Employment Law Overview Czech Republic

Introduction

There are numerous laws governing employment relationships in the Czech Republic. The main one is the Labour Code, which establishes the rights and obligations of the employment relationships‘ participants. The Labour Code is quite strict when it comes to key points in employment relationships, mainly establishment and termination. The Czech employment laws can be in general described as quite protective of the employee, as the employee is considered the weaker party in the relationship. Equal treatment and restriction of any type of discrimination are considered the main principles of the Labour Code.

Key Points

• Termination of employment is only possible due to the reasons stated in the Labour Code and statutory notice period is 2 months (longer period can be agreed).
• The law and the labour courts usually tend to protect employees.
• The written form with a handwritten signature is generally required for the most important documents.
• What was agreed in the employment contract or other type of agreement cannot be unilaterally changed by the employer.
• The employees are entitled to numerous paid leaves and allowances arising from the Labour Code (sick leave, maternity/paternity leave, wedding leave, etc. and overtime allowance, allowance for work on weekends and public holidays, etc.).
• Minimum annual leave is 4 weeks, but 5 weeks is currently market standard.
• Trade unions might be established if there are more than 3 employees in the company and Trade union representatives are protected (mainly from termination).

Legal framework

• The Constitution of the Czech Republic and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms
• The Labour Code
• The Employment Act
• The Anti-Discrimination Act
• The Collective Bargaining Act
• Decree on certain obstacles to work on the part of the employee
• The Labour Inspection Act
• Laws regarding statutory social security/health insurance

New Developments

A new whistleblowing act will be adopted in the Czech Republic in the course of 2022/2023 and we assume that it will have a significant influence on employers and the labour law environment in general. Otherwise, the work-life balance and work from home is currently a broadly discussed topic. Nevertheless, there is still not sufficient legislation regarding work from home in the Czech Republic, even though there have been some drafts in the past. Another current topic is digitalisation in regard to labour law and the upcoming amendment to the Labour Code should bring new rules and conditions in such direction.