Recent changes to Czech employment law have likely caught the attention of expats, as nine additional countries have been added to the list of those whose citizens can work in the Czech Republic without a work permit.
The new regulations are of particular relevance to expatriates from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Israel. As of 1st July 2024, citizens of the aforementioned countries are permitted to work in the Czech Republic without the need to obtain a work permit, employee card or “blue card”.
In addition to the government’s main goal of simplifying recruitment procedures and reducing administrative hurdles for foreign workers, further legislative changes will impact employers.
For businesses hiring expatriate workers, a key aspect of the legislative transformation is the introduction of a new section aimed at enhancing transparency in legal arrangements while reducing the administrative burden associated with employing individuals from other EU countries.
Job Posting Reforms
The expansion of the labour market to citizens from nine more countries is part of the government’s broader strategy to make the Czech Republic a more attractive destination for foreign workers. The entry of foreign employees in the Czech Republic shall be facilitated, owing to the reduction of administrative processes, job placements speed up and economy’s efficiency enhancement.
The effort to streamline job applications extends to changes in how vacant jobs are registered at the Labour Office. Job characteristics are now more detailed in the official classification system, and vacancies will be automatically removed from the State Labour Inspection Office’s register after six months to avoid skewing the statistics.
Firms have to report the arrival of a seconded foreign employee and now it can be done electronically via the Labour Office’s online portal. The reporting process requires submitting certain identification data about both employer and employee, the start date of the posting, the expected duration (if longer than 12 months), and the anticipated end date. As of 1 July, there is no longer a requirement for employers to retain physical copies of documents in paper form, as all evidence is available in the Labour Office’s database.
It is also necessary to indicate the means by which the employee arrives in the Czech Republic. There are three categories of employees: individuals working under an employment contract, individuals sent by a business corporation located in an EU member state with an office in the Czech Republic, and individuals sent by an employment agency to perform work in the Czech Republic based on an employment contract or agreement.
Furthermore, employers are required to submit a copy of the document establishing the working relationship with the new employee (such as a work contract or agreement), translated into Czech if the original document was in any language other than Czech or Slovak.
New Requirements for Employee Registration
Employers are subject to the obligation to register all personnel working under a Work Agreement (in Czech, Dohoda o provedení práce or DPP). Previously, only DPP employees participating in pension or health insurance plans were required to be registered. This condition now applies to all workers registered for Czech social insurance.
It is the employer’s responsibility to report the income generated by DPP employees by the 20th of each subsequent month. It is a requirement that reports are submitted regardless of whether or not the employees in question participate in the pension and health insurance schemes.
Meanwhile, all Work Agreements signed before June 30 must be reported under the new legislation. New DPP employees must be reported within eight days of starting work, with all reporting procedures accessible via the Czech Social Security Administration’s online portal.
In conclusion, the reforms mark a positive step towards a more dynamic and efficient labour market in the Czech Republic, with the potential to benefit both businesses and expatriate workers alike.
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