CZECH REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Petr Mlejnek, Robert Klenka, Matěj Manderla, Jan Wagner, Ivo Hartmann and Arbër Balliu, Tenacta, advokátní kancelář, s.r.o.
4.4 Termination of Employment Contracts Termination of employment relationships is subject to relatively detailed regulation and employee protection requirements. Employment may generally terminate through: • agreement between the parties; • notice; • immediate termination in specific circumstances; or • expiration of a fixed-term arrangement. Employers cannot generally terminate employment without legally recognised grounds where termination occurs through notice procedures. Permitted grounds commonly include: • organisational restructuring; • redundancy; • long-term incapacity; • serious breaches of obligations; and • other statutory circumstances. Formal procedural requirements must also be observed. These commonly include: • written notice; • proper identification of termination grounds; • observance of notice periods; and • notification requirements where applicable. Employees dismissed for organisational reasons may become entitled to statutory severance payments depending on the circumstances and duration of employment. Statutory severance payments may also apply in certain health-related cases, including where the employment relationship is terminated due to a work-related injury, occupational disease or where the employee is no longer medically fit to perform the work as a result of occupational health reasons. Special protections also apply to certain categories of
abusive use of temporary employment arrangements. Under Czech labour law, a fixed-term employment relationship may generally be agreed for a maximum period of three years and may be renewed or extend - ed no more than twice between the same employer and employee. As a result, the overall duration of suc - cessive fixed-term employment relationships between the same parties will typically not exceed nine years. Probationary periods may also be agreed between the parties. The maximum duration of the probation - ary period depends on the position of the employee involved. 4.3 Working Time Introduction Employment relationships are also subject to manda - tory rules concerning working conditions and employ - ee welfare. Standard working time generally amounts to 40 hours per week, although shorter working schedules may apply depending on operational conditions and spe - cific sectors. Work exceeding this limit is considered overtime. Overtime may only be required for serious operational reasons and is subject to statutory limits. Employees are generally entitled either to additional pay or compensatory time off for overtime work. Cer - tain groups of employees, such as part-time employ - ees, enjoy enhanced protection against overtime requirements. Annual Leave and Additional Absences Employees are generally entitled to paid annual leave. The statutory minimum annual leave entitle - ment amounts to four weeks, although employers frequently provide more generous arrangements as part of compensation and retention policies. Employees may also be entitled to additional absenc - es in situations including: • illness;
• maternity and parental leave; • family care obligations; and • certain personal circumstances.
employees, including: • pregnant employees;
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