What will the approval of “kurzarbeit” bring?
An amendment to the Employment Act that came into effect of 7 July 2021 introduces an option now available to employers in the form of short-term work - "kurzarbeit". The government may approve a "kurzarbeit" regime in the event of a natural disaster, cyberattack, pandemic or other extraordinary situation. It may apply to the whole of the Czech Republic or just a part of it, to defined branches of the economy, or to certain types of employers.
When entering a "kurzarbeit" regime, employers would pay to their employees compensation for their salaries in the amount of 80% of their average salary. The state will cover 80% of such payments made by employers, but only up to an amount equivalent to 1.5 times the state-wide average salary. The following conditions must be met:
- Employers will assign to employees a level of work amounting to 20-80% of their normal weekly working hours;
- During the rest of the time, employees will be allowed to attend training and re-training courses organised by the Labour Office;
- Employers will not draw any other funds from public sources for the same purpose;
- Employers will not be allowed to disburse profit-sharing payments during the period when "kurzarbeit" contributions are paid or in the twelve following months following the drawing of such contributions.
The contribution will be paid monthly by the relevant Labour Office (determined by the location of the seat of the employer), and the application should be submitted in electronic form. Subsequently, the employer submits monthly an overview of expenses arising from the salary compensation payments made each month. The contribution is paid by the Labour Office within eight calendar days of the submission of the overview.
