The most significant changes brought about by the amendment to the Labour Code made by Act No. 281/2023 Coll. concern agreements outside the employment relationship. And to make things less complicated, some of the changes already take effect from 1 October 2023 and some of the changes are not effective until 1 January 2024.
Changes to agreements applicable from 1 October 2023
So what has changed in the agreements since the beginning of October? The changes concern the employer's information obligation, the scheduling of working time, but also, for example, the right to take personal leave from work and more. Below you will find detailed information on all the important changes effective from 1 October 2023.
Information about the content of the legal relationship
The agreement on the performance of work and the agreement on work activity must be agreed in writing between the employer and the employee. The content of this agreement must include:
- Negotiated work
- Agreed scope working time for FTEs (not to exceed on average half of the weekly working time)
- Time, for which the agreement is concluded
On the basis of the amendment to the Labour Code the employer is obliged to employees who work for the company under agreements outside the employment relationship, inform in writing about the content of the legal relationship based on these agreements (Section 77a of the Labour Code).
The employer is obliged to provide the following information in writing:
- Name and seat the employer (if a legal person) or the name, surname and address of the employer (if a natural person)
- More designation of the agreed work a place of performance Thesis
- Amount of leave and the method of determining the length of leave
- Duration and conditions of probation, if agreed
- Procedure, which the employer and employee are obliged to comply with when dissolving a legal relationship based on an agreement to perform work or an agreement to perform work, the length and duration of the notice period
- Professional development information, if the employer provides it
- Estimated scope of working time per day or per week, the way in which working time is distributed, including the length of the compensatory period
- Scope of the minimum continuous daily rest a of uninterrupted rest during the week, Provided by breaks for meals and rest or adequate rest and meal periods
- Remuneration from the agreement, the terms and conditions of its provision, the due date and time of payment of the remuneration from the agreement, the place and method of payment of the remuneration from the agreement
- Information on collective agreements, which regulate the terms and conditions of employment of the employee, the designation of the parties to these collective agreements
- Information about the social security body, to whom the employer pays social security contributions in connection with the employee's employment relationship
The employer must disclose all such information to the employee within 7 days at the latest from the date of commencement of work.
TIP: On the website Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is published recommended pattern the document "Information on the content of the legal relationship based on the FTC and FTE", which you can use to fulfil your information obligations.
Duty to inform the employer has even in the case ofthat an employee on a fixed-term or full-time contract is posted to working in another country for at least 4 weeks consecutive. If this information is not contained in the work performance agreement or work activity agreement, the employer must inform the employee in writing of:
- State, in which the work is to be carried out
- Projected time of this posting
- currency, in which the remuneration from the agreement will be paid
- in cash or in kind filling provided by the employer in connection with the performance of work
- conditions and assurance of return Staff
TIP: This information may be replaced by a reference to the relevant legislation, collective agreement or internal regulation.
Scheduling of working time (Section 74 of the Labour Code)
An important change effective from 1 October 2023 is written working time schedules an employee working under an agreement outside the employment relationship. The employee must be with this working time schedule informed at least 3 days before the start of the shift, he's about to get on. The employer may also agree with the employee on a different period of familiarisation.
Scope of work held on FTE and FTE
Scope of work, which the employee may perform for a work agreement is 300 hours per calendar year. This limit applies to all work performance agreements held with one employer within the calendar year. The periods referred to in Article 348(1) of the Labour Code shall not count towards the 300 hours. Only the hours actually worked shall be counted towards this limit.
Based on agreements on work activities it is possible to carry out work to the extent that it does not exceed, on average, half of the weekly working time. The maximum permissible half-weekly working time shall be assessed for the entire period for which the employment contract was concluded, but not more than 52 weeks.
Obstacles at work
Staff, who work for their employer under a work performance agreement or a work activity agreement will be entitled to take personal leave from work. Entitlement to remuneration for obstacles to work referred to in Section 199 of the Labour Code and obstacles to work for reasons of general interest referred to in Section 200
and Section 205 of the Labour Code, but they will not have, unless otherwise agreed or provided for by an internal regulation.
Supplements for agreements outside the employment relationship
On the basis of Section 138 of the Labour Code is the remuneration from the agreement for the purpose of granting allowances treated as wages. Therefore, employees working under agreements outside the employment relationship are only entitled to the additional payments set out in Sections 115 to 118 of the Labour Code. This also applies to employees working under a work performance agreement and a work activity agreement in an organisation that remunerates its employees with a salary.
Observance of rest breaks during the day and week
Staff working on FTE and SNE bobserve rest breaks during the day a rest breaks during the week, as stated in § 90 and § 92 of the Labour Code.
Request for transfer to an employment relationship
Employee, whose legal relationships based on a work performance agreement and a work activity agreement last for a total of at least 180 days, can apply to his employer for employment. The employee's request must be in writing. The employer must give the employee no later than
1 month to provide a reasoned written reply.
If the employee who has received the notice believes that the reason for the notice is the employee's request, he or she has the right to ask the employer for a written justification within 1 month from the date of receipt of the notice. The employer must inform the employee in writing of the reasons for the dismissal without undue delay.
