Novelization of the Czech Labour Code 2020 – part two

NOVELIZATON OF THE CZECH LABOUR CODE 2020 - part two

As of 30^th July 2020 the novelization of the Czech Labour Code (Act No. 262/2006 Coll.), published in the Collection of Laws on 26^th June 2020 under No. 285/2020 Coll., became effective.

The amendment introduces in particular a new legal regulation of the delivery of documents, further specification of the regulation of the transfer of rights and obligations arising from the labour relations and new conditions for the posting of workers to EU Member States in accordance with the European legislations.

Specification of the rules for the transfer of rights and obligations arising from labour relations

The Labour Code’s amendment aims to define this area more precisely and thus to reduce the cases in which a transfer of rights and obligations arising from labour relations occurs.

The transfer of rights and obligations arising from labour relations during the transfer of the employer’s activity or a part of it to another employer shall be newly conditioned upon the cumulative fulfilment of following conditions:

• after the transfer, the transferred activity is performed in the same or similar manner and to the same or similar extent,
• the activity does not consist wholly or mainly of supply of goods,
• immediately prior to the transfer, there is a group of employees which was intentionally created by the employer for the sole or predominant performance of the transferred activity,
• the activity is not intended to be short-term or does not consist of a one-off task,
• as a part of the transfer of the activity, also the property is transferred, or the right to use it, if such property is essential for the performance of the activity, except where performance of the transferred activity depends substantially only on employees, not on property, and a substantial part of these employees, which the current employer (transferor) used in the performance of the activity, is taken over by the new employer (transferee).

In order for the transfer to occur, all the conditions listed in points (i) to (v) above have to be met.

However, the fulfilment of the above stated conditions shall not be required in cases where there is a transfer under another law (e.g. the purchase of a business enterprise or a part thereof or a transformation under the Civil Code, or the Act on the Transformation of Business Corporations and Cooperatives).

New rules also allow the employee to terminate the employment relationship with the current employer (transferor) in connection with the transfer. The novelization distinguishes between the following two situations:

• the employee was duly and timely informed of the transfer, i.e. as required under Section 339 LC and no later than 30 days prior to the effective date of the transfer, then he/she may give the termination notice to the current employer (transferor) due to the transfer within 15 day from the day when he/she was informed of such a transfer. The employment shall terminate at the latest on the day preceding the date on which the transfer takes effect.
• the employee was not duly and timely informed of the transfer (pursuant to Section 339 LC), then the employee may terminate his/her employment as follows:
• if the notice was given before the date of the transfer effectiveness, the employment shall terminate on the day preceding the date of the transfer effectiveness,
• if the notice was given within 2 months from the date of the transfer effectiveness, the employment shall terminate upon expiration of the notice period, which shall be 15 days and starts on the day on which the notice was delivered to the employer.