Guide to Restructuring a Cross-Border Workforce

Yes, there is. An employee is redundant if the following conditions are met:

• the employer adopted a decision on organisational change;
• the change concerns the scope of activities, tasks, technical equipment, number of employees, or otherwise alters the structure of the employer;
• the aim of the change is to increase work efficiency, reduce costs, or otherwise alter the performance of the employer’s enterprise; and
• as a result, the employee’s work is redundant or not needed.

According to case law, the employee’s work is not needed, either at all or at least in part, with the rest being distributed among the current employees or corporate body. Rebranding the position, hiring a new employee to carry out the work of the dismissed employee shortly thereafter, or otherwise fabricating the redundancy with an ulterior motive does not qualify as redundancy.

Czech law provides two other similar reasons based on which an employer is entitled to terminate employment – closing down or relocation of the employer’s undertaking or its part. Together with redundancy, these three reasons are known as “organisational reasons” (in Czech: “organizační důvody”) for termination of employment. However, closing down and relocation of the employer or its part are different reasons than the redundancy itself, and therefore we do not address them further.

The Hungarian Labour Code defines “reasons related to the employer’s operation” as a legitimate reason to unilaterally terminate employment relationships with notice. As a result, several clearly distinguishable groups of causes have been established, namely:

• restructuring (eg, terminating positions, closing down part of the employer’s enterprise);
• redundancies (reducing the number of employees with the same position); and
• quality change (replacement of an employee to improve the quality of work).

The employer must take the following steps:

• review underlying documents (including organisational charts), decide what organisational change needs to be made and work out which positions are no longer needed, and plan the timing;
• adopt a decision on organisational change, including its effective date and which redundant positions are cancelled. The decision doesn’t have to be in writing or state reasons for the redundancy. However, both are highly recommended and a market standard, as this serves as evidence;
• if there are unions, consult the unions in advance (see question 4), and if a union representative is supposed to be made redundant, obtain the union’s consent in advance (see question 11);
• execute dismissal either by a termination agreement (recommended) or a termination notice with the redundant employees. In case of termination notice, the redundancy must (based on the decision) take effect on or before the notice period expired, not after; and
• implement the organisational change (including updating organisational charts).

Organisational changes may also be governed by collective agreements, in which case additional rules may apply (this applies to all the questions below).

There is no legal guidance or requirements in terms of a pre-selection procedure when terminations do not trigger the application of mass lay-off rules. The employer can freely decide which employment relationships will be terminated; however, the principle of equal treatment must be followed. After selecting employees, the next step is serving the termination notices. Termination notices can be served in person, via registered post and, if certain formal requirements are met, electronically. A termination notice becomes effective upon being served to the employee and it may be withdrawn only with the employee’s consent. The termination notice shall also be considered served if the employee concerned refuses to receive it or intentionally prevents delivery.

The termination notice must contain the reason for termination (ie, reference to restructuring, redundancy, etc). However, the expediency and economic rationale of the given reason do not have to be explained or proven, neither in the termination notice nor in any eventual legal dispute. There is also no need to explain why that particular employee’s employment relationship has been chosen to be terminated, unless the employee refers to a violation of the principle of equal treatment.

Yes, Czech law provides a special procedure for “collective dismissal” in all three cases of organisational changes (see question 1).

The threshold is:

• ten employees if the employer has 20 to 100 employees;
• 10% of employees if the employer has 101 to 300 employees; and
• 30 employees if the employer has more than 300 employees.

The respective number of employees must be dismissed due to redundancy within a period of 30 days. If at least five employees are dismissed within 30 days by termination notice due to redundancy, then employees dismissed in the same period by termination agreement are included in these thresholds.

In addition to the process above, collective dismissal must be:

• consulted with unions 30 days in advance, or notified to each affected employee if there are no active unions at the employer; and
• notified to the local Labour Office: (i) in advance, including information on commencement of the consultation process with unions; and (ii) on its result once it’s completed, in the form of a written report that must be delivered in copy to unions, which then have the right to comment on it – employment relationships can terminate only after the lapse of 30 days following this.

Yes, it does.

Collective redundancy rules are triggered when the following number of employees are made redundant within 30 days:

• 10 or more employees in undertakings with 20-99 employees;
• at least 10% of the employees in undertakings with 100-299 employees; or
• 30 or more employees in undertakings with 300 or more employees.

The key steps for completing mass redundancies are the following:

• the employer informs the works council (if present) of the planned lay-off and starts consultations within seven days. Simultaneously, the employer should notify the government employment agency;
• the employer should consult with the works council until an agreement is reached or for 15 days;
• the employer should inform the government employment agency and the affected employees of its final decision at least 30 days before serving the termination notices; and
• the employer should serve the termination notices no earlier than 30 days after that notification. The actual date of termination depends on the notice period that applies to the respective employee.

Yes, the employer must consult any termination notice in advance. Agreement doesn’t have to be reached (with the exception of employees with enhanced protection; see question 11). In practice, the consultation is more of an announcement.

In case of collective dismissal, consultation must take place, and the employer must try to reach an agreement and inform the Labour Office of the result.

Employers must inform the works council of the planned collective redundancy and start consultations within seven days. The notification must cover:

• the reasons for the planned collective redundancy;
• the number of employees to be dismissed, broken down by categories, or the headcount during the period to be considered from a collective redundancy perspective;
• the period during which the planned collective redundancy is to be implemented, and the timetable for its implementation;
• the criteria proposed for the selection of the employees to be dismissed; and
• the conditions for and the extent of benefits provided in connection with the termination of employment relationships, other than what is prescribed in employment regulations.

If a restructuring scenario does not trigger collective redundancy rules, employers must still consult the works council at least 15 days before deciding any restructuring plans affecting a large number of employees.

Trade unions should only be involved if they request to be involved, or the collective bargaining agreement specifically provides for their involvement.

Employers do not have to reach an agreement as a result of the consultation with the works council or the trade union.

It is the employer’s right to make an organisational change and its factual validity cannot be challenged. However, the individual dismissals may be challenged by employees. If successful (ie, the employer doesn’t prove redundancy), the restructure in the individual case may be prevented.

In the case of collective dismissals, it may be delayed by the unions prolonging the consultation. However, even then the unions and the Labour Office can’t prevent the dismissal, and the only way to prevent individual dismissal is a successful individual challenge by the dismissed employee.

If the unions believe that the collective agreement was violated by the redundancy or in the process of its implementation, they may dispute this violation. The dispute may be resolved by a mediator or escalated to an arbitrator. However, this doesn’t prevent the employer from executing the dismissals or restructure (only if violation is later found, it may have certain implications based on the individual collective agreement and nature of its violation).

Employers do not have to reach an agreement as a result of the consultation with the works council or the trade union (ie, failure to reach an agreement cannot delay or prevent the restructuring).

In case of individual dismissal, the consultation process is, rather, a notification (with the exception of employees with enhanced protection; see question 11) including:

• the identity of the employee;
• termination grounds (redundancy); and
• basic details of the redundancy (why and when).

It should take place prior to the dismissal (no specific deadline is given).

In case of collective dismissal, the consultation process includes:

• measures preventing or limiting the collective dismissal;
• mitigation measures (eg, employing the redundant employee at other workplaces of the employer);
• reasons;
• number and professions of redundant employees;
• number and professions of all the employees;
• the period during which the collective dismissal takes place;
• selection method of redundant employees; and
• severance pay and other rights of the redundant employees.

The consultation process must take place no later than 30 days prior to the collective dismissal. The local Labour Office must be notified as well (see question 3).

The administrative fine for violation of the consultation process with unions is up to 200,000 koruna. Employees who suffer damage as a result may claim compensation.

The employer, if planning a collective redundancy, must initiate consultations with the works council. At least seven days before the consultation, the employer should inform the works council in writing about certain matters (see question 4). The employer’s obligation to consult with the works council applies until the conclusion of an agreement or, failing this, for 15 days after the beginning of the consultation.

A failure to consult with the trade union or works council does not invalidate any decision taken by the employer. Employees cannot claim that the decision concerned was unlawful due to the employer’s failure to consult with the trade union or works council. If the employer fails to initiate a mandatory consultation, trade unions or the works council may start a lawsuit to establish a violation, but cannot ask for the measure or decision made by the employer in violation of the applicable rules to be rescinded.

Yes, an economic business rationale should be the reason for organisational change, and therefore the redundancy, and as such should be part of the consultation.

Employers have to present the reasons for the collective redundancies to the works council, but the works council cannot challenge such reasons in a way that would affect the collective redundancy process.

In case of collective dismissals, if there are no unions or employee representatives, the employer must inform and directly consult the affected employees to the same extent.

In case of individual dismissal, it is not a requirement, nor best practice, and highly depends on the strategy in the individual case.

Employers are not required to consult with the employees concerned individually, but have to notify them in writing of the decision on collective redundancy 30 days before serving the termination notices. Failing to provide such a notification automatically renders the termination of the employment relationship unlawful.

The only rule is that the employee’s position or work must be genuinely redundant (see question 1). If more than one employee fulfils this condition, it is up to the employer which employee to select. However, this choice must not indicate that there are in fact different motives for the redundancy of the selected employee (eg, disputes with the employer, unsatisfactory performance, or gender or other discriminatory motives).

No, there are no such rules. Employers can freely decide whose employment relationship will be terminated; however, the principle of equal treatment must be observed.

Yes, a termination notice due to redundancy is not allowed during the period for which an employee is:

• declared temporarily medically unfit for work or in institutional treatment (unless the employee has intentionally caused this unfitness, or it is a direct consequence of the employee’s alcohol intoxication or substance abuse);
• deployed in military exercises or military service;
• on long-term full leave to act in public office;
• pregnant, or on maternity leave, paternity leave, or parental leave;
• declared temporarily unfit for night work if they perform night work; or
• on leave caring for a child under 10 years of age, treating a child under 10 years of age or other natural persons, or providing long-term care, all as specified in the Czech Sickness Insurance Act.

The groups that are protected from termination include employees who are pregnant, on maternity, paternity or parental leave or unpaid leave to take care of a child, on carer’s leave, undergoing treatment for human reproduction, and those doing voluntary army service. These employees may only be dismissed by a mutual termination agreement.

Yes, members of a trade union body during their term of office and for a period of one year after the end of their term of office. The employer must have prior consent of the unions for termination of their employment relationship by a notice. Consent is deemed to be given if the unions don’t respond within 15 days. Consent is valid for two months. Termination notice without such consent is invalid unless the court decides in the validity case that the employer could not have been justifiably required to keep the employee.

A termination notice can be served, but will only take effect once the relevant circumstances no longer exist for employees on sick leave, employees nursing their sick child, and employees on unpaid leave for nursing or caring for a close relative at home. The employment relationship of such employees can be terminated by mutual agreement at any date.

The president of the works council, work safety representatives, and designated trade union representatives can only be terminated by notice with the prior consent of the relevant employee representative body. To terminate this category of employees through a mutual termination agreement, the consent of the relevant representative body is not required.

In addition to the above, the employment relationship of an employee who will be eligible for retirement within five years and the employment relationship of a mother or a single father who did not take maternity leave, until the child reaches the age of three can only be terminated if there is no vacant position available for the affected employee that is suitable in terms of skills, education, experience required for their previous job, or if the employee refuses an offer made for that job.

A redundant employee is entitled to a statutory severance payment, regardless of whether the employment termination is made by notice or agreement and if the redundancy is explicitly stated as the reason for the termination.

The severance payment is due on the next scheduled pay date following the termination of employment. A later due date can be agreed.

For a redundancy, employees are entitled to a notice period, which is the period between the employee receiving their notice of termination and the actual termination itself. The employee and the employer are free to specify the length of notice in the employment agreement, or the collective bargaining agreement can specify, but there must be a legal minimum of 30 days, which increases depending on the number of years spent with the same employer company (from five additional days for three years spent at the employer up to an additional 90 days for 20 years’ service).

During the notice period, employees must be relieved from work for (at least) half of the notice period, but are still entitled to their salary for the full notice period.

In addition to salary for the notice period, employees may be entitled to a severance payment.

The severance payment amount differs based on the length of the employment as follows:

• one gross average monthly salary of the employee if the employment lasted less than one year;
• two gross average monthly salaries of the employee if the employment lasted at least one year but less than two years; and
• three gross average monthly salaries of the employee if the employment lasted at least two years.

If the working hours account applies (specific working hours distribution scheme under the Czech Labour Code) the statutory severance is the relevant amount above plus three gross average monthly salaries of the employee.

The severance payment may also be higher if stated so by:

• agreement between the parties;
• the employer’s internal regulations; or
• a collective bargaining agreement.

A gross average monthly salary of the employee must be calculated for each employee separately using the specific rules of the Labour Code.

A severance payment is due if the employee has worked at least three years for the employer. The amount of severance payment, unless provided otherwise in the employment contract or the collective bargaining agreement, is based on the number of years spent by an employee with the company, as follows:

• three years – one month’s salary;
• five years – two months’ salary;
• ten years – three months’ salary;
• 15 years – four months’ salary;
• 20 years – five months’ salary; and
• 25 years – six months’ salary.

Not in cases of individual dismissals.

In cases of collective dismissals, the employer must notify the relevant branch of the Labour Office:

• of the intention to carry out collective dismissal;
• that the consultation process has been initiated with the unions or the employees; and
• of the specific aspects of the collective dismissal, to the same extent as the unions (see question 6).

Following the consultation, the employer must deliver a written report to the Labour Office stating:

• that the employer has decided on collective redundancies;
• the outcome of the consultation process;
• the number and occupational composition of all employees; and
• the number and occupational composition of the employees to be made redundant.

A copy of the report must be delivered to the unions, which then have the right to comment on it.

Only for a collective redundancy. Employers must notify the government employment agency of their intention to carry out collective redundancy by providing the same information as to the works council (please see question 4).

Employers must also notify the government employment agency of their final decision at least 30 days before serving the termination notices.

No, generally there is no such obligation. If the conditions for dismissal due to redundancy are met, the employer is not obliged to offer the employee an alternative solution.

However, in some specific individual cases, the courts have concluded that if the employer still needs the work on part-time basis, the employer should first offer the employee this part-time job.

Only for employees who are eligible for retirement within five years and the employment relationship of a mother or a single father who did not take maternity leave before the child turns three. Such employees’ employment relationship can only be terminated if there is no position available at the workplace for the affected employee that is suitable in terms of skills, education, and experience required, or if the employee refuses the offer made for their employment in that job.

There are no specific notification obligations after making the redundancies. Only general notification obligations, which are the same for all employment terminations, apply.

These general notifications must be made within eight days, using the relevant forms, to: (i) the employee’s health insurance company; and (ii) the District Social Security Administration (including the pension insurance record sheet).

If wage deductions were made to satisfy the employee’s debt to a third party, the employer must notify the relevant court (or tax authority case of tax debt), including an account of the deductions.

Employers must notify the Hungarian Tax Authority of the termination of the employment relationship of an employee for social security reasons. Information to be provided covers the employee's personal data, information about the employment relationship (eg,, start and end date, salary, job title, weekly working hours), information on private pension funds and the method of termination.

If an employee holds a residence permit, the Hungarian Immigration Authority must also be informed of the termination of the employment relationship.

An employee may challenge the validity of a dismissal for redundancy if they consider that the statutory conditions were not met. First, the employee who wishes to remain employed must inform the employer without undue delay after the termination notice that they insist on continuing their employment. Second, the employee must file a lawsuit at the district court of the employer’s seat (residence or registered address). The lawsuit must be made within two months from the date on which the employment should have ended. After the two months, the right to file the lawsuit expires.

If the dismissal for redundancy is found invalid, the employee who wishes to remain employed remains to be employed at the original position under the original conditions and is entitled to a full compensation of salary for the whole time from the invalid termination until work is assigned again, or until the employment is validly terminated (ie, including the time of the court proceedings). The court may reduce the amount of such compensation if, for example, the employee has found another job in the interim, or could have found one.

There’s no statutory authorisation for unions to raise any claims at the court on behalf of employees except for insolvency proceedings (see question 21). However, only attorneys at law can represent employees fully and without limits in any proceedings. Another natural person can be granted a power of attorney in a specific case (not repeatedly). Theoretically, this could be a member or employee of the unions, but this is not a market standard.

For unilateral termination notices, the reasoning is of the utmost importance regarding lawfulness. The reasons provided must meet the requirements of authenticity; clarity; and causality. If the employee challenges the reasons provided by the employer, the burden of proof lies with the employer to prove that the facts described in the reasoning of the termination notice meet the above requirements.

For redundancies, the expediency and economic rationale of the given business reason do not have to be explained or proven, either in the termination notice or in any eventual legal dispute. There is also no need to explain why a specific employee’s employment relationship has been chosen to be terminated.

In the event of unfair dismissal:

• the employer is liable for compensation for damages resulting from the unfair dismissal. Compensation for loss of income from employment payable to the employee may not exceed 12 months’ salary (ie, employees might receive their wages from the date of the unfair dismissal for up to 12 months); and
• in addition to compensation for damages, employees may also claim an unpaid severance payment.

Employees may only be reinstated if:

• the termination of the employment relationship violated the principle of equal treatment;
• the employee was protected by a prohibition of dismissal (see question 10);
• the employee was a trade union representative at the time of termination and the trade union did not give its consent to the employer to terminate the employment relationship;
• the employee was an employee representative at the time of termination;
• the employee has successfully challenged the termination of the employment relationship by mutual agreement or his or her declaration to that effect; or
• the termination violated the prohibition on the abuse of rights.

Employees may only bring their claims to court; no arbitration is possible for employment law-related claims.

Trade unions are entitled to provide legal representation to their members (ie, they can bring claims to court against the employer on behalf of members).

Yes, it is very common and highly recommended to terminate the employment by mutual agreement when making employees redundant. The termination agreement does not have to state any reasons for termination. However, should the reason be redundancy of the employee, the employee is entitled to statutory severance payment regardless. To motivate the employees to conclude the termination agreement, it is a market standard to offer a higher severance package than the statutory severance payment.

Yes. Entering into a mutual termination is the most flexible method of termination. In these cases, all terms and conditions of termination – including the date of termination and compensation – are freely negotiated and agreed to by the parties. This method may be the only solution for certain protected classes of employees and may be the preferred solution for employees whose termination could entail legal risks. A mutual termination agreement may contain a waiver regarding any claims the employee may have against the employer related to the employment relationship and the termination thereof.

Individual redundancies generally take around two to three months. The organisational change must be prepared, and the termination agreement negotiated or the termination notice given. In case of the notice, the statutory notice period is two months. There’s no statutory notice period requirement in case of agreement, therefore it can be faster. It can also take longer (eg, more complicated cases, restructuring, C-level or other higher managers).

For collective redundancies, the process takes several months (at least three) due to higher demands on preparation, more complicated structuring, the consultation process, and the notification obligation to the Labour Office.

As an individual redundancy process does not require any prior consultation or notification process, the only time factor to be considered is the notice period of the employee (see question 12).

For collective redundancies, if a works council operates at the employer, the process takes at least 52 days (not including notice periods) due to obligations of prior consultation and notification. In the absence of a works council, it takes approximately 31 days (not including notice periods).

The statutory law does not expressly prohibit certain conduct. However, a redundancy means that the employee’s work is no longer needed and therefore any hiring (internal or external) for the same (or largely the same) position should be avoided (or at least thoroughly considered), especially for the two-month period during which the employee can challenge the validity of the dismissal.

There are no specific legal provisions to this effect.

The term “restructuring” in Czech law means one of the ways of resolving a company’s bankruptcy in insolvency proceedings. During this process, organisational changes including redundancies may occur. This kind of restructuring does not require unions’ consent; however, consultation may be required. Further, unions may represent the employees in insolvency proceedings.

In Czech law, “restructuring” within the meaning of a business transaction or corporate transformation or changes (i.e. not a type of insolvency proceeding) can also lead to transfer of rights and obligations from the employment relationship to another employer (transfer of undertakings), ie, the employee and their employment will be transferred to a new employer as a result of such transaction. In this case, the employer must inform the unions or other representatives (and if there are none, then the individual employees) and consult at least 30 days in advance:

• the effective date of the transfer;
• reasons for the transfer;
• legal, economic, and social consequences of the transfer for the employees; and
• measures to be taken in relation to the employees.

In case of cross-border mergers or spin-offs, the employer also must: (i) inform the employees or unions of their right to get acquainted with the written merger or spin-off project and give written comments on it; and (ii) generally reach agreement with unions regarding the extent and manner of the right of influence of the employees of the successor corporation (for example, in certain cases by electing a certain number of members of supervisory board in a joint stock company) if the seat of the newly formed entity is supposed to be in the Czechia. Further corporate obligations depend on the form of such restructuring.

However, the described labour law obligations don’t apply in the case of mere ownership change of the employer’s company where this has no direct legal implications for the employees (ie, it isn’t a transfer of undertaking or a termination reason).

If major transactions affect a large number of employees, employers must initiate consultation with the works council (if one exists). Employers are not required to initiate consultation with trade unions; however, if trade unions request it, employers must consult with them.

In general, employees have limited ability to influence the process of business transactions. The consultation process (see question 21) doesn’t have to result in an agreement with or of the unions. The administrative fine for violation of the consultation process is up to 200,000 Czech Koruna. If there are no unions and the employer breaches its information obligation towards the individual employees (see question 21), the law provides no administrative penalty. In each case, the employee could claim compensation for damage if any damage occurred.

Failure to consult with a trade union or works council does not invalidate any decision taken by the employer (for further details on the consequences of non-compliance with consultation duties, please see question 6).

If the statutory conditions for transfer are met, the transfer occurs automatically, ie, neither the original employer, the new employer, the employees, nor the unions can avoid the transfer. An employee may prevent their own transfer only by serving termination notice to the employer before the transfer’s effective date, in which case the employment terminates on the day immediately preceding the transfer’s effective date at the latest. If the employer didn’t inform employee at least 30 days in advance (see question 21), the employee may serve their termination notice within two months after the transfer’s effective date – in which case, only a 15-day notice period applies.

Individual rights and obligations are transferred in full to the new employer. The rights and obligations under the original employer’s collective agreement are also transferred to the new employer, but only for the duration of the collective agreement, and for no longer than to the end of the following calendar year.

Transfer itself is not a statutory reason for terminating the employment. However, a restructuring (organisation change) leading to redundancy may happen before, during, or following the transfer. In such a case, the employee has the same rights as in the case of other redundancies.

If the employee terminates the employment by a notice or by an agreement within two months of the effective date of the transfer, they may raise a claim at court that the reason for termination was a substantial deterioration in working conditions caused by the transfer. If the court confirms it, the employee will be entitled to statutory severance (see question 13).

The Hungarian Labour Code, under Council Directive 2001/23/EC, provides that if there is a transfer of economic units (ie, an organized grouping of material and immaterial resources), the rights and obligations arising from employment relationships are transferred from the transferor to the transferee under the law. This rule only applies if the economic unit being transferred retains its identity, meaning an organised grouping of resources that has the objective of pursuing an economic activity, whether or not that activity is central or ancillary.

Employees are protected against dismissal to the extent that the transfer itself cannot serve as a valid reason for dismissal.

Since the transfer of rights and obligations under employment law occurs automatically, it is generally sufficient to follow the legally prescribed procedure for a given business transfer. In addition, it is necessary to comply with the information and consultation obligation (see question 21). Further, general reporting and notification obligations to the state authorities apply.

The procedure covers the following main steps:

• informing the works council (at least 15 days in advance):
  • the transferring and receiving employers will inform the works council or, in the absence thereof, the relevant employees) of the planned transfer date; the reason for the transfer; the legal, economic and social consequences of the transfer; and
  • if there is no works council, the relevant employees must be given the same information, and also be advised on any measures planned concerning the employees;
• consultation with the works council (at least 15 days in advance);
  • if there is a works council, the transferring and receiving employers should start a consultation process including any measures planned concerning the employees and options for avoiding any negative consequences;
• information that should be provided to the receiving employer:
  • the transferring employer should provide the receiving employer with information regarding the employment relationships affected by the transfer and the rights and obligations arising from non-competition agreements and study contracts (if any); and
• Informing employees (within 15 days post-closing):
  • the receiving employer should inform the relevant employees about the receiving employer’s data; changes in working conditions (eg, daily working time; wages above the base wage and other benefits); payroll accounting; the frequency of payment of wages; whether a collective agreement applies to the employer; etc.

The working conditions of the transferred employees cannot substantially worsen. If this were to happen and the employee gave termination notice within two months of the transfer, the employee could claim statutory severance (see question 23).

In addition, the employer must comply with the general principle of equal treatment and ensure equal treatment of both the original and new employees in terms of their working conditions, remuneration, and other benefits, training, and the possibility of promotion.

No specific provisions apply, but the general principle of equal pay for equal work as well as the equal treatment principle must be observed.

If the hours, pay, or benefits are agreed in the employment or other contract, then no unilateral change can be made.

Working hours – either statutory weekly working hours apply (40 hours per week) or shorter working hours are agreed. In either case, the employer determines the distribution unilaterally (subject to complying with statutory rules and limits) unless agreed differently.

Salary – if it isn’t agreed in the employment or other contract, the employer unilaterally determines the salary by an internal regulation or by a salary statement.

Benefits – if they aren’t agreed in the employment or other contract, the employer unilaterally determines the benefits by an internal regulation or by a salary statement.

Working hours, pay and any other terms included in the employment agreement can only be changed by mutual agreement. This is also true for benefits, if it is included and guaranteed in the employment agreement. However, benefits provided by the employer that are not guaranteed in the employment agreement can, subject to certain exemptions, be reduced if the employer expressly stipulates the right to reduce or withdraw such benefits.

As for employment terms and conditions in general, if these have been agreed in the employment or other contract, they can be changed only by agreement. Validity of express contractual provision to vary the conditions depends on its structure and which conditions it concerns, and therefore there’s no generally applicable answer to the question.

The Labour Code further allows, in certain cases, a change in type of work, workplace, or employer by a temporary transfer of an employee to a different work position, workplace, or employer. Generally, consent is required; however, in certain cases, the employer can (and in very specific cases, has to) make a temporary transfer unilaterally (for example, if the employee is medically unfit to perform the agreed type of work, or to avert imminent danger). The employer must adhere to strict statutory conditions.

Generally, no. 

Yes, the employee and the employer may agree on certain changes and variations implicitly. However, it is recommended to avoid such situations.

Employment terms laid down in a written agreement cannot be varied by implied conduct; whereas unregulated terms can be varied by implied conduct as long as such conduct is mutual.

If agreement is required to vary an employment term or condition, then the only option to vary it is an agreement.

Generally, there are no such options. Any adverse action would most likely constitute retaliation or an abuse of rights.

If varied unilaterally in a case where agreement was required, the employee may challenge the variation (depending on the situation, by demanding the employer to: refrain from such conduct, restore the original terms, or compensate the employee for the damage caused by such conduct). Depending on the situation there could also be a risk of administrative penalties.

If an employer unilaterally varies an employment term over the employee’s objection, the employee may be entitled to terminate their employment relationship with immediate effect. In such a case, the same amount is due as would be payable if the employer terminated the employment by (regular) notice. More specifically, severance payments and salaries for the period during which the employee would have been exempt from the obligation to work (the so-called exemption period) are payable in such cases.

Employees might also be entitled to bring their claim arising from the modification of an employment term to court.

The Czech parliament is currently debating several changes in the area of labour law. However, none of the currently debated changes should affect the answers above.

Not applicable.