Are you employed in the Czech Republic? The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs informs regarding your obligations during the COVID-19 outbreak. First, it is recommended that you become familiar with the official Czech Ministry of Health point of view and follow the letter of the law which considers several scenarios for every full-time employee.
1. The employee returned from a vacation in the area infected with coronavirus (if the area was not quarantined):
- Such employees are obliged to inform employers about the circumstances of the vacation, and the employer has the right to send the employee for a medical examination.
- An employee is to inform one’s attending physician of any suspicious symptoms if any. General symptoms are similar to infectious diseases.
- Even if there is no signs of infectious diseases, it is recommended that the employer creates conditions for the remote work for such an employee (for 14 days). However, an employee has a legal right to disagree to this.
- If an employer prevents such an employee from working, the latter has the right to get a compensation of earnings for this period.
- The employer may offer the employee to go on vacation. Still, according to the law, the employer is obliged to inform the employee about the vacation 14 days prior to its start. The violation of this law is fined.
- An employee can also take an unpaid leave.
2. The employee is quarantined in the Czech Republic:
- The Ministry of Health controls quarantines, therefore it must provide employers with information about workers who have been quarantined upon request.
- From the legal point of view, the quarantine is considered as a sick leave, which is paid according to the same rules.
- An employer does not have the right to send an employee on a vacation during the quarantine that is applicable to him/her.
- If the employee was quarantined during vacation, the vacation does not end, and the employee will not be able to receive sick benefits.
3. An employee is quarantined abroad:
- If we are talking about EU countries or countries with which the Czech Republic has a bilateral agreement, the employee will be paid the first 14 days of quarantine.
- If an employee remained in another country due to the quarantine and therefore could not fulfill the job duties, then penalties will not apply since, according to the Czech law, the employee is obliged to respect the quarantine abroad.
- If the employee is still officially on a vacation during quarantine, the vacation does not end.
4. Quarantine on a business trip
- Quarantine in the place where the employee was sent on a business trip does not cause the trip termination.
- If the health condition allows while being on a business trip in another country during quarantine, an employee is obliged to take steps to ensure that the employer does not spend extra money in these conditions. For example, one should inform the employer of quarantine so that the employer can return the airplane ticket the employee cannot use, as he/she is not allowed to leave the current country.
- The decision to terminate quarantine is made by the supreme medical authority in every country. Only on its basis an employer in the Czech Republic can terminate or continue the trip of an employee and discuss all the conditions with him/her.
The list is based on a document published in Prague on February 28, 2020 by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. All questions can be directed straight to the authoritative institution.
