On March 31, the Czech government approved a proposal to modify the Antivirus employment protection program. The state will use the Labor Office of the Czech Republic to compensate companies their expenses of wages costs. Here are answers to frequently asked questions about this program.
To whom and under what conditions will the compensation be due?
Employers whose employees are on work obstacles the employee´s side (quarantine order) or the employer´s side (obstacle - closure of the establishment by reason of a government order), if it is proven that the obstacle to work is due to COVID-19.
To qualify for the compensation, you will need to meet the following criteria:
- The employer strictly adheres to the Labor Code;
- The employee must not be on notice and made redundant;
- It concerns companies in the corporate sector, employees must be in employment based on labor contract and participate in sickness and pension insurance;
- The employer must pay the wage and pay the levy;
Who will pay the contribution and how long?
The contribution will be provided by the Labor Office of the Czech Republic.
What specific measures will be implemented and what situations do they correspond with?
The amount of compensation to employers is derived from the average super-gross wage, including mandatory contributions (CZK 48,400) and depends on the reasons for which they had to order employees the obstacles to work. Employers will be able to apply at the Labor Office for a contribution in two modes:
Mode A - type of obstacle:
- In the case of quarantine, the employee receives wage compensation of 60% of the average reduced earnings;
- In case of closure of the operation by government order, the employee receives 100% wage compensation;
- Contribution to Employers in 80% of the paid wage compensation, including liabilities / up to a maximum of CZK 39,000
Mode B - type of obstacle:
- Obstacles to work on the employer´s side due to quarantine or childcare for a significant number of employees (30% and more) – the remaining employees receive 100% of the average wage compensation
- Restricting the availability of inputs (raw materials, products, services) necessary for the employer's activity, while the employee receiving wage compensation of 80% of the average earnings
- Reduction of demand for services, products and other products of the company, while the employee receiving wage compensation of 60% of average earnings
- Contribution to employers of 60% of paid wage compensation, including liabilities / up to a maximum of CZK 29,000
When should the employer apply for compensation?
Antivirus will start on April 6th. From then on, applications will be possible. It is expected that there will be a delay of only a few days between the submission of an application and the payment of contributions by the Labor Office.
How to apply
The procedure will be published later this week on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA). The submission of applications for all the above-mentioned contributions will be completely electronic and therefore contactless. All necessary information will be on the website of the MoLSA and the Labor Office.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE LABOR OFFICE. OFFICERS WILL BE OVERLOADED WITH WORK.
When should the employer apply for compensation?
Implementation of the support is set so that the employer will ask for a refund of the paid wage compensation after the end of the reporting period, ie after the end of the calendar month for which it will apply for the contribution. For the month of March, the employer will, therefore, submit an application at the beginning of April. Detailed information on the use of the support, including the application for support, will be published next week.
If you would like to discuss the details, please contact our experts: antivirus@asbgroup.eu.
Klára Cowan
Head of Payroll Team
ASB Czech Republic
E: kcowan@asbgroup.eu