Novela zákoníku práce, aneb nová pravidla pro stanovení minimální mzdy

Amendment to the Labour Code, or new rules for setting the minimum salary

On 1 February 2024, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs presented another draft amendment to the Labour Code which, among other things, transposes the EU directive on adequate minimum salary in the European Union. The Member States are obliged to adopt the measures necessary to comply with the directive by 15 November 2024 at the latest.

The amendment to the Labour Code addresses four main areas, namely:

• the introduction of a minimum salary indexation mechanism,
• the adjustment of the guaranteed salary,
• the support of collective bargaining, and
• the cancellation of mandatory written schedules of paid leaves.

The first area addresses the introduction of a minimum salary indexation mechanism. In accordance with the EU directive on adequate minimum salary in the European Union, the Member States are obliged to establish the necessary criteria and procedures for setting and regularly updating the minimum salary of employees. These criteria must take into account the purchasing power of the statutory minimum salary while reflecting the cost of living, the general level of salaries and their distribution, the rate of salary growth and the long-term national productivity rate and its evolution.

The newly introduced minimum salary indexation mechanism should be based on a prediction of the average gross nominal salary in the national economy for the following year and a coefficient determined according to the criteria set out in the directive. The coefficient shall be set by the Government for a period of two years (a different coefficient may be set for each year) and may be amended only in case of substantial changes in national economic conditions. The adequacy of the determined minimum salary will then be assessed against the average gross salary in the national economy, where the value of the minimum salary should correspond to 45% of this average gross salary.

In relation to the guaranteed salary, the amendment proposes to reduce the number of groups of jobs from the current eight groups to four groups. The division of jobs into four groups, evaluated according to the qualification requirements of the work performed, will be determined by the Government in a governmental decree. The guaranteed salary in the first group of jobs must be 1 times the minimum salary, and in the fourth group of jobs 1.6 times the minimum salary.

The amendment further regulates collective bargaining in case of a plurality of trade unions established at the employer in the context of collective bargaining agreement negotiations. If these trade unions do not agree on the wording of the collective bargaining agreement within thirty days of the start of the negotiations, the employer will be able to conclude a collective bargaining agreement with the trade union with the largest number of members employed by the employer, subject to the statutory conditions.

Last but not least, the amendment proposes to cancel the obligation for employers to issue a written schedule of the paid leave, in line with the Government's recommendation under the so-called Anti-Bureaucracy Package. In practice, this obligation is mostly fulfilled only formally and represents an unnecessary administrative burden for the employers.

The amendment to the Labour Code is at the very beginning of its legislative process and may still undergo significant changes. However, the employers should monitor its development, as it is obvious that it will be adopted sooner or later due to the transposition provisions.

We are monitoring further development in the legislative process in this matter and will keep you informed. If you would like to receive further information, please contact the authors of this article or other members of the EY team with whom you are working.

Authors:

Kateřina Suchanová

Kateřina Vyšínová