An amendment to the Labour Code, so called “Flexinovela”, (the “Amendment”) was signed by the president on 25 April 2025. The amendments to the Labour Code shall enter into force on the first day of the second calendar month following the Amendment’s publication in the Collection of Laws, i.e., on 1 June 2025 or 1 July 2025. Below, you can find a brief overview of what to expect:

Probation Period

  • New length of the probation period. Probation period may be agreed up to 4 months (instead of 3 months), and up to 8 months for managerial positions (instead of 6 months), however it must not be longer than half of the agreed term of the fixed-term employment.
  • Probation period may be extended by mutual agreement before expiry of its original term. Extension must not exceed the maximum length of the probation period, i.e. 4 or 8 months.
  • Probation period shall be extended by the employee’s working days on which he/she has not worked a full shift during the probation period due to an obstacle to work, taking leave or unexcused absence from work.

Notice Period

  • New start of the notice period. Notice period shall start on the day of delivery of the notice.
  • Notice period for notices given to an employee for a breach or poor performance (section 52(f) to (h) of the Labour Code) shall be at least 1 month (instead of 2 months).
  • Notice period may be extended or its start may be changed by mutual agreement.
  • Provisions of the existing employment contracts entered into before the effective date of the Amendment, specifying the length and the start of the notice period, will continue to apply.
  • Extension of the subjective and objective period (in section 58 of the Labour Code) during which the employer may give notice to the employee for breach of obligations arising from legal regulations related to the work performed or immediately terminate the employment relationship pursuant to section 55 of the Labour Code. The subjective period is extended from 2 to 3 months and the objective period from 1 year to 15 months.

Employees on Parental Leave

  • During parental leave, employees may perform the same type of work as they have agreed with their employer in their employment contract on the basis of a work performance agreement (DPP) or a work activity agreement (DPČ).
  • Employees returning from the parental leave before the second birthday of the child are entitled to be placed to the same job and workplace (so called “same chair”) as before the parental leave.

Fixed-Term Employment for So-Called “Deputies” (zástupy)

  • Number of repetitions of a fixed-term employment will not be limited for the fixed-term employment agreed as replacement during the temporary absence of an employee due to maternity, paternity or parental leave and leave pursuant to section 217(5) of the Labour Code. However, such fixed-term employment may not exceed 9 years from the conclusion of the first fixed-term employment.

Minors under 15 years of age

  • The Amendment introduces the possibility to employ minors from the age of 14 for small (light) jobs during the summer holidays, subject to further conditions.

Confidentiality regarding wage conditions

  • Restricting employees from handling information about the amount and structure of their wages is prohibited. This prohibition is aimed at ensuring greater transparency in remuneration.
  • Breach of this prohibition may be sanctioned by the Labour Inspectorate by imposing a fine of up to CZK 400,000.
  • As many existing employment contracts contain non-disclosure provisions regarding the employee´s wage, we recommend to review all employment agreements and amend the relevant provisions.

New rules regarding termination of the employment for health reasons

  • Changes of the termination reasons.
  • Changes regarding severance pay.
  • New one-time compensation equal to twelve times the average monthly earnings in case of termination of the employment due to the fact that the employee has permanently lost the ability to perform his/her current job because of a work-related injury, an occupational disease, or a risk of such a disease related to their health condition.

Abolition of Entry Medical Examinations

  • The Amendment abolishes the obligation to carry out entry occupational medical examinations for employees performing non-risk work (so-called first category jobs). If neither the employer nor the employee requires an entry medical examination, the applicant is considered medically fit until proven otherwise based on a medical assessment.

Payment of wages

  • Bank transfer is now the primary method of wage payment. No special provision is required for payment of the wage by bank transfer in the employment contract.
  • An employee may refuse this method in writing or choose not to provide his/her bank account number to the employer – in such cases, the wage will continue to be paid in cash.
  • With the employee’s consent and subject to further conditions, the wage may be paid in an agreed foreign currency provided that the Czech National Bank publishes a foreign exchange rate for that currency.

Wage Assessment (mzdový výměr) and its delivery

  • Wage assessment shall be handed over to the employee before the commencement of work and a new wage assessment shall be handed over no later than before the start of work on the day the change takes effect.
  • Wage assessment may be delivered to the employee in an electronic form, subject to further conditions.

If you have queries about any of the above or if you need advice on any aspect of employment law, please feel free to get in touch with us.