The new amendment more flexible working hours for employees!
Many employees know this situation: they arrive at work but have nothing to do for the first two hours, and just before the end of the working day, they are overwhelmed with tasks. The amendment to the Labour Code, which is intended to change this situation, will allow employees to determine their own shift schedules. This is intended to help especially in cases where work is rushed or it is not important whether it is done in the morning or in the evening.
“This will only apply to certain positions and will depend on the relationship between the employee and the employer and their mutual trust,” said Chamber of Commerce legal expert Kateřina Kozáková. As examples, she cited two different positions: an office cleaner who has to clean between 6 pm and 10 pm, but it doesn’t matter when exactly she does the job, and an IT specialist who usually works from home but sometimes has to complete a task at the workplace, and it is not clear how long it will take.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which introduced the amendment, stresses that the choice of positions will always depend on the agreement between the employee and the employer and the nature of the specific work. “Self-scheduling will be common for employees where a certain amount of autonomy is possible,” said Jakub Augusta from the ministry’s press department. “So the employer doesn’t need employees to work at specific times.”
According to Jiří Horecký, president of the Confederation of Employers’ and Business Associations of the Czech Republic, this is a reaction to the tightening of the rules for work performance agreements and work activity agreements, where companies must now set working hours three days in advance. Horecký pointed out that in some cases this is not a problem, but in others it is a complication, for example when the performance of work depends on the weather. Therefore, it is advisable for the employee to be able to schedule his or her own working hours.
Augusta also stressed that the new regulation will apply to all employment relationships, not just agreements, and will be applicable to both employees at the workplace and those working from home. The employee and the employer will enter into a written agreement in which they will agree on the conditions under which the employee will schedule his or her own working hours. In doing so, minimum continuous daily and weekly rest periods and legal breaks at work will need to be ensured. The employer will still be responsible for compliance with these minimum standards. “Sometimes it may be practical to negotiate other restrictions, such as that the employee may not work at night or on weekends and holidays,” Augusta said.
Employees are expected to submit regular statements showing how they have scheduled their hours and how they have worked. The amendment still needs to be approved by the government and parliament, and should come into effect next year.
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