Navrhované změny zákoníku práce v souvislosti s prací na dálku

Proposed changes to the Labour Code in relation to Remote Work

On 12 September 2022, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs submitted a long-awaited amendment to the Labour Code and some other laws. The purpose of this proposal is mainly to transpose two European Union directives, one concerning work-life balance for parents and carers and the other concerning transparent and predictable working conditions.

The proposed amendment is quite extensive. It includes, for example, the tightening of the conditions for work based on agreements to complete a job or agreements to perform work , or the extension of the employer's obligation to provide information on the employee's working conditions and the shortening of the time limit for providing this information, or changes to the delivery of employer's documents.

The most significant part of the proposed amendment is the regulation of remote work. The amendment is intended to allow employers to order remote working to an employee in certain exceptional cases. The employee will be able to request the employer to allow him the remote work and if the employer refuses it, he will have to justify the refusal in writing. In case of employees who take care for other persons, the employer will only be allowed to refuse a request for remote work in case of serious operational reasons or if the nature of the work would prevent it.

If both parties agree to the employee's remote work, a written remote work agreement will have to be concluded between them, the elements of which are to be laid down in the amendment. The employer's unilateral written order to the employee to remote work will have to contain the same elements.

Furthermore, the employer's obligation to provide the employee with the necessary technical and software equipment, to cover the costs associated with the performance of remote work and to pay the employee a lump sum of CZK 2.80 for each hour of remote work will be expressly regulated. This amount is to cover the costs of gas, electricity, solid fuels, heat supply (district heating) and centralised hot water provision, water supply from water supply and waterworks and sewage disposal, cleaning of septic tanks and municipal waste disposal. If the employee proves any other costs, the employer will also be obliged to reimburse these costs, at the amount proven.

If the average values of the items included in the lump sum change, the overall amount will be adjusted in the future. For employers in the private sector, the amount of CZK 2.80 is a minimum threshold, and they may provide higher reimbursements to employees.

Corresponding legislative amendment of  the Income Tax Act suggest that the lump-sum compensation in the specified amount will not subject to personal income tax and, therefore, also no social and health insurance contributions will be due. At the same time, the cost of expense thus incurred will be considered tax deductible for the employer. Reimbursements of higher or additional expenses of the employee are to be considered  on individual basis for tax purposes.

The proposed amendment is still in the comment procedure, so it may still undergo significant changes. However, many of the proposed changes are based on EU directives for which the deadline for implementation has already passed. Employers should therefore monitor the development of this amendment closely - changes to the Labour Code will almost certainly not be avoided this time, the only question is their exact scope and effective date.

We are monitoring further developments in the legislative process in this matter and will keep you informed. If you are interested in further information, please contact the authors of this article or other members of the EY team with whom you work.

Authors:

Barbora Suchá

Michaela Felcmanová

Kateřina Suchanová

Magdalena Hamáčková