Pursuant to Section 203(2)(h) of the Labour Code, employees are entitled to act as leaders of camps for children and young people, their representatives for economic and health matters, team leaders, tutors, instructors and, where appropriate, paramedical staff in camps for children and young people, and for similar activities at sports camps for children and young people leave of absence to the extent strictly necessary, up to a maximum of 3 weeks per calendar yearunless serious operational reasons on the part of the employer prevent it, and provided that the employee has worked consistently and without pay with children or young people for at least 1 year before the release. The condition of continuous and unpaid work shall not be required in the case of camps for disabled children and young people.
Pursuant to the amendment of this section made by Act No. 285/2020 Coll., with effect from 1 January 2021, it is provided that an employee shall be entitled to the conditions provided for in Section 203a of the Labour Code leave of absence with wage or salary compensation equal to the average earnings for no more than 1 week in a calendar year (with one employer).
Section 203a was also added to the Labour Code by the amendment in question and sets out the following conditions relating to wage or salary compensation:
(1) Leave of absence pursuant to Section 203(2)(h) with pay or salary compensation shall be granted to an employee only if the event is organised by a legal entity,
a) registered in the public register of legal and natural persons for at least 5 years; and
b) work with children and young people is its main activity.
The employee must prove this to the employer.
2) The maximum amount of wage or salary compensation granted is the amount of the average wage in the national economy for the first to third quarters of the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which the leave is granted, as announced under the law regulating employment. According to Communication No 574/2020 Coll. of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of 17 December 2020, the average wage in the national economy for the first to third quarters of 2020 is 34.611,- CZK.
3) The employer shall be entitled to reimbursement of the wage or salary compensation provided from the state budget; no wage or salary compensation beyond the scope provided for in the Labour Code shall be reimbursed. Payment provided on request by the district social security administration according to the employer's registered office, if it is a legal person, or according to the employer's place of permanent residence, if it is a natural person.
The employer must provide evidence that the wage or salary compensation has been provided and that the conditions for providing it have been met.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 25a of Act No. 589/1992 Coll., on social security contributions and contributions to state employment policy and the provisions of Section 26a of Act No. 592/1992 Coll, on public health insurance premiums, if the employer is paid wage compensation, the employer is also paid the social security insurance premium and the state employment policy contribution which the employer is obliged to pay on this benefit (i.e. 24.8 % on the wage compensation provided, rounded up to whole crowns), and the public health insurance premium which the employer is obliged to pay on this benefit (9 % on the wage compensation provided, rounded up to whole crowns).
The Labour Code does not set any time limit for submitting a request for reimbursement of the wage (salary) compensation provided during a leave of absence related to an event for children and young people. Therefore, the Civil Code must be applied and the employer can claim the reimbursement of the wage (salary) apply within the three-year period from the date of payment to the employee.
The Czech Social Security Administration has prepared a model application - see this link. With this application, the employer can claim reimbursement of wages (salary) paid to more than one employee. Of course, the claim can be made by means of separate applications. For instructions on how to fill in the form, please open here.
The employer is obliged to add to the application provide evidence that the salary compensation has been paid and that the conditions have been met for its provision, i.e. that
- the released employee has performed the activities of a camp leader for children and young people, his deputy for economic and health matters, a team leader, a tutor, an instructor, a paramedical health worker in camps for children and young people, or similar activities at sports camps for children and young people - the above can be documented, for example, by a certificate issued by the organiser (of the camp or sports camp);
- the dismissed employee has worked continuously and without pay with children or young people for at least 1 year prior to the dismissal - the above can be documented, for example, by a certificate from a competent institution [this is not required for camps (not sports camps) for disabled children and young people];
- the released employee has been carrying out the activity referred to in the first indent in the framework of an event organised by a legal entity registered in the public register of legal and natural persons for at least 5 years and at the same time work with children and young people is the main activity of this legal entity - the above can be documented e.g. by a confirmation from the organiser;
- the actual provision of wage compensation to the employee - the above can be evidenced, for example, by accounting and other documents for bookkeeping (tax records), including accounts and documents relating to the payment of wages and other employment-related entitlements of employees.
information source: www.cssz.cz
For all users payroll and HR software AVENSIO SW the form for requesting reimbursement of the salary (wage) provided for staff members on leave of absence related to a children and youth event will be available in a future version.
