On November 1st  2022, the amendment to the Labor Code is about to enter into force. The changes are mostly about the incorporation of EU directives:

• on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union
• on the balance between work and private life of parents and persons with caring responsibilities.

1. New essential element of the employment contract

The new essential elements of the employment contract will be the identification data of the employer and the employee, i.e. specification of the employer in the scope of name and its seat (if it is a legal entity) or name and place of business (if it is a natural person), and specification of the employee in the scope of name, surname, date of birth and place of permanent residence.

2. Informing about working conditions and employment conditions

A new information obligation of the employer towards the employees will be introduced. The scope of the required information:

• method of determining the place of performance of work or determination of the main place of performance of work, if several places of performance of work are agreed upon in the employment contract
• established weekly working hours, information on the method and rules for scheduling working hours, including the expected working days and compensation period according to § 86, § 87 and 87a, the scope and time of providing a break at work, continuous daily rest and continuous rest in the week, overtime work rules, including wage discount for overtime work
• the amount of leave or the method of determining it
• salary maturity and salary payment, including payment dates
• the rules for termination of employment, the length of the notice period or the method of determining it, if it is not known at the time of providing the information, the deadline for filing a lawsuit to determine the invalidity of the termination of employment,
• the right to professional training provided by the employer, if provided, and its scope

The employer will be able to provide this information in writing in a separate document (or electronically - only if the employee has access to the electronic form of the information, i.e. has a work or private email and can save and print it, and at the same time the employer will keep a document of its sending or receipt.) or agreed upon in the employment contract as additional working conditions. If they are agreed in the employment contract as additional working conditions, an amendment to the employment contract will be required to change them.

Providing of written information:

If the employment relationship was established before 01.08.2022 - they will be provided to the employee only if he requests it

If the employment relationship is established after 01.08.2022, they will be provided as follows:

a) within 7 days from the beginning of the employment relationship

• place of work, method of determination
• working hours: timetable, breaks at work, overtime rules, overtime allowance
• salary: due date, payment, salary dates

b) within 4 weeks from the beginning of the employment relationship:

• vacation: amount, method of determining it
• termination of employment relationship: rules, notice period, deadline for filing a claim for invalidity of termination of employment relationship

c) when changing data in the information no later than on the effective date of the change

3. Clarification of performance of other economic activity

The employer will be prohibited from restricting the employee from performing other economic activities beyond the specified working hours. However, this limitation will not affect any limitations foreseen by law, such as e.g. prohibition of competitive activity.

4. Protection of the employee from dismissal for exercising his rights

If an employee announces in an employment law dispute that the termination of the employment relationship occurred due to the active exercise of his rights against the employer (e.g. the employee demanded overtime pay, demanded compliance with the conditions agreed in the employment contract, etc.), the employer will have to provably refute the employee's claim. It is sufficient for the employee to submit proof that he demanded the fulfillment of his claims from the employer, e.g. also electronically.

5. Adequacy of the trial period for a fixed-term employment relationship

The trial period may not exceed half of the agreed duration of the employment relationship agreed for a fixed period §45 par. 2 Labor Code (e.g. if someone is employed for a fixed period of 4 months, he will not be able to have a trial period of 3 months).

6. Transition to another form of employment

The employer's obligation to respond to the request of an employee whose employment relationship lasts more than 6 months (and is no longer in a trial period), for a transition from a fixed-term employment relationship to an indefinite-term employment relationship, or for a transition from an employment relationship concluded for a shorter working time to an established weekly working time. The answer must be written and justified within 1 month or 3 months depending on the number of employees.

7. Paternity leave

It is provided in the same way as the mother's maternity leave. The protection of fathers as well as mothers on maternity leave is introduced. Fathers will be able to take leave earlier than 6 weeks after the birth, and during 2 weeks of the six-week period they will be able to take maternity leave, despite the fact that the mother will also be paid at the same time.

8. Specification of the deadline for filing a lawsuit for the invalidity of the termination of the employment relationship

A lawsuit for the invalidity of the termination of the employment relationship must be filed no later than 2 months from the date on which the employment relationship was supposed to end. The amendment expressly stipulates that this period will be extended only in the case of sick leave or an employee's injury, when the employee will be able to file a lawsuit up to 2 months from the date of expiry of the protection period, but no later than 6 months from the day on which his employment relationship would have ended. if he was not in the protection period.

9. Changes in work agreements performed outside the employment relationship

a) Information obligation, see point 2

b) Minimum predictability – the employer will be obliged to provide written information on:

• days and time periods in which the employee may be required to perform work
• the period in which the employee should be informed about the performance of the work before it begins, which must not be shorter than 24 hours

c) Remuneration compensation - in the case of cancellation of the performance of work within a period shorter than the one announced, the employee is entitled to compensation in the amount of at least 30% of the remuneration that the employee would have achieved while performing the work

Letters a) to c) do not apply if:

• the employer schedules working hours according to §90
• the employee schedules his own working hours
• the average weekly working time does not exceed 3 hours in a period of four consecutive weeks

10. Deductions from wages

The employer will be able to deduct from the salary unbilled advances for a meal allowance and a purpose-bound financial allowance for meals - i.e. can deduct unilaterally, there will be no need for an agreement on payroll deductions.

11. Shipment collection period

The employer will not be able to set a collection period shorter than ten days for the shipment. The standard is 18 days, but based on a request from the post office, it can be shortened, which used to be abused by employers and shortened the period to 3 days.