Repeated traffic fines for offenders

Nine months after the number plate theft, Mr R. received an anonymous order from the Vienna Municipal Department 67 (parking space monitoring) for an administrative offence in Vienna-Favoriten, as someone had parked incorrectly with the stolen number plates. He sent the authority a copy of his confirmation of the offence, which settled the matter. A short time later, the man was fined again, this time for speeding on the A1 Westautobahn motorway. This time, too, a phone call and the sending of the confirmation of the offence remedied the situation. When the Lower Austrian also received a request for payment from Asfinag, as the vehicle with the stolen number plates also had an invalid motorway toll sticker, he was informed that fines are only sent to registration holders and that he had to pay the fine in full and on time; however, Asfinag ultimately refrained from issuing a replacement toll. This was followed by further fines for various traffic offences. The climax was reached when the Lower Austrian was ordered to pay a fine for an offence committed with the stolen number plates in the district of Baden, although his new number plate was stated on the penalty order - despite assurances from the authorities and Asfinag that the old number plate had since been stored in the system as stolen.

In recent years, an average of around 4,500 licence plate thefts have been reported in Austria every year. In a statement from the Ministry of Transport read out in the programme, the ministry admitted that in future it would take circumstances such as stolen number plates into account when issuing penalties.

Ombudsman Walter Rosenkranz was pleased that the department had recognised the potential for improvement and called on people who had experienced a similar situation to Mr R. to also contact the Ombudsman Board or the "Bürgeranwalt" editorial team with a complaint. It was to be feared that it was not just a case of individual mistakes by employees, but a systemic error.

Enquiry: Loss of severance pay after change of province

In December 2023, the programme "Bürgeranwalt" reported on the case of a primary school teacher who had moved from Styria to Lower Austria. As primary school teachers are state teachers, the move from one federal state to another was not without consequences following the amicable termination of her employment contract: she lost her severance pay for 17 years of employment in Styria. According to the Ministry of Education, only the following were considered valid reasons for the payment of severance pay to compulsory school teachers in the event of a mutually agreed termination of employment: incapacity to work; reaching the age for early retirement; drawing an occupational disability or invalidity pension; birth of a child or leaving within six months of marriage. However, caring for the mother as a custodian was not recognised.

Ombudsman Dr Walter Rosenkranz also criticised why caring for a newborn child should count as a reason, whereas caring for an adult relative does not. After the programme was broadcast, the Ministry of Education finally agreed with the Ombudsman's opinion. In future, when moving from one federal state to another, the activity will be counted as uninterrupted, reported Rosenkranz. Nevertheless, the complainant of the Ombudsman Board did not receive her severance pay, as she had to be pragmatised in order to obtain the new position; civil servants, however, are not entitled to severance pay. If the Ministry of Education had recognised the mother's care in the same way as the care of a newborn child, a solution for the teacher would have been possible, Rosenkranz concluded and announced that the case would be included in the Ombudsman Board's annual report to Parliament.