Social law

principles of social security; fundamentals of the European system of socail security; belonging to the social system (f.ex.: employee, freelancer, partially employed people); health insurance, accident insurance, pension insurance, unemployment insurance; other mechanims of social security (f.ex.: minimum income, childcare allowance); legal and social proceedings

Mode of delivery

face to face



Recommended or required reading and other learning resources/tools

"Mandatory literature: • Ivansits/Pfeil, Sozialrecht für Studium und Praxis, Verlag LexisNexis, 5. Auflage (Oktober 2016, Reihe Orac-Rechtsskripten), • Gesetzestext, zB Kodex Sozialrecht (Achtung: es muss nicht die neueste Auflage sein). Empfohlene Literatur zur Vertiefung; es ist keineswegs notwendig, diese zu kaufen !): • Ivansits, Sozialrecht – graphisch dargestellt, Verlag LexisNexis, 4. Aufl (Stand: August 2016), • Pfeil, Österreichisches Sozialrecht, Verlag Österreich, 11. Auflage (Oktober 2016) oder ein anderes Lehrbuch zum österreichischen Sozialrecht, • Tomandl, Was Sie immer schon über die Sozialversicherung wissen wollten, Verlag Manz (2005)."

Planned learning activities and teaching methods


Assessment methods and criteria

final written exam (90 minutes) at the end of the course which consists of questions and case studies; students are allowed to use legal texts; lecturer will assess legal argumentation, expertise and methods of resolution.

Prerequisites and co-requisites

compare curriculum


Degree programme

Work Design & HR Management (Bachelor)



ECTS Credits


Language of instruction




Academic year



4 SS



Learning outcome

After the successful completion of the course, the students have a basic knowledge of the legal regulations of the Austrian social law and the social insurance and are able to apply their knowledge to practical examples. Moreover, they are able to find, identify and assess essential legal regulations and apply the findings accordingly. The students are also able to answer questions regarding possible solutions or alternatives, costs and social law in the HR context and they know the essential regulations of the report and contribution system under the social security law. Based on their knowledge, they are able to assess which personnel decisions may conflict with the social security law; which insitution/public authority can offer further information or advice regarding any further steps; which legal claims are eligible in a specific situation/context; how legal claims can be legally enforced. The students are able to analyze and assess legal issues with a foreign connection. They also improve their reading, intrepretation and argumentation skills of legal texts. They better understand the purpose and the functioning of a social state and social security in Austria and Europe. They are aware of their personal legal entitlements.

Course code