Czech Republic: “Antivirus” Program
The Government approved the announced employment promotion program “Antivirus”. The essence of this program is the partial compensation of employee wage costs during the period of obstacles caused by the quarantine and emergency or crisis measures related to the spread of COVID-19.
The basic parameters of this program are as follows:
| REGIME | REGIME DESCRIPTION | STATE BENEFIT |
Regime A Imposed quarantine and closure or restriction of operations due to emergency crisis measures |
Obstacles to work consisting of quarantine of employees (Section 192 of the LC) or closure or restriction of operations due to crisis resolutions of the Czech Government and extraordinary measures of public health protection authorities (Section 208 of the LC). In the case of imposed quarantine, employees are entitled to wage compensation equal to 60% of the employee’s reduced average earnings, while in other obstacles to work, employees are entitled to wage compensation equal to 100% of their average earnings. |
The state benefit will be provided in the amount of 80% of paid wage compensation, including compulsory contributions, however, up to a maximum of CZK 39,000 per employee. |
Regime B Related economic difficulties associated with COVID-19 |
Obstacles to work on the part of the employer which are presumed to be causally linked to the COVID-19 infection, i.e. in particular arising due to the absence of a significant part of employees due to obstacles to work on their part, lack of inputs or limited sales of the employer’s production (Sections 207 to 209 of the LC). The occurrence of a particular obstacle to work is dependent on the specific situation of the employer and its possibilities to optimize its activities. Employees are entitled to wage compensation equal to 60 – 100% of their average earnings, depending on a particular obstacle. |
The state benefit will be provided in the amount of 60% of paid wage compensation, including compulsory contributions, however, up to a maximum of CZK 29,000 per employee. |
Target group
The program is intended for all employers, including employment agencies, whose wage funds are not covered by public budgets.
The state benefit is provided exclusively for employees being in an employment relationship who are still the employees of the employer when it submits a summary of paid wage compensation and have not been served a termination notice nor are they in the notice period (except for termination notice pursuant to Section 52 (g) and (h) of the LC). In the case of employment agencies, the condition is also that the employment relationship was concluded with the employee before 12 March 2020.
The state benefit is provided only if the employer has paid wages or rather wage compensation to employees and duly paid compulsory public health insurance and social security contributions, and the contribution to the state employment policy.
Duration of the program
The program can cover benefits for paid wage compensation occurred between 12 March 2020 and 30 April 2020, with the possibility of extension if necessary.
Basic administration process
Acts related to submitting an application for granting a state benefit will be performed through a web application, data boxes, or by e-mail with a recognized electronic signature. The administration process can be simply divided into: (1) submitting the application, (2) concluding an agreement, (3) submitting the statement of paid wage compensation, and (4) providing a state benefit, while the employer must also submit the required documents.
The agreement between the employer and the Labour Office of the Czech Republic will be generated automatically after filling in the application in the web application, and this application is expected to be launched from 6 April 2020.
As soon as the agreement with the Labour Office of the Czech Republic has been concluded and the employer has paid wage compensation, including compulsory contributions, the employer will submit to the Labour Office of the Czech Republic a statement of paid wage compensation, including the list of employees and other details. For each regime, the applicant will fill in a separate form, including an affidavit on wage funds paid and the occurrence of obstacles to work in accordance with the Labour Code. The state benefit will be provided only for the employees who will be verified (electronically with the Czech Social Security Administration) that they are employed with the employer, specifically to the employer’s bank account.
Inspection and penalties
Compliance with labour laws and conditions for the payment of the state benefit will be subject to comprehensive inspections by the competent authorities.
Misuse of the state benefit may also be classified as a criminal offense.
HAVEL & PARTNERS labour law experts are available for you to consult on any issues related to this program. For additional information on any matter related to labour issues in Czech Republic, please contact Jan Koval (jan.koval@havelpartners.cz) partner of HAVEL & PARTNERS, or visit www.havelpartners.cz.
For more information please contact Joseph Granato, Communications Manager at L&E Global at joseph.granato@leglobal.org.
