Martin Gruber-Risak

Associate Professor Dr. Martin Gruber-Risak has been a core faculty member at the University of Vienna’s Institute for Labour and Social Law since 1996, serving as Associate Professor from 2012 onward and as Scientific Director of the LL.M. programme "Labour Law".

Education & Career:

• 1989-1993 Law studies, University of Vienna
• 1993-1999 Doctoral studies in law, University of Vienna
• 2003 William Evans Visiting Fellow, University of Otago, NZ
• 2007 Habilitation in Labour & Social Law, University of Vienna
• 2010-2012 Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellow (University of Otago & Vienna)
• 2020 Visiting Professor, University of Salzburg

Research Interests:

Gruber-Risak’s scholarship covers Austrian and European labour law, working-time regulation, collective bargaining, dispute resolution & mediation, atypical employment, and the legal challenges of digital platform work. His recent projects analyse crowd-work, algorithmic management and EU initiatives for fair platform working conditions.

Publications & Trends:

Author of 19 monographs and more than 140 articles since 1999, he explores evolving employment forms, unilateral wage clauses, dismissal protection, and the transposition of EU directives into Austrian law, combining doctrinal analysis with socio-legal and comparative perspectives.

Scientific Awards:

• Leopold Kunschak Science Prize 2009
• Cardinal Innitzer Prize 2009

Projects & Grants:

He currently leads the FWF project "Virtual Employees" investigating platform work and has participated in EU studies on digitalisation and labour law reform.

Labs & Teams:

He heads the "Labour Law" LL.M. programme team and is a key member of the Institute for Labour and Social Law research group focusing on digitalisation and European labour standards.