Employment relationship is one of the most intriguing. Czech labor law is rather rigid and is not well adapted to the modern dynamic world. The employee is well protected in terms of termination, but the law gives also the employer many powers over employee's time and activity. When both the employer and the employee are satisfied in the relationship, they usually put little attention to the exact fulfilment of all rules, but in case the satisfaction disappears, the disputes can be exhausting.
Michal Dobiáš has been advising in the field of employment law already as a law student in the pro bono advisory group. He then gained experiences advising corporate client and also expats as lawyer of our law firm. Now, he is the head of our labor law team.
Czech law knows three types of contracts between the employer and the employee. Every type has its own specifications and the rules of the Czech Labor Code. The main one is the employment contract which is heavily regulated, but still can be subject to many modifications.
• tailoring termination options, remuneration system (e.g. variable wage) etc.
Czech employees with employment contract are well protected and can't be fired without a specific reason. The legitimate reasons are in general organizational change, qualified breach of employee's duty or health inability. Also, under some circumstances the employees are entitled to statutory severance payment (combined with the notice period).
The employment relationship is regulated not only by Czech Labor Code, but also by Employment Act and various public health rules. Therefore, there is also a control of governmental bodies over the individual relationships. The authorities can impose substantial fines over the employers.