On September 19, 2023, a long-discussed amendment to the Labor Code and certain other laws was published in the Collection of Laws under number 281/2023.
Now, only the requirements of the directives of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union have been implemented in our legal system with effect from October 1, 2023. Nevertheless, the changes are very important for employers. Two further parts of the amendment will come into force on January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2029.
The provisions that came into force on October 1 concern the following:
Home Office
One of the most significant innovations is the comprehensive legal regulation of remote working, in particular the explicit introduction of the requirement to sign a written agreement on remote working if the employee is to perform work from a place other than the employer’s workplace.
- The partial flat-rate payment of costs to be made by the employer to the employee in connection with remote working, unless it agrees with the employee that he or she is not entitled to the reimbursement of costs.
- This amount will be determined in a decree by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs based on data published by the Czech Statistical Office. According to the draft decree, which has already been made public, the amount of compensation for an employee should be CZK 4.60 per hour of remote work, i.e. for an eight-hour working day, just under CZK 37 per day.
- In line with European legislation, the amendment deals with “flexible work arrangements”. It goes so far in this direction that it imposes an obligation on employers to allow an employee caring for a child under 9 years of age or, for example, a pregnant employee to work away from the employer’s workplace, unless there are serious operational reasons preventing this.
Agreements for the Performance of Work and Agreements for Work Activity
- A new requirement is that an employer must schedule the working hours for employees working under an agreement in advance and inform them of the weekly work schedule at least three days in advance.
- The employer does not have the option to arrange with an employee that this obligation does not apply. However, at the same time, according to the explanatory memorandum on the law, they can at least agree to reduce this three-day period.
- The provision of holiday entitlement that will be granted to employees working under an agreement even under the same conditions as to employees in full-time employment.
- The introduction of an information obligation also with regard to employees working on the basis of Agreements for the Performance of Work or Agreements for Work Activity.
In addition to the above, the amendment to the Labor Code has also brought other changes. The information obligation regarding the establishment of an employment relationship has been extended. Employees working under agreement must also now be informed to a similar extent. The delivery of important employment documents has changed significantly, in particular regarding electronic delivery.
Also, a catalogue of information that is to be provided to employees by sending it to another State has been established. Another innovation is the regulation of overtime for employees in the healthcare sector.
