Blurred text, dry eyes, or headaches after several hours at the monitor are not just annoying. They can indicate that your vision, working distance, and screen setup are not working well together. In Austria, anyone who works regularly at a computer is entitled, under certain conditions, to an eye examination and, if normal visual aids are insufficient for the specific working distance, to special computer glasses. In principle, the employer must cover the necessary costs.
However, any new pair of everyday glasses does not automatically become a company benefit. For computer glasses at the employer's expense in Austria, the criteria include actual screen work, a professional examination, medical necessity, and a clearly coordinated procurement process. This guide explains the rules, shows the practical procedure, and helps to avoid unnecessary discussions about frames, lenses, and invoices. It does not replace medical or individual legal advice.
What distinguishes computer glasses from normal glasses
Computer glasses are a special visual aid for the distance between the eyes, the monitor, and work documents. This distance is often between classic reading distance and distance vision. The Chamber of Labour brochure on screen work cites a typical screen distance of about 60 to 90 centimeters. Normal reading glasses are usually designed for shorter distances. Ordinary progressive lenses, in turn, can lead to employees having to lift their heads or search for the right focus in a narrow zone.
The Austrian Display Screen Equipment Ordinance in § 12 requires that the special visual aid be tailored to the working distance, physiological conditions, and findings. The lenses must be anti-reflective and must not be tinted. Depending on the activity, single-vision or suitable multi-vision lenses may be considered.
The decisive factor is therefore not the sales designation in the optician's shop, but the proven need at the specific workplace. A fashionable blue-light filter pair of glasses without appropriate vision correction is not automatically a VDU (visual display unit) pair of glasses in the legal sense. Conversely, professionally prescribed workplace glasses may be necessary even if someone already wears other glasses or contact lenses in everyday life.
Who can be entitled in Austria
The special protection rules apply if a not insignificant proportion of daily work takes place at a screen. The Labor Inspectorate for VDU workstations cites more than three hours of screen work per day or more than two hours of uninterrupted screen work for this. It is about the actual activity and not just whether there is a monitor in the office.
Anyone who only occasionally queries data briefly does not automatically fall under the same requirements. On the other hand, those who process e-mails, plan, program, book, design, or manage customer data daily often reach the threshold quickly. Part-time employees can also be entitled. The Chamber of Labour (Arbeiterkammer) Upper Austria expressly clarifies that the entitlement is not linked to full-time employment; the screen workload remains the decisive factor.
The right to a special visual aid does not arise solely from many hours of screen time. First, an examination must show that computer glasses are necessary because normal corrective devices cannot be used for the required working distance. Anyone who sees without complaints and sufficiently with their existing correction at the workplace does not automatically receive an additional pair of glasses.
What applies in the home office
Screen work does not legally disappear just because it takes place in a private home. The labour inspection classifies telework and home office as off‑site workplaces. Employees remain employees within the meaning of occupational health protection when the requirements are met. Screen time, complaints and necessary examinations should therefore also be addressed in the case of regular telework.
In practice, the working distance at home is particularly important. Anyone who alternates between a large office monitor, a small laptop and a personal additional monitor should mention these distances during the examination. The glasses must match actual use. The jobspot.at guide to Telework in Austria.
Which eye examination must be offered
For relevant screen work, the employer must offer an appropriate examination of the eyes and vision:
- before starting screen work,
- thereafter at intervals of three years and
- additionally, if visual complaints occur that may be related to screen work.
The examination can, according to legal requirements, be carried out, among others, by ophthalmologists, occupational or company physicians, or other suitably qualified persons. If an abnormal or medically questionable finding is made, the next step is referral to an ophthalmologist's practice.
The employer must not only enable the necessary examination. According to the Chamber of Labour, the necessary time off and continued payment of wages must also be taken into account. Employees should therefore not treat the appointment as a private doctor's visit without consultation, but should first ask about the company's procedure.
When the employer must pay for the screen glasses
Section 12 of the Display Screen Work Ordinance provides that employers must bear the costs of special visual aids, provided these are not covered by a social security provider. Covered is the extent necessary under employee protection law. This includes suitable lenses, the necessary anti-reflective coating and a usable frame.
The Upper Austrian Chamber of Labour on screen glassespoints out that there is no legally specified flat maximum price. An internal company rule may not simply reduce the necessary protection to an arbitrary amount. That does not mean, however, that every designer frame and every additional coating must be paid for. If an employee voluntarily chooses a more expensive setup that goes beyond what is medically and functionally necessary, the additional cost may remain with them.
Therefore the order is more important than the purchase price: determine the need, inform the employer, agree on a cost estimate, and only then order. Anyone who buys an expensive pair of glasses without consultation may well have a legitimate need, but creates avoidable disputes about the provider, equipment and invoicing.
Necessary benefit or private upgrade?
| Position | Typical classification | What needs to be clarified beforehand |
|---|---|---|
| Glasses for screen and document distance | Central component when necessity is confirmed | Prescription and specific working distances |
| Anti-reflective coating | Explicitly provided for by the regulation | Which lens quality is necessary |
| Suitable standard frame | Required for the usable visual aid | Company's partner optician or frame |
| Expensive brand-name or designer frame | Additional cost may be paid privately | Difference to the required frame |
| Blue-light filters and comfort coatings | Not automatically required by law | Medical or work-related justification |
| Tinted lenses | Not intended for computer glasses under the regulation | Not to be ordered as a standard solution |
In seven steps to the right computer glasses
1. Record screen time and any complaints in detail
Keep a record for one week of how many hours you actually work at a monitor, whether you have long uninterrupted periods, and during which tasks complaints arise. Also document monitor distance, laptop use, and shifts of gaze to paper documents. This does not replace an examination, but it makes the consultation more specific.
2. Ask about company policy
Ask HR, your manager, occupational health, or the works council whether there is a company agreement, a form, a partner optician, or specifications for cost estimates. A neutral inquiry is sufficient:
I regularly work at a screen for several hours and experience visual discomfort. Please inform me about the company's procedure for eye examinations and, if applicable, for obtaining computer glasses for screen work.
3. Arrange an examination
Use the offered examination route. Bring any existing glasses and the main working distances. Don't just describe “computer work,” but also whether you switch between two monitors, paper, customers, or devices.
4. Have the necessity and execution documented
The report should state that a special visual aid for screen work is required. For the order, working distance, lens type, and required features are decisive. Medical details do not need to be passed on unfiltered to the manager; for billing, the necessary information about need and execution is sufficient.
5. Submit a cost estimate
Have the necessary standard configuration itemized and separate any optional extras. This makes it clear which amount the employer should cover and which private surcharge may apply. Also clarify to whom the invoice must be addressed.
6. Only order after approval
A brief written confirmation protects both parties. If the employer specifies a partner optician, that optician should actually be able to provide the prescribed model. The cheapest solution is not sufficient if the necessary wide field of view or the required prescription strength is lacking.
7. Hand over the invoice and documents in an orderly manner
Submit the invoice, the approval and the required proof according to the agreed procedure. Keep copies. For later adjustments or a change of workplace, it should be possible to determine for which viewing distance the glasses were manufactured.
Why computer glasses alone do not solve the problem
A suitable visual aid corrects vision, but it does not replace a good workstation. Too small text, glare, a laptop that is too close, dry air, or hours of unchanged posture can continue to exacerbate symptoms. The labour inspectorate recommends, among other things, maintaining as large a sensible screen distance as possible, an appropriate font size, positioning to minimize reflections, and regular shifts of gaze.
For more than 50 minutes of uninterrupted screen work, ten minutes of break from screen activity or a corresponding change of activity should generally be arranged. This does not have to be a leisure break: a phone call without a monitor, a personal conversation or another task can relieve the eyes. The existing jobspot.at-guide on Recording of working hours and breaks erklärt, warum solche Zeiten organisatorisch klar geregelt werden sollten.
In addition, an ergonomic sitting position, changing posture and appropriate lighting are helpful. For a broader overview, see the article Promoting Ergonomics in the Workplace.
What to do if the employer refuses to cover the costs?
First, it should be clarified exactly what the disagreement is about. Often it is not the entitlement itself but a missing approval, an insufficiently documented necessity, the chosen version, or optional additional services. Ask for a written justification and present the findings, the cost estimate and the company correspondence in an orderly fashion.
If the rejection persists, the works council, safety representative, occupational health service, chamber of labour or trade union are sensible points of contact. Don’t hastily buy a second pair of glasses and don’t hold a fundamental discussion only orally. Objective documentation makes it easier to assess whether the prerequisites are met and what share of the costs was necessary.
Three typical practical cases
Case 1: Part-time employee with long blocks of screen time
An administrative clerk works 25 hours per week. On four days she spends more than three hours at the monitor each day and often processes data records for longer than two hours without other tasks. After increasing headaches, she asks the HR department about the assessment procedure. The examination confirms that her regular glasses are not sufficient for the medium screen distance. Despite being part-time, a necessary pair of computer work glasses can be claimed because the specific screen work and the confirmed need are what count.
Case 2: Different distances in the home office
A project manager regularly works two days from home. At the office he uses two large monitors; at home he uses a laptop with an additional screen. He brings the measured distances of both workstations to the eye examination. Instead of ordering glasses only for the near laptop, a version is chosen for the distances that actually recur. Before placing the order, he agrees the prescription and cost estimate with his employer. This way the glasses remain usable at both workplaces and the cost decision is transparent.
Case 3: Necessary lenses plus optional designer frame
An employee needs special multifocal lenses with a wide field for the monitor and documents. The cost estimate includes a suitable standard frame as well as a significantly more expensive designer frame. The employer covers the necessary lenses, the anti-reflective coating and the cost of the suitable frame. The employee voluntarily chooses the designer model and pays only the clearly stated difference herself. Because the items are listed separately, there is no dispute about which part serves occupational health protection.
Frequently asked questions about computer glasses
Do I automatically get a new pair of glasses every three years?
No. The three-year interval refers to the offer of an eye and vision examination. A new pair of glasses requires that a corresponding need be demonstrated again.
Is a normal pair of reading glasses sufficient?
Only if it is suitable for the specific working distance. Screens, documents and keyboards are often farther away than a book. Whether an existing pair of glasses is sufficient must be professionally assessed.
Does the entitlement also apply to part-time work?
Yes, part-time employment does not exclude it. What matters are screen time and a confirmed necessity, not the agreed number of weekly hours alone.
Does the employer have to pay for a luxury frame?
The employer must cover what is necessary. For an optional upgrade chosen without medical or functional necessity, the employee may have to pay the additional cost themselves.
Can I simply buy the glasses and submit the invoice?
That is not recommended. Examination, documentation, internal procedure and a cost estimate should be clarified before ordering. This prevents disputes about necessity and specifications.
Does a commercially available blue-light filter pair of glasses count?
Not automatically. What matters is a special visual aid tailored to the individual working distance. An advertised filter alone neither replaces an examination nor a confirmed necessity.
Conclusion: Clarify the need first, then buy
Those who regularly work at a screen should not compensate for visual problems by simply increasing the font size or bringing the monitor closer. In Austria, people engaged in significant screen work have specific rights to an eye examination and, if necessary, to appropriate computer glasses. The necessary costs are generally borne by the employer.
The safest course is clear: document screen exposure, request the company's procedure, make use of the examination, record the need, and agree the cost estimate before placing an order. Check your actual monitor distance today and, if you have complaints, request the planned examination procedure in writing. That turns a vague wish into a verifiable occupational safety case.
Sources and further information
- Labour Inspectorate: display-screen workstations, breaks, eye examinations and visual aids
- Legal information system: § 12 Display Screen Work Regulation
- Chamber of Labour Upper Austria: computer glasses and cost coverage
- Chamber of Labour Vienna: screen work and computer glasses
- Central Labour Inspectorate: cost coverage for computer glasses
