Top Employment Law News in 2023

The biggest expected change in labor law in 2023 is the forthcoming major amendment of the Labor Code. Additionally, there are changes to the implementation of medical examinations and changes to minimum and guaranteed salary.

The Labor Code amendment

The new regulation was originally intended to come into force in the first quarter of 2023, but the proposal has yet to be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies. We are currently unable to say when the changes will be effective, but we are monitoring the legislative process and will of course keep you informed of developments.

The changes are expected to affect especially the following three areas:

• regulation of home working – the most discussed issue is the employer’s obligation to cover the employee’s home working costs, proposed at a rate of CZK 2.80 per hour of work

• agreements on work outside the employment relationship, i.e. agreement to perform work (DPP) or an agreement on work activity (DPČ) – a major change is that employees will newly be entitled to holidays (under certain conditions)

• delivery in employment law – it should newly be possible to deliver termination documents and some other specific documents electronically.

Medical examinations

Medical examinations at work include:

• initial examination – must always be carried out on an employee in an employment relationship according to the current regulations before the employment starts . This is expected to be changed in the near future.

•  periodic examination – the purpose is the early detection of changes in the employee’s state of health; is carried out at specific intervals according to the classification of employees into 4 categories of work (1 – no risk to health to the 4 most risky categories of work); this examination has been changed and is now carried out on a “voluntary basis” in the case of “less riskywalk in” categories one and two. It is advisable for the employer to describe the respective rules in an internal regulation.

• extraordinary examination.

Medical examinations for employees who drive a car

There have also been changes regarding employees who drive a car – from 1 January 2023, driving a car (unless the job title is “driver”) is no longer an occupational hazard.

However, it still has to be determined  whether driving is carried out as a normal part of the work or whether other persons are transported to the place of work.  In that case:

If it is a normal part of work or if other persons are transported to the place of work, the employee must undergo a medical examination by the employer’s occupational health service provider, i.e. a medical examination by the employee’s registered (district) doctor is not sufficient.

Minimum and Guaranteed Salary in 2023

Minimum Salary

The minimum monthly salary for 2023 is CZK 17,300 (i.e. approx. EUR 720) and the minimum hourly salary for 2023 is CZK 103.80 (i.e. approx. EUR 4.30) (for agreed working hours of 40 hours per week, i.e. full-time work; if a shorter working time has been agreed, the minimum salary is reduced proportionately).

Guaranteed Salary

The amount of the guaranteed salary depends on the complexity of the work, the responsibility of the employee for the work performed and the severity of the work. For the purpose of determining the guaranteed salary, eight categories of work are distinguished.

For the highest category, the guaranteed salary for 2023 has also been increased. Since the lowest category of guaranteed salary is equal to the minimum salary, only the lowest and highest categories of work have actually seen an increase in the guaranteed salary. The other minimum guarantee salary levels remain unchanged.

The current level of guaranteed salaries for full-time work are:

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