The rights of foreigners on the Czech labour market

Foreign workers in the Czech Republic have a whole range of rights on the Czech labour market. These rights stem from the Czech labour Code, the Law on Employment, and other labour-law regulations. These rights apply to cases when foreigners are employed directly by an employer – a company for which they perform work - as well as to cases when foreigners are hired by an employment agency that supplies them to individual firms for which they carry out work. The following text introduces some of the rights that you have as employees in the Czech Republic, irrespective of the country of your origin.

If you work in the Czech Republic, an employer has a duty to conclude an employment contract with you (always make sure that you know exactly who your employer is). Your employment contract must be in writing and you should be familiar with its contents. An employment contract has to contain details of: · the type of work that you will carry out for your employer · the place where you will perform the work · the start date of the work

Your wage rate should be indicated directly in your employment contract or in your wage assessment. If you do not understand the language in which the contract is written, do insist on the translation of the contract. If you are employed by an agency, this agency is obliged to conclude a written employment contract with you. Your employer can agree on a trial period with you. The trial period must not be longer than three consecutive months and cannot be extended (exceptions are possible) - an exception is the case when you fall ill. If you fall ill in the course of the trial period, the trial period will be extended by the duration of your absence due to illness. If you get a job through an agency, this agency has no right to charge you fees for finding work.

Your employer must not discriminate against you as a foreign worker. You are entitled to the same treatment, working conditions and salary as Czech employees employed by the same company who are working on the same or similar position. Your employment agency must not make any deductions from your wage or from any other form of financial remuneration that you obtain for the work performed.

Your employer (a company or an employment agency - depending on who concluded an employment contract with you) has a duty to issue a payslip for you – a written document indicating the details of your wage rate and wage deductions. On your request, the employer is obliged to provide documents that served as a base for the wage rate calculation. If you are employed by an agency, this agency is obliged to issue your payslip.

Your employer has a duty to protect your safety and health at work with regard to the possible risks to your life and health that may arise when you carry out the work. The employer is obliged to cover expenses related to the safety and health protection at work and these expenses must be neither directly nor indirectly passed on to you. Your employer should provide you with work equipment (e.g. gloves, helmets, etc) or reimburse you for any expenses incurred by you that are related to the acquisition of such equipment.

Should you need any help or advice, contact Poradna pro občanství/Občanská a lidská práva (Outreach centre for citizenship/civic and human rights), telephone no.: 270 003 289, e-mail address: poradna@diskriminace.cz.

The article was created within the "Migration Policy in Crisis" project of the Multicultural Center Prague with support of the Open Society Found Prague foundation.