Labour Law

1.      The client is interested in short time work. According to a preliminary agreement, she should do unskilled cleaning work for the amount of 120 CZK per hour near the place of her residence. The client was offered a contract she has to read and sign now.

Questions and tasks:

a)     Ask your client what should appear in the contract. List the essential terms of the employment contract.

b)     Who may conclude an employment contract in the name of the employer?

c)      What is a trial period, restraint of trade, the obligation to maintain secrecy? Should they appear in the contract?

d)     What other documents are signed in connection with the conclusion of the employment contract?

2.      The client works as a salesperson. Her duties include checking that nothing is lost in the shop. The client repeatedly warned her superiors that it is not possible to face (small) thefts when she is in the shop alone and buyers remain without control (e.g. if she goes to get the goods from the warehouse). The camera system is not in the shop. The stocktaking revealed a deficit of 100,000 CZK.

Questions and tasks:

a)      Advise the client what to do in a situation when her employer gave her a bond of indemnity and makes her to sign the agreement according to which she should start to repay the deficit.

b)      What should the client do if her employer will monthly deduct the deficit from her wage?

c)      How should the client respond to the employer’s notification that the deficit is a gross violation of work discipline and that her employment contract is immediately terminated?

d)      What are general assumptions of liability for an employee?

a)     The agreement should not be signed by the employee, because that would make her obliged to compensate for the damage she did not cause. She should argue that the damage was the fault of the employer, who did not create the conditions for the protection of property against theft.

b)     It is unlawful conduct of the employer. The employer may not deduct anything from employee’s wage without the agreement except for taxes, legal payments, or executions ordered by national authorities (executors). The client must notify the employer of unlawful conduct with the caveat that she will turn to the employment office and the court (an action for payment of wages).

c)      In this case, the conditions for the immediate termination of the employment are not satisfied, and the client should inform the employer about it. If the employer does so, the client will be successful in litigation concerning the invalidity of such a termination of the employment.

d)     A prerequisite of liability is a violation of duties of the employee, occurrence of damage for the employer, the causal link between these two elements and a fault (intent or negligence) of the employee.

3.      The client works as a project coordinator (a full-time employee) for a citizens association. Given that the citizens associations did not receive a subsidy, the employer has financial problems. It has happened several times that the client received payment later or in parts, but now the employer owes him a wage for the previous month. The director does not respond to questions and written notices.

Questions and tasks:

a)     If the client decided to terminate the employment contract, what would you advise?

b)     Write down an appropriate legal action, under which the employment contract is terminated.

c)      What can we do if the employer was in the insolvency proceedings?

d)     What are the ways to end the employment contract?

a)     They told him to immediately terminate the employment or to terminate the employment by an agreement with a redundancy payment. Also a notice comes into consideration, but in this case, a two-month notice period has to expire.

b)     The requirements of immediate termination of the employment will be: designation of the participants (an employer and employee), the manifestation of the intention, which would indicate that the employee terminates the employment immediately (i.e. at the delivery of the act), reasons given to the employee for not receiving wage, date and signature.

c)      First, the employee must lodge his claim in respect of unpaid wages in insolvency proceedings on the prescribed form. He can also apply for compensation of the wage by a competent employment office, which – if the wage is reimbursed to the employee – will include their claims in insolvency proceedings. They must continue to monitor the situation, or communicate with the insolvency administrator, as the termination of the employment can be expected.

d)     An agreement, dismissal, ending in the probationary period, ending on expiration of the time period (temporary), immediate termination of the employment, by the decision of the court, death of the employee, by death, cancellation or termination of the employer without a legal successor, the expiry of the work permit (for foreigners).

1.      The client works in a retirement home at the department of human resources. When going on business trip for a training course, she had an accident; as a result, the client suffered a serious injury.

Questions and tasks:

a)     How do I know that this is a work-related accident or not? Is it a work-related injury in this case?

b)     What are client’s requirements for an occupational disease or a work injury?

c)      How is the situation solved, when, according to medical assessment, the client is not able to carry out, even temporarily, the work?

d)     In what ways can be the employment terminated in this case?