrians. The abolition as a public holiday is "still a painful memory today", the letter states. Particularly in this super election year, they therefore want to seek talks with political decision-makers and campaign for Good Friday to be established as a public holiday for everyone or for an additional day off for everyone that can be taken on religious holidays.
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