Looking Ahead 2024: Czech Republic

Author: Klára Sleglova

The second half of 2023 was rich in news and changes in employment law in the Czech Republic. A major amendment to the Labour Code was adopted, as well as an amendment to the Employment Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act.

 

Key Issues

• Electronic delivery of employment-related documents
• Home office
• Agreements on work performed outside the employment relationship
• Agency employment
• Informing employees of the terms of the employment
• Whistleblowing

New rules for the delivery of employment-related documents have been in effect in the Czech Republic since 1 October 2023. The law no longer requires the employee to send the employer an acknowledgement of receipt of an electronically sent document and to affix a recognised electronic signature to the acknowledgement. However, important documents, i.e., recall or resignation of a managerial employee, salary statements, and unilateral documents concerning the termination of employment, can only be delivered electronically if the employee has agreed to this method with separate written consent. In this consent, the employee is required to provide a private electronic address (not the work email address) for document delivery.

Moreover, employment contracts and agreements, as well as termination agreements, can now be easily concluded electronically. The employer is only obliged to send the final document to the employee’s private email address or a communication app.

Regarding home office work, employers and employees must now conclude a written agreement when opting for remote work. The agreement can be terminated based on the mutual consent of the employer and the employee on an agreed upon date or withdrawn without giving any reason with 15 days’ notice by either of the parties. However, the employer and the employee may modify the length of the notice period or even arrange in the agreement that it may not be withdrawn by either party.

Employees working under agreements on work performed outside the employment relationship are newly entitled to paid leave and premiums for working on public holidays, night work, working in difficult working environments, and weekend work.

The amendment to the Employment Act introduced a new definition of illegal work. Until now, in order to establish the illegality of work, it was necessary to prove the continuous performance of work outside the employment relationship (except for regulated agreements on work outside the employment relationship). However, the duration of the work is no longer relevant for the determination of illegal work.

The transposition of the EU Directive has introduced into the Czech Labour Code a broader scope of information that the employer is obliged to provide to the employee in writing upon commencing work. Similarly, the information obligation has also been extended with regard to posted employees.

As the Whistleblower Protection Act has come into effect, employers with at least 50 employees and selected public authorities are obliged to have an internal reporting system and to appoint a competent person to ensure the functioning of the internal reporting system.

Finally, like every year, as of 1 January 2024, the minimum wage has been increased to CZK 18,900 per month.