SWÖ-KV 2026 and 2027

The SWÖ-KV (Kollektivvertrag der Sozialwirtschaft Österreich (SWÖ-KV)) covers employees of private social, care and health organisations. It is negotiated between Sozialwirtschaft Österreich – Verband der österreichischen Sozial- und Gesundheitsunternehmen (SWÖ) and Gewerkschaft GPA und Gewerkschaft vida. It sets a minimum salary for 9 groups with up to 18 steps, currently from €2,206 to €6,101 gross a month. It is paid 14 times a year: the holiday pay and Christmas pay are set by the agreement and taxed at a preferential rate.

It is renegotiated every year, usually from October; the raise applies from 1 January. The starting point is inflation over the reference period, last time November 2024 – October 2025 at 3.19%. The union makes a demand, the employers an offer, and the deal lands in between. It usually has two figures: the minimum raise for the salary table and the actual raise for the salary you really get, also with an over-payment.

What is left of a raise after tax depends on your salary: each extra euro carries social insurance and wage tax at your marginal rate, so net pay usually grows a little less, in percent, than gross. Whether a deal is enough shows in purchasing power: since 2018 actual salaries under the SWÖ-KV rose by 42.49%, prices over the reference periods by 41.29%.

SWÖ-KV: pay and prices since 2017. How much salaries have risen in total since 2017 (each actual raise on top of the last, +42.49% so far), against inflation over the reference periods (+41.29%, 2027 partly forecast). Where the solid line is on top, salaries gained purchasing power.