In this article we bring insight into further changes introduced by the prepared novelization of the Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labour Code, which is currently being discussed by the Parliament of the Czech Republic and should become effective as of 1st July 2017 (except for provisions concerning annual leave, which is scheduled to become effective as of 1st January 2018).
II. HOME OFFICE
The novelization also embodies more detailed rules for performing work outside of the employer‘s workplace, especially:
- the possibility to negotiate the conditions for home office in the employment contract or in the agreement on work performed outside the employment relationship;
- the statutory obligation of the employer to reimburse the employee’s expenses linked to communication, as well as other expenses, which can arise during the performance of such work. It will not be possible to include these expenses in the employee´s salary, but is it possible to agree these on a lump sum basis;
- data protection obligation from the employer’s side as well as from the employee’s side;
- the employer’s obligation to prevent the employee from isolation;
- the application of the following provisions of the Labour Code will be exempt for home office:
* scheduling of working hours, downtime and adverse weather conditions;
* extra payment for overtime work, night work or work during public holidays, Saturdays or Sundays;
* wage compensation due other important personal obstacles (except for sick pay).
III. OTHER CHANGES
Agreements on work performed outside of employment relationship: by way of example the employer is newly obliged to:
- provide to the employee at least the amount of the guaranteed wage;
- keep records of the worked hours;
- allow the employee to use statutory rest at work according to the Labour Code, such as uninterrupted rest between two performances of work or uninterrupted rest during the week etc. (except for annual leave).
New legislation contains also completely new method for calculating the entitlement to annual leave, especially:
- an annual leave calculated on the basis of the days worked is cancelled as the annual leave will be newly calculated only on the basis of the actual hours worked;
- in order to constitute any entitlement to a proportional part of the annual leave, the employment must last at least 4 weeks;
- more possibilities to transfer any unused annual leave to the following calendar year;
- new rules for reduction of the annual leave. It will be possible to reduce an employee‘s entitlement to annual leave solely due to his unexcused absence and only by the number of the actual hours of unexcused absence. Nevertheless, the employee must be provided with minimum of 3 weeks of annual leave.
Other changes also include: a cancelation of the institute of transfer of the employee and its replacement by an agreement on change of a place of work performance; employer’s obligation to reemploy the employee in his/her original working position and workplace after the return from the paternal leave; specification of conditions of transfer of rights and obligations; the employer‘s obligation to prevent employees from stress.