• Procedure for obtaining approval.

• Search for employee candidacies on the domestic labor market

The Czech entity must obtain permission to employ a foreign national from the labour office.

• Permit application

Employer needs to initiate the process, by filing a job description at the local Labor Office. Then the position is posted for 30 days, and if no suitable Czech person is found, the Ministry of Labor will do a ‘nostrification’ process. This process can take several weeks / months.

• Employee Card, visa application

Once the permit has been issued, the employee card application for the principal applicant and long stay (Type D) visas for dependents can be applied for at the Czech consular post with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence.

• Entry to Czech Republic

The applicant (and any accompanying family) may now enter the Czech Republic. The passport with the endorsed visa should be stamped at the port of entry.

• Registration with Ministry of Interior

Within three days of entry, the principal applicant must register with the Ministry of Interior, submit fingerprints and have a biometric photograph taken. Following this an approval letter will be issued by the Ministry confirming the requirements for an employee card have been met and the applicant can begin working.

• Registration with labour office

All applicants must be registered with the labour office. The notification must state the start date of the work in the Czech Republic and should be done prior to or on the first day of work. Proof of registration should be kept by the host entity.

• Employee card collection

Two to three weeks after the submission of the biometric data, the employee card for the principal applicant can be collected. Personal appearance is necessary. The final employee card must be collected within 60 days of the registration of the biometric details with the Ministry of Interior. If this date is not met, the card will be destroyed, and a new application will need to be filed.

• Time frame. Around 6 months.

An EU Blue Card is a new residential status designed for a long-term stay involving the performance of a highly skilled job (§ 42i of the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals). An EU Blue Card entitles a foreign national to stay and perform a job, i.e. the foreign national does not need a separate work permit.

Duly completed university education or higher vocational education, the duration of which was at least 3 years, is deemed to be a high level of skills.

• The procedure for obtaining a blue card is the same as for applying for an employee card.

• Search for employee candidacies on the domestic labor market

The position is announced at the relevant labour office and published in the central register of job vacancies available for Blue Card applicants for 30 days to ensure that the position cannot be filled with a suitable Czech or EU candidate.

• Blue card application

The Blue Card application may be filed with the Czech diplomatic post with jurisdiction over the country of origin or long term residence. If you have resided in the Czech Republic on the basis of a long-term visa or a long-term residence permit, or if you hold a Blue Card from another EU Member State, you can apply for the Blue Card in Czech Republic.

• Visa Type D application

Once the Blue Card is approved, an application should be filed for a Type D visa with the purpose of travelling to the Czech Republic and collecting the Blue Card.

• Entry to Czech Republic

Upon receiving the endorsed passport, the applicant (and any accompanying family) may now enter the Czech Republic.

• Residence card application

Within three days of arrival in the Czech Republic, the applicant is obliged to report to the relevant office of the Ministry of Interior in person and provide biometric data for the residence card (Blue Card) application.

• Confirmation of acceptance

Before issuing the Blue Card, the Ministry of Interior will provide a confirmation of having met the conditions for a Blue Card. This confirmation serves to allow the applicant to legally reside and commence work in the Czech Republic before the Blue Card with biometric data is issued.

• Registration with labour office

All applicants must be registered with the labour office. The notification must state the start date of the work in the Czech Republic and should be done prior to or on the first day of work. Proof of registration should be kept by the host entity.

• Residence card collection

Once the residence card is ready for collection the applicant must collect the card in person at the relevant office of the Ministry of Interior.

Time frame. Around 6 months.

The grounds for termination of the employment contract are:

• Cancellation during trial period

Employers use probationary periods to coach and evaluate new employees. If the employee’s job performance is not satisfactory or if the employee doesn’t find himself/herself comfortable in a new role, they both can propose an immediate termination of the employment. The notice should be given in a written form.

Neither party is obliged to state the reasons for contract termination. However, employers must be very careful not to violate the prohibition of discrimination, and the decision to terminate employment must not be linked to any of the discriminatory grounds

• Immediate employment contract termination.

This is an exceptional method of unilateral termination of employment, which the worker or employer may accede to only for reasons defined by the Labour Code in Sections 55 and 56 (e.g. the worker violated their employment obligations in a particularly serious manner, the employer did not pay the wage/salary or part thereof within 15 days of the due date). However, the employer may not terminate the employment immediately in the case of a pregnant worker, a worker on maternity leave, or a worker on parental leave. The employment relationship ends on the day of delivery of the termination.

• Fixed-term contract expires.

Fixed-term contracts last till the date agreed in the employment contract. They turn into the permanent contracts when a worker continues performing and the employer agrees.

• Termination by an employee.

An employee has to give at least 2 months’ notice period after terminating his/her employment contract. The employee may give a notice to the employer on any possible ground or without stating any grounds. However, the reason of the employment termination affects employee’s future unemployment benefits. If an employee gives a notice by his/her own decision without stating any serious grounds according to Czech Labor Code, such as illness, the employee will receive lower unemployment benefits.

• Termination by an employer.

If an employer decides to terminate the employment contract, the cancellation takes 2 months. An employer mustn’t give a notice to an employee. Pay in lieu of serving the notice period is not allowed, but garden leave is a common alternative.

An employer much give to the employee:

• An original written agreement on terminating the employment or an original of the notice, mentioning the reasons for dismissal (this is important for severance pay and unemployment benefits).
• Confirmation of employment.
• The Personal Records for Pension Insurance form.

• Mutual Agreement.

A mutual agreement on cancelling the employment contract is a fast and elegant solution of leaving a workplace where one’s unhappy.

• Special cases: termination of residency of a foreign worker, expatriation of a foreign worker; disappearance or decease of an employee.