Czech Republic: House of Deputies debates a fundamental amendment to the Labor Code
The House of Deputies is currently discussing the bill for an amendment of the Labor Code on the conceptual level. If the bill becomes law as of 1 July 2017 as proposed, a number of employment-law areas will face fundamental changes.
One of the most far-reaching conceptual changes in the bill is the introduction of an institution called the „chief executive employee” – a special sub-category within that of the executive employees, with the direct executive powers of the employer’s statutory body (in the case of a legal entity) or of the employer himself or herself (in the case of a natural person) and the level of executive employees immediately below that. Among the criteria by which someone will be categorized as chief executive employee will be their monthly salary (which should be at least CZK 75k).
Similarly fundamental changes await the legal framework for paid leave. The vacation entitlement will no longer be derived from the number of days worked by the employee, but be based on the weekly working hours of the employee. In other words, a lower amount of weekly working hours (whether set by default or agreed between the parties) will be reflected in the corresponding amount of paid leave (newly to be stipulated also in hours, rather than days). The principal idea behind this change is to make it easier to calculate the vacation that may be claimed.
In the interest of promoting opportunities for a better work-life balance, the amendment introduces various changes to the rules governing the performance of work away from the employer’s workplace (i.e., from home), as to the terms of such work, the coverage of expenses, the scheduling of working hours, or obstacles to work on the part of the employee.
Other changes proposed by the bill concern the passage of rights and obligations from employment relationships, the prevention of stress and protection from workplace harassment, rules for the service of process, and agreements on work to be performed outside of a proper employment relationship.
Source: Act No. 262/2006 Coll. Parliamentary press 903/0