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What changes await us in posting workers to the Czech Republic from 1 July?

The amendment to the Employment Act, approved at the beginning of December 2023, introduces several important innovations in the field of employment. This article focuses on the posting of workers and summarises the key changes brought about by the amendment.

From 1 July 2024, the State Labour Inspection Office (SLIO) will take over the registration of posted workers. The commencement of work in the Czech Republic for an employee posted in the context of transnational service provision will now be notified to the SLIO, rather than the Labour Office of the Czech Republic as was previously the case. This notification will be completed through the SLIO’s online registration portal, which will be available in four languages.

Up to and including 30 June 2024, the notification obligation towards the Labour Office of the Czech Republic will be fulfilled via data boxes or postal services. However, from 1 July 2024, notifications will only be possible through an online form on the registration portal of the official SLIO website. This registration environment, with its interactive form, will be directly linked to the newly established electronic database of workers posted to the Czech Republic. As recently stated by the SLIO, from 1 July 2024, if a posting employer sends a notification of the commencement of posting only to the relevant regional branch of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, it will be deemed that the notification obligation has not been fulfilled. Only notifications submitted via the new registration portal will be valid. However, exceptions are made for notifications of change, extension, or termination of postings that began before 30 June 2024; these can still be submitted to the relevant regional branch of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic until 31 December 2024. Any extension of this deadline by the SLIO will be clarified in due course.

The new registration portal will be available on the SLIO website as of 1 July 2024. However, it is already clear from a statement by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs made earlier this week that each posting employer will need to set up its own account on the online registration portal to report the posting of its employees. This account will be linked to a single email address, raising questions about the viability of one entity, such as a proxy, managing the accounts of multiple posting employers. We will keep you informed of further developments in this regard as soon as possible.

Time Limits for the Information Obligation

The deadlines for fulfilling the information obligation towards the Czech authorities remain unchanged. Employers sending their employees to the Czech Republic must inform the competent authority (now the SLIO) no later than the day the posted employee starts work in the Czech Republic. Notification on changes in the data and the end of the posting of the worker must be made within 10 calendar days from the date the change occurred or when the employer became aware of it. This does not apply if the posting of the worker ended on the date originally reported by the employer.

Which data are to be provided?

Same as before 1 July 2024, the following information will be required when submitting a notification via the online form: the employer’s identification data (company name, registered office, VAT number), the posted employee’s identification data (name, surname, date of birth, identity card number, nationality), the duration of the posting, the nature of the service provided and the identification data of the recipient of the service (company name, registered office, VAT number, workplace address of the posted employee). The new online notification distinguishes whether an employer established in another Member State has posted its employee to the Czech Republic on the basis of a contract for the provision of services, to a branch plant located in the Czech Republic / a commercial corporation established in the Czech Republic within a group of companies to which both the posting and the receiving entity belong, or has temporarily assigned the employee to the Czech Republic as an employment agency. The responsibility for making a notification about the posting remains with the employer (posting company). A new requirement is that the posting notification via the online registration portal will necessitate the attachment of a copy of the documents proving the employment relationship of the posted employee (i.e. the employment contract), translated into Czech or Slovak.

The amendment to the Employment Act introduces significant changes aimed at digitising the administrative process. The goal is to simplify the administrative requirements for employers sending their employees to the Czech Republic and to streamline the control activities of the SLIO. Whether this objective will be achieved remains to be seen in practice.

Posting of WorkersEmployees

Lucie Filingerová

lufilingerova@deloittece.com

Aleš Průcha

aprucha@deloittece.com

Evgeniia Novak

evgnovak@deloittece.com