By proposing an amendment to Act No. 589/1992 Coll., on social security contribution and contribution to state employment policy, the Government of the Czech Republic wants to motivate employers to create and offer more part-time jobs, which should increase the employment of persons who, for certain reasons, cannot perform full-time work. The bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and is now awaiting approval in the Senate. The amendment provides for a discount on employers’ insurance premiums for selected groups of employees reaching 5 % of the total assessment bases for insurance premiums.

Categories of employees who would be affected by this amendment:

• an employee over the age of 55,
• an employee, who is a parent or adoptive parent of a child under 10 years of age,
• an employee caring for a close person under 10 years of age, with 1st to 4th degree of dependence on the assistance of another person,
• an employee who is also preparing for a future career by studying  
• an employee who, in the 12 calendar months preceding the calendar month, for which the premium reduction applies, has entered retraining as a jobseeker,
• an employee who is a person with a disability as defined in article 67 paragraph 2 of the Employment Act; or
• is under the age of 21. 

Conditions for entitlement to the discount

With the exception of employees under the age of 21, for other groups of employees, the condition for claiming the discount will be the employee’s agreed weekly working hours ranging from 8 to 30 hours. If an employee performs more than one employment with the same employer in an employment or service relationship, the discount on the insurance premium is due only from one employment; the limit on the number of hours applies to all such employments together. Another condition is the setting of a maximum monthly assessment base. If the employee exceeds 1.5 times the average monthly wage, the employer is automatically no longer entitled to the lower premium rate. 

How will the discount be applied

Employers will be able to state the premium discount on a form summarising the amount of the assessment base and the amount of the premium. The premium discount will be deducted by the employer from the amount of the premium paid for each calendar month and cannot be applied retrospectively. 

Author: Roman Burnus, Marek Toráč