News

New active employment policy tools

Contribution for the support of employee education.

Employers can once again apply for a contribution for employee education. The Employment Office has almost CZK 3.5 billion at its disposal, which it can distribute within the Operational Programme for Employment among employers who decide to invest in educating their employees. The “Support of specialised employee education II” (POVEZ II) will last until 30 November 2020. The aim of the project is to increase competitiveness and expand the qualifications of the work force in order to broaden the employers’ activities. POVEZ II is primarily intended to encourage employers to invest in the education of their employees. The purpose is to increase the specialised knowledge and skills of both existing and future employees.

Employers pursuant to Section 7 of the Labour Code, including non-state non-profit organisations, self-employed persons (including those without employees) and newly-established companies, can join the programme through their employees. Employers with registered office on the territory of the Capital City of Prague, applicants who cannot be given contributions within active employment policy and those who are already receiving support for the same purpose are excluded from the programme.

Employers can request financial support since 31 March 2016 and the granting of the contribution and its amount is determined by the regional branch of the Employment Office. The contribution can amount up to 85 % of real expenses and it is affected also by the fact whether the provided support can improve the situation on the job market or if it will have a positive impact on the employees themselves. The employers can receive support of up to CZK 500,000 per month and the total amount per year cannot exceed CZK 6 million.

A new aspect of POVEZ II is its focus on the support of education of employees of over 54 year of age, who receive extra points compared to other applicants. These employees face the highest risk of long-term unemployment and there is therefore great demand for increasing their qualifications.

Contribution for commuting

The Employment Office further expands the tools and measures of the active employment policy by adding a contribution for the support of regional mobility. Since April 2016, this contribution can be requested by job applicants who will start working outside of the municipality of their permanent residence. Within the pilot project, the Employment Office will offer the contribution in five regions – Ústí nad Labem, South Moravian, Olomouc, Moravian-Silesian and Karlovy Vary.

The contribution will be provided primarily in order to increase the chances of job applicants who have been registered for a long time to find employment. Therefore, it can be requested by people who have been registered with the Employment Office for more than 12 months. Additionally, job applicants who have been registered for a shorter period of time can also apply if they lost or will lose their job due to mass redundancies. Another condition is the conclusion of an employment contract for an indefinite period or a definite period of more than 12 months. The employment contract also has to specify the place where work is to be performed, including the address.

The contribution will range between CZK 1,000 and CZK 3,500 per month, depending on the commuting distance to the workplace. The commuting distance has to be longer than 10km, with the exception of cases where there is no regular public transport link between the workplace and the applicant’s place of residence. The applicant’s entitlement for the contribution will be assessed based on their work attendance and gross wage, which will have to be evidenced by the payslip.

With the exception of the Moravian-Silesian Region, the contribution will not be granted to applicants who commute abroad or whose wage for the month exceeds the average wage in the national economy for the 1st–3rd quarter of the previous year.

If these issues relate to your company, we would be happy to provide you with more detailed information. Feel free to contact us at any time.

Grants CZ

Luděk Hanáček +420 246 042 108 lhanacek@deloitteCE.com

Antonín Weber +420 246 042 394 antoweber@deloitteCE.com

Grants and Incentives SK

Martin Rybar +421 (2) 582 49 113 mrybar@deloitteCE.com

Incentives

Daniela Fotrová +420 246 042 921 dfotrova@deloitteCE.com