CZECH REPUBLIC

UPDATED: 25.08.2015
I. Legal notice - disclaimer
This sheet aims to provide a general overview of the main substantive rules concerning the
terms and conditions of employment to be met by legislation transposing Directive 96/71/EC
concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (OJ L 18 of
21.1.1997). By its very nature, such a sheet can only summarise and does not necessarily
contain all the relevant information in this context. In no way can it replace legislative,
regulatory or administrative texts, or applicable collective agreements. The information below
has been provided by the authorities of the Member States, which have made every effort to
ensure its accuracy. Neither the Commission nor the Member States concerned can, however,
guarantee that the information provided is always precise, complete, accurate and up to date.
Furthermore, publication on the portal of the European Commission does not imply in any
way that the latter or its DG's and Services consider the rules presented in this way to be in
conformity with Community law.

II. Instrument transposing Directive 96/71/EC

Legislation:

• Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended

• Employment Act No 435/2004 Coll. as amended
• Act No 251/2005 Coll. as amended, on Labour Inspection

Other information:
Internet link: http://cz.osha.europe.eu/index.php

The information on foreign employment in English is available on the web page of the Czech
Government: http://portal.gov.cz.

More information about labour legislation in connection with foreign employment matters can
be found at: http://portal.mpsv.cz/sz/zahr_zam/pravnipredpisy_zz.

Information about Directive 96/71/EC and basic information about posting of workers in the
Czech Republic can be found at: http://cz.osha.europa.eu/topics/vysilani.php.

III. Information on legislation applicable in accordance with the

Directive
Information on legislation applicable to undertakings which, for a limited period of time, post
workers to the territory of another Member State can be obtained at the following address:

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic

Na Poříčním právu 1/376
128 01 Prague 2

tel.: +420 221 921 111

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fax: +420-224 918 391 or +420-221 922 664
e-mail: posta@mpsv.cz
http://www.mpsv.cz

IV. Failure to comply with the prescribed terms and condition of

employment
Cases of failure to comply with the prescribed terms and conditions of employment in the
Czech Republic and possible cases of illegal transnational activities can be reported to the
following address:

Employment issues:

Inspection of basic conditions of employment falls within the responsibility of Regional

Employment Offices – a list of the local Employment Offices is on the website:
http://portal.mpsv.cz/sz/local.

Address:

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

Na Poříčním právu 1/376
128 01 Prague 2
Czech Republic
http://portal.mpsv.cz

OSH and working conditions:

Inspection of employers and employees when complying with the relevant labour legislation
regarding OSH and working conditions falls within the responsibility of the State Labour
Inspection and its regional inspectorates – the relevant web page is: http://www.suip.cz or
http://www.mpsv.cz.

Address:
State Labour Inspection Office
Kolářská 451/13
746 01 Opava
Czech Republic
http://suip.cz

V. Situations constituting a posting [Article 1 of the Directive]

Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended, Section 319 applies to undertakings which
engage in the posting of workers as stipulated in Directive 96/71/EC (Art. 1 (3)):

The Labour Code governs the aspects of working conditions between an employees and
employers from another Member State who is posted to perform work in the Czech Republic:

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 § 319

1. If an employee of an employer from another Member State is posted to perform (carry out)
work within the framework of transnational provision of services in the territory of the Czech
Republic, the regulation of the Czech republic shall apply to his/her work performance as
regards:

a) the maximum length of working time and the minimum length of rest periods;
b) the minimum length of annual leave (paid leave per annum) or its proportionate
part;
c) the minimum wage, minimum wage rates and premium (bonus) payments for
overtime work;
d) occupational safety and health;
e) the working conditions for pregnant employees, employees who are breastfeeding,
and female employees until the end of the ninth month after childbirth and for
adolescent employees;
f) equal treatment for male and female employees and prohibition of discrimination.
g) the conditions of work in the case of employment by an employment agency.

The first sentence (above mentioned part of the article) shall not apply if the rights ensuing
from the statutory provisions of the Member State from which the employee concerned is
posted to perform work within the framework of transnational provision of services are more
advantageous for such employee. The advantageousness of each right arising from an
employment relationship (employment) shall be considered separately.

2. The provisions of subsection (1)(b) and (c) shall not apply if the period of expatriation of
an employee to perform work within the framework of transnational (supranational) provision
of services in the Czech Republic shall not exceed 30 days (in total) per one calendar year.
This shall not be applicable if such employee is posted by an employment agency to perform
work within the framework of transnational provision of services.”

VI. Posted workers [Article 2 of the Directive]

Directive 96/71/EC applies to workers who, for a limited period of time, carry out their work
on the territory of a Member State other than the State in which they normally work.

In the Czech Republic a worker is understood to be a physical entity (person) who is in a

labour relation with an employer, irrespective of that person's title in the country of origin.

The definition of a worker is stipulated in Section 6 (1) of the Labour Code No 262/2006
Coll. as amended, as follows:

Employee

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Employer is an individual (natural person) who assumed obligation to perform dependent

work within basic labour relationship.

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Further relevant is § 35 of the Civil Code No 89/2012 Coll.:

§ 35

(1) A minor who has attained fifteen years and completed their compulsory school attendance,
may undertake to perform dependent work under other legislation.
(2) The legal guardian of a minor who has not attained the age of sixteen years, may terminate
his employment or contract of employment between an employee and founding a similar
commitment by the employer, if necessary in the interest of education, health, development or
minor in the manner prescribed by another law.

It should be noted that, if an occupational activity in the Czech Republic can no longer be
considered as being exercised temporarily within the meaning of Directive 96/71/EC and the
above criteria, but is stable and continuous, than all the binding rules and regulations on
labour relations in the Czech Republic apply.

VII. Work periods and rest periods [Article 3(1)(a) of the Directive]
Legislation:

• Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended, Sections 78 to 100

• Working time
• Work breaks
• Uninterrupted rest periods between two shifts and per week
• Standby
• Overtime work

Working time (Sections 78 to 87 of the Labour Code)

Working time means a period of time for which an employee is obliged to perform work for
his employer and a period of time for which an employee is ready to perform work at the
workplace according to his employer’s instructions. A rest period means any period which is
not working time.

The length of normal weekly working hours may not exceed 40 hours per week.

The length of normal weekly working hours of:

• employees who work underground on extraction of coal, ores or non-metallic raw

materials, or on construction of mine works or who are engaged in geological
prospecting on mining sites, shall be 37.5 hours per week;
• employees, who are on a three-shift or continuous pattern (schedule) of work, shall be
37.5 hours per week;
• employees, who are on a two-shift pattern (schedule) of work, shall be 38.75 hours per
week;

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Measures concerning collective regulation of working time shall be consulted by the
employer in advance with the trade union organization. After the consulting, the employer
may introduce flexible schedule of working time.

The employer will establish working time schedules; the employer will set the beginning and
end of working time and the schedule of working shifts. When working time is evenly
scheduled, the length of any one shift may not exceed 9 hours. If another regulation of
working hours has been agreed between the employer and the employee concerned, the length
of a shift may not exceed 12 hours. In an uneven schedule of working hours, the length of one
shift may not exceed 12 hours.

As regards an employee who has not yet reached the age of 18 years, the length of a shift
on individual days may not exceed eight hours and where such employee performs work in
two or more basic labour relationships pursuant to section 3, the length of his weekly working
hours may not exceed in total 40 hours per week.

The employer may introduce flexible schedule of working time. (See Section 85)

Work breaks (Section 88 of the Labour Code)

After an employee has been continuously working for six hours at the utmost, he must be
given by his employer work for food and rest lasting at least 30 minutes. Where an employee
performs work that cannot be interrupted, this employee must be given a reasonable amount
of time for food and rest, without the work being interrupted. In this case such time shall be
included in working time. A juvenile employee must be given such break after a maximum of
four and half hours of continuous work (for further details see Section 88 in the Labour
Code).

Uninterrupted rest periods between two shifts and per week (Section 90 and 92 of the
Labour Code)

The employer shall schedule working time in such a way his employee has one uninterrupted
rest period of 35 hours per week, i.e. in each period of seven consecutive calendar days. In the
case of an adolescent employee, such uninterrupted rest period per week may not be less than
48 hours. The employer may schedule working hours of employees who are over the age of
18 years so that a period of uninterrupted rest period per week is at least 24 hours provided
that these employees are granted an uninterrupted rest period of at least 70 hours within two
weeks, but only in the instances referred to in section 90(2) and in the cases of technological
processes that cannot be interrupted (for further details see the Labour Code).

Standby (Section 95 of the Labour Code)

Standby may only take place at a place agreed with an employee but it must be at a place
other than the employer's workplaces.

Where an employee performs work during his standby, he is entitled to a wage or salary
different to remuneration for standby during which work is not performed. Standby during
which work is not performed is not included into working hours.

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Unless it has been agreed in the relevant collective agreement otherwise, an employee is
entitled to the remuneration of at least 10% of his average earnings for his period of standby.
Work performance during standby above normal weekly working hours is overtime work.

Overtime work (Section 93 of the Labour Code)

Overtime work may be performed only exceptionally. An employee may not be ordered to do
more than 8 hours of overtime work within individual weeks and 150 hours of overtime work
within one calendar year. The employer may only require from his employee overtime work
in excess of this scope (extent) if the employer and the employee concerned have so agreed.
(for further details see § 93 and 93a of the Labour Code.

VIII. Paid annual holidays [Article 3(1)(b) of the Directive]

Legislation:

• Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended, Section 211 to 223

An employee who performs work (job) under his/her employment contract is entitled, under
the conditions laid down in the sections 211 to 223 of the Labour Code, to:

• Annual leave (i.e. leave per annum) if an employee who under his continuous employment
with the same employer performed work for this employer for at least 60 days in one calendar
year in the condition that his/her employment last continuously for the entire calendar year.
The (standard) length of annual leave shall be minimum four weeks; the length of annual
leave of employees employed by employers who are not engaged in entrepreneurial activities
shall be five weeks. Pedagogical employees and academic employees of universities shall
have annual leave in the length of eight weeks.

• Proportional part of the annual leave – in the case when the employment didn´t last the
whole calendar year - which equals one twelfth of annual leave for every calendar month of
duration of employment with the same employer on the condition that an employee performed
at least 60 days of work in such an employment.

• Leave for the number of days on which work was performed if an employee, whose
right to annual leave or its proportional part has not arisen because he has not been employed
by one employer for at least 60 days in a calendar year, is entitled to leave for the days on
which he carried out work (for one employer) in the length of one-twelfth of annual leave (i.e.
leave entitlement per annum) for every 21 days on which he carried out work in a calendar
year.

• Supplementary leave (Section 215 of the Labour Code)

An employee who for an entire calendar year works for the same employer underground,
extracting minerals or driving tunnels and galleries (tunnelling), or an employee who for an

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entire calendar year is engaged in particularly hard (difficult) work or in work which is
harmful to his health, shall be entitled to supplementary leave in the length of one week.

General Condition:
These sections do not apply if the period of work carried out by the posted employee does not
exceed 30 days in a calendar year from the start of his posting [section 319 (2) of the Labour
Code].

Information on:
• Posting of Workers Information in English:http://cz.osha.europa.eu/topics/vysilani.php

IX. Pay [Article 3(1)(c) of the Directive]

Legislation:
• Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended, Section 109 to 150
• Government Decree No 204/2014 Coll. as amended, stipulating minimum wage rates
and premiums for work under dangerous conditions and for work at night, as amended

In the 2015 the minimum wage is CZK 55 per hour; or CZK 9,200 for employees who receive
a monthly salary. From January 1, 2016, the minimum wage amounts to CZK 58.70 per hour
or CZK 9,900 per month respectively.

ƒ The minimum wage may not be lower than the appropriate minimum rates set by
Government Decree No 204/2014 Coll.. The Annex to this Government Decree gives
a list of the minimum rates for the different kinds of work.
ƒ An employee is entitled to a wage and a premium payment of at least 25% of average
earnings for overtime work.

General Condition:

The above does not apply if the time of posting of an employee does not exceed 30 days in a
calendar years from the start of the employee’s posting.

Information on:
http://www.mpsv.cz/cs/1489

X. Rules concerning hiring-out of workers and terms and conditions

applying to temporary workers [Article 3(1)(d) of the Directive]

Legislation:

• Employment Act No 435/2004 Coll. as amended, Section 58 to 66

• Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended, Section 2 , 308 and 309

Undertakings (Temporary Work Agencies) can hire out their workers provided they have
permission for such activities issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The

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relationship between this undertaking and its worker has to be based either on an employment
contract or on an agreement on working activity, and the agreement between the undertaking
and the subject to whom the workers are hired out has to be in a written form.

The hired worker has to receive equal treatment as other workers in the undertaking (this
applies to both working and pay conditions).

Information on:
http://cz.osha.europa.eu/index.php

XI. Health, safety and hygiene at work [Article 3(1)(e) of the Directive]
Legislation:

• Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended, Section 101 to 108

• Act No 309/2006 Coll.

Chapter on OSH:

An employer must ensure the safety and protect the health of employees at work in respect of
any risks which may pose a danger to life and health when employees are performing their
work. This employer's obligation also relates to all persons who are present at his workplaces
with his knowledge. If risks at work cannot be eliminated or sufficiently limited by technical
means or by the reorganisation of work, the employer must provide his employees with
personal working protection equipment. Employees have the right to refuse to do work which
they reasonably consider as posing direct and significant threat to their lives and health, or the
lives or health of other persons; such refusal cannot be regarded as an employee's non-
performance of his obligation.

• Act No 258/2000 Coll. as amended, on Public Health

Chapters: Working conditions, Noise, Vibration, Carcinogens, Non-ionising radiation,

Biological agents, Chemical substances, Asbestos, State Health Inspection, etc.

Information on:

• Act No 309/2006 Coll. in English:

http://cz.osha.europa.eu/legislation/files/309_2006.pdf
• Act No 258/2002 Coll. in Czech: http://cz.osha.europa.eu/index.php

XII. Rules concerning the terms and conditions of employment of

pregnant women and women who have recently given birth [Article
3(1)(f) of the Directive]
Legislation:

• Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended, Section 238(3) to 242

• Government Regulation No 180/2015 Coll., which stipulates the kind of work and
workplaces forbidden to pregnant women and women who have recently given birth

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 until the 9th month after delivery, and the conditions under which adolescents can
work when preparing for future jobs.

If a pregnant woman does work which she is forbidden to do or which, according to medical
opinion, endangers her pregnancy, the employer must transfer her temporarily to other more
suitable work but at the same time allow her to maintain the level of her previous earnings. If
a pregnant woman on night shift requests a transfer to day work, the employer must comply
with her request. This also applies to mothers until the end of the ninth month after they gave
birth and to breastfeeding women. Pregnant women and employees looking after children up
to the age of eight may only be sent on a business trip or be transferred outside their
permanent workplace or the place of their residence with their consent. An employer may not
order a pregnant woman or an employee looking after a child under one year-old to work
overtime.

Information on:
http://cz.osha.europa.eu/index.php

XIII. Rules concerning the terms and conditions of employment of

children and young people [Article 3(1)(f) of the Directive]
Legislation:

• Employment Act No 435/2004 Coll. as amended, Section 121 to 124

• Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended, Section 243 to 247
• Government Regulation No 180/2015 Coll. as amended, which stipulates the kind of
work and workplaces forbidden to pregnant women and women who have recently
birth until the 9th month after delivery, and the conditions under which adolescents
can work when preparing for future jobs.

For the purposes of the Employment Act, the term “child” means a person under the age of 15
or a person who has not finished obligatory school attendance. Those persons can perform
only such earning activities as cultural, sport or advertising activities provided that he/she has
a permission issued by the relevant Labour Office.

Employers may only employ these persons for work suited to their physical and intellectual
development and have to devote special attention to their needs at work. An employer may
not require them to work overtime or at night, or to do work prohibited under the Labour
Code and Government Regulation 180/2015 Coll. as amended.

The employer must ensure that adolescent employees are examined by a physician prior to
entering into the employment relationship; and regularly, according to needs, and at least once
a year, unless the Ministry of Health imposes more frequent medical examinations in certain
categories of work.

Information on:
http://cz.osha.europa.eu/index.php

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XIV. Equality and non-discrimination [Article 3(1)(g) of the Directive]
Legislation:

• Labour Code No 262/2006 Coll. as amended, Section 16 and 17

• Employment Act No 435/2004 Coll. as amended, Section 4
• Anti-Discrimination Act No 198/2009 Coll. As amended.

Employers shall safeguard equal treatment for all employees as regards employees' working
conditions, remuneration for work and other emoluments in cash and in kind (of monetary
value), vocational training and opportunities for career advancement (promotion). Any form
of discrimination in labour relations is prohibited. The terms, such as direct discrimination,
indirect discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, persecution, an instruction to
discriminate and/or incitement to discrimination, and the instances in which different
treatment is permissible, is regulated by Anti-Discrimination Act
.

XV. Terms and conditions of employment concerning other matters

[Article 3(10) of the Directive]
There are no such terms and conditions stipulated in Czech legislation.

XVI. Procedural and administrative requirements

Legislation:

• Employment Act No 435/2004 Coll. as amended, Section 87

Employees posted to the Czech Republic do not need a work permit, but under the
Employment Act (No 435/2004 Coll. as amended) the employer to whom they are posted is
obliged to inform the relevant regional Employment Office in writing by the first day of the
posting at the latest and within 10 days of the end of the posting.

Information on:
http://portal.gov.cz
http://download.mpo.cz/get/28934/31168/331861/priloha001.pdf

XVII. Mediation mechanism in case of conflict

The State Labour Inspection authority can check the compliance of the employer regarding
the posting of workers with the relevant labour law and can administer legal sanctions if
necessary.

XVIII. Information on judicial enforcement procedures

Courts must consider and rule on disputes between an employer and an employee over
entitlements ensuing from an employment relationship.

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Judicial enforcement procedures fall within the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice (civil
courts and administration courts) and are governed by the Civic Code and Civil Procedure
Code.

Address:
Ministry of Justice
Vyšehradská 16
128 10 Prague 2

e-mail: posta@msp.justice.cz

Information on:
http://www.justice.cz

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