Legislative news in the area of employment
We present a summary of the most recent employment and social security legislation in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chamber of Deputies has approved a proposal of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for the protection of employees in case of their employer’s insolvency. This proposal was necessitated by the judiciary lex COVID, laying down that insolvency petitions filed by creditors in the period between 24 April and 31 August 2020 will be disregarded. This measure would prevent employees from claiming outstanding wages through the Labour Office of the Czech Republic. The draft legislative amendment grants employees of an insolvent employer the right to claim payment of their earnings under virtually the same conditions as before the effective date of the judiciary lex COVID. The Chamber of Deputies has further adopted an amendment preventing the Labour Office of the Czech Republic from collecting owed amounts from employers during a period of three months of expiry of the judiciary lex COVID. The draft must now be passed by the Senate and signed by the President.
The Government has further approved a proposal of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs allowing employers to postpone social insurance payments (24.8%) for the months of May, June and July until 20 October, which means that they would only have to deduct from gross wages the social insurance premiums levied for their employees (6.5%). Among further changes proposed is mandatory electronic submission of overviews regarding the assessment base and amounts of social insurance premiums by employers to the competent social security administration body and abolishment of cash payments of the premiums. The proposed legislation must now be discussed by the Parliament in the state of legislative emergency. The topic is addressed in more detail in this article.
The Deputies also submitted to the Government for approval an amendment to the Sickness Insurance Act, proposing a waiver of the requirement to submit a proof of school closure to obtain a carer’s allowance in cases where schools are closed by virtue of a general extraordinary measure issued by the competent authority and applicable in the Czech Republic as a whole.