Each person working in the Czech Republic is insured by the Czech Social SecurityAdministration. Under the law, employers are required to deduct a social security contribution from the salaries of their employees. From the employee’s gross salary 8% is deducted for these purposes. The employer pays an additional social security contribution of 26% of the employee’s gross salary as a matching contribution.This system is designed to help people in situations in which assistance is needed and it is provided in the form of social benefits or access to special services. The Czech social security system has three primary components:
Compulsory Social Insurance — provides coverage in the event of illness, a contribution to the government employment policy and a contribution to the government retirement benefits scheme. The time a person has spent working in another EU country is basically included in the total length of service taken into account under Czech law and vice-versa, time spent in the Czech Republic is included in the retirement plans of other EU countries.
Government Social Support — is used by the government to contribute to the sustenance and other basic needs of children and families. Nationals of other EU countries must be registered as residents or have worked in the Czech Republic for at least three months in order to qualify for this type of social support benefits. In other words, if a person (whether a Czech citizen or a citizen of another EU country or a third-country national) works, he or she can be entitled to receive this type of social support benefits. Family members of these individuals are also entitled to such benefits, even if they do not work themselves.
Social Assistance — is provided to those who are in financial distress and unable to attend to their basic or necessary needs. Regulation (EC) 1408/71 does not apply to this social assistance system.
If an EU citizen or their family member applies for assistance under the Czech act on social services or under the act on social neediness, the respective authority must review whether or not the applicant would be an unjustified burden on the social system. The authorities do not make such assessment if the applicant is a permanent resident or works in the Czech Republic. Whether or not the person would be an unjustified burden to the social system is evaluated through a point system, where different criteria are rated on a point basis (the length of stay in the country, the length of current employment or education and options for future employment — i.e. the qualifications and unemployment rate in the region where the EU citizen resides). If the authorities decide that the applying EU citizen or family would pose an unjustified burden on the social system (such a decision can be appealed), they notify the police and the police subsequently terminate the person’s residence permit (provided such a decision is appropriate). Once the person’s residence permit has been terminated, he or she is no longer entitled to receive social support benefits (however, the individual will continue receiving benefits until the residence permit is cancelled, despite the fact that he or she has been identified as an unjustified burden on the social system).
www.cssz.cz - Czech Social Security Administration
To become eligible for benefits while taking care of a family member, you must present a standard form completed by the attending doctor. Applications for such benefits are submitted by employees to their employers.
Sick leave
If you fall ill, you are required to notify your employer on the first day of your illness-related absence and deliver a work inability note from your doctor to your employer. Without a properly issued work inability note, you cannot qualify for sickness benefits under the Czech law. The sickness benefits are paid on a monthly basis as part of your salary for the entire duration of your illness but for no longer than one year. The amount of these benefits is regulated under the law.
Work-Related Injury
If you are injured on the job, you should immediately notify your employer and, together with the employer, you must fill out a report on the incident, provided your medical condition permits you to do so. If there are any witnesses to the incident, they must be questioned. For further information on this topic, you can contact your local branch of the Czech Social Security Administration.
Employment
If your employment contract is signed for a specific period of time, your employment is terminated upon the expiration of the contracted term of employment. Should you continue to work with your employer’s consent past the originally contracted term of employment without amending the original employment contract in writing, your employment automatically becomes indefinitely contracted employment (unless other arrangements have been made between you and your employer).
If you lose your job in the Czech Republic, you have the option of registering with your local labour office as unemployed. Labour offices can be found in all larger cities. You must visit the labour office in person in order to register. When going to register, do not forget to bring your identification documents, a document verifying your last employment (employment credit sheet or the E301 form) and the documents verifying your schooling and academic achievements.
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Unemployment Benefits
A person becomes eligible for unemployment benefits if he or she has worked for at least 12 months within the past 3 years, of which at least one day was in the Czech Republic. Tme worked in other EU/EEA countries and Switzerland is also taken into consideration if verified through an E301 form. Unemployment benefits are distributed by the local labour office either in cash, as a giro transfer form or via a bank transfer. Unemployed jobseekers can receive unemployment benefits for the following lengths of time:
a) Persons under the age of 50, for 6 months.
b) Persons aged 50 – 55, for 9 months.
c) Persons over the age of 55, for 12 months.
If you are unemployed and qualify for unemployment benefits in your own country (EU/EEA countries and Switzerland) and you would like to seek employment in the Czech Republic, you can apply to have your unemployment benefits transferred to the Czech Republic for a period of up to 3 months. This is done with the use of the E303 form, which you can obtain at the labour office in your home country. Once you have this form, you must report to your local labour office in the Czech Republic and register within 7 days after the date indicated on the E303 form. At the Czech labour office, you will become subject to the monitoring and registration process applicable under Czech law. If you meet the necessary requirements, you can then have your foreign unemployment benefits sent to the Czech Republic and collect them here. In order to remain qualified for unemployment benefits in the future, you must return to your home country before the expiration of the three month period. You can obtain further information regarding the option to have your unemployment benefits transferred from another country at your local labour office.