1) Domestic per diems 2025

Domestic per diems (tuzemské stravné) are based on the length of the business trip within a single calendar day. The law sets minimum amounts and a tax-free range; the exact value for your company is defined in your internal policy or collective agreement.

If the employer provides free meals that look like breakfast, lunch or dinner, the per diem can be reduced. Many companies use a simple rule of thumb: the employee receives a fixed percentage of the per diem depending on how many main meals were provided during the day.

Typical reduction pattern

• 1 free meal → employee receives around 70 % of the per diem
• 2 free meals → around 35 % of the per diem
• 3 free meals → around 25 % of the per diem

These percentages are not carved in stone — the law only defines a maximum reduction. The important part is that your travel policy clearly says what you do and that payroll applies it consistently.

2) Foreign per diems & fractions

Foreign per diems are set by a separate decree and differ by country and currency. For 2025, for example, Germany and Austria are at 45 EUR, Slovakia at 35 EUR, Poland and Spain at 50 EUR, and Switzerland at 75 CHF per full day.

For each calendar day abroad you first determine how many hours the employee spent outside the Czech Republic. The most common approach is:

• 1–12 hours abroad: 1/3 of the foreign per diem
• 12–18 hours abroad: 2/3 of the foreign per diem
• 18+ hours abroad: 100 % of the foreign per diem

Free meals provided abroad can also reduce the foreign allowance, but the structure is slightly different and should again be described in your travel policy (including who decides what counts as “free”).

3) CNB exchange rate — converting to CZK

At the end of the day, everything needs to be expressed in CZK for payroll and accounting. The standard approach is to use the official Czech National Bank exchange rate:

• If an advance is paid → use the CNB rate valid on the day the advance was paid.
• If no advance is paid → use the CNB rate valid on the first day of the foreign trip.

Keep this rule in your accounting manual and apply it to all foreign trips in the same way.

4) Mileage and fuel reimbursement

When employees use their own car or motorcycle, they are entitled to both a mileage allowance and fuel reimbursement. The minimum mileage rates for 2025 are:

• Passenger car: 5.80 CZK per km
• Motorcycle / three-wheeler: 1.60 CZK per km
• Bicycle: 0.70 CZK per km

Fuel can be reimbursed according to real receipts or by using average prices published in the same decree (Petrol 95 / 98, Diesel, Electricity). Whichever method you choose, make sure it is written in your travel policy so that employees know what to expect.

5) Simple workflow for HR & payroll

To keep travel expenses under control, it helps to follow a short, repeatable workflow. You can mirror it in your internal forms or in a spreadsheet.

Disclaimer: This article provides general guidance on Czech travel expenses for 2025. Always verify the latest statutory rates and your internal policy or collective agreement before processing payroll.

1) How Czech maternity and parental leave fits together

From an international HR perspective, the hardest part is understanding how the different pieces – maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave and parental allowance – interact. In short:

Employers mainly deal with timing, reporting to the social security office (ČSSZ) and keeping the employment relationship compliant during and after these periods.

2) Maternity leave and maternity benefit

Maternity leave normally starts 6–8 weeks before the expected due date. The standard length is 28 weeks for one child and 37 weeks for twins or more. At least 14 weeks must be taken in total and at least 6 weeks after the birth.

If the mother has at least 270 days of sickness insurance in the last two years, she is usually entitled to maternity benefit. This is paid directly by ČSSZ and comes to roughly 70% of the reduced daily assessment base. During maternity leave the employer does not pay salary, but the employee remains on the books and protected from dismissal.

3) Paternity leave – support for the other parent

The other parent (typically the father) can take paternity leave up to 2 weeks within six weeks after birth or the start of foster care. It is usually taken in one block and is also covered by sickness insurance benefits, calculated on the same reduced base as maternity benefit.

For HR and payroll, paternity leave means a temporary switch from salary to benefit, plus another period of dismissal protection. It is good practice to have a simple internal form and workflow for these requests so managers do not improvise.

4) Parental leave vs. parental allowance

The terminology is confusing because “parental leave” and “parental allowance” sound almost identical. In reality they come from different laws and can follow slightly different timelines.

The total parental allowance is CZK 350,000 for one child and CZK 525,000 for multiple children. Parents can choose the monthly amount within legal minimum and maximum limits – faster drawing means a higher monthly payment but a shorter period. Only one parent draws the allowance at a time, but they can switch.

It is possible to receive parental allowance and still work, as long as full-time care for the child is ensured (for example by another adult or a nursery). This is where foreign HR teams often need local guidance to avoid incorrect assumptions about “not allowed to work”.

5) Job protection and return to work

Pregnant employees and parents on maternity, paternity or parental leave are in a protected period. Standard business terminations are not allowed; only a few specific grounds apply (for example complete closure of the employer or very serious misconduct).

On return from maternity or parental leave, the employer should place the employee back into their original job, or if that is objectively impossible, into another role that matches the employment contract. Planning the return in advance – ideally a few months before the intended date – reduces stress on both sides.

6) Simple workflow for HR & payroll

To keep Czech maternity and parental leave cases under control, a short repeatable process helps more than a long policy document. You can adapt the checklist below to your HRIS or internal tracker.

Disclaimer: This article is a general overview of Czech maternity and parental leave in 2025. It does not replace legal advice. Always check the latest legislation and your internal policies before making decisions in individual cases.

1) Unified Monthly Employer Report

From 2026, employers submit one consolidated monthly report instead of multiple filings. This simplifies processes but raises the bar for accuracy, validation, and reconciliation.

2) Social Insurance & Tax Watchpoints

Before your January 2026 payroll, validate these configuration points to prevent unexpected changes in net pay or employer costs:

• Assessment-base caps: apply the Maximum Assessment Base correctly across all components.
• Health insurance minimum base: check monthly minimums and any top-up logic for under-threshold employees.
• Timing of bonuses: confirm period attribution (earning vs. payout month) to avoid distortions in averages and levies.
• DPP switching rules: ensure automatic contribution switch when the 12 000 CZK monthly earnings limit (per employer) is exceeded.

2a) Minimum Wage 2026 — Practical Implications

From 1 January 2026, the minimum monthly wage increases to 22 400 CZK and the hourly minimum wage to 134.40 CZK. This affects:

• Health insurance minimum base and top-ups
• Guaranteed wage levels and pay bands
• Overtime, supplements, and related premiums
• Payroll budgets and templates

2b) DPP Threshold 2026 — CZK 12 000 per Employer

From 1 Jan 2026, social and health insurance applies when an employee’s DPP earnings exceed 12 000 CZK per employer per month. Configure your system to track and switch automatically.

3) Mandatory Employer Pension Contribution (Category III Jobs)

From 2026, employers must contribute 4 % of salary to pension products for employees working in Category III (risk-exposed) roles.

4) EU Pay Transparency Directive

• Publish salary ranges in job ads
• Document and review internal pay bands
• Define data sets for gender pay gap reporting

5) Employee Benefits Reform 2026 — Tax & Reporting Changes

From January 2026, benefits remain tax-free only if provided on top of salary. Salary substitution benefits will be fully taxed and subject to contributions.

• Leisure benefits: up to 24 483 CZK/year
• Health & wellness benefits: up to 48 967 CZK/year
• All benefits must be reported monthly (Unified Employer Report, due April 2026 for Q1)

6) Q4 2025 Readiness Checklist

7) Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Delaying unified-report mapping
• Missing the 12 000 CZK DPP threshold
• Ignoring new benefits limits & reporting
• Overlooking Category III tagging

Disclaimer: General guidance only — verify official rates and specifications before processing 2026 payroll.

1) Why mandatory occupational health examinations matter

In Czech employment law, occupational health examinations sit right between HR paperwork and real-world health and safety. They turn job descriptions and risk assessments into a clear medical opinion: fit, fit with restrictions, or unfit.

For employers they are not just a medical formality, but a compliance and liability tool:

• they document that the employer checked fitness for work;
• they help prevent accidents and occupational diseases;
• they make disputes with labour inspectorates and insurers easier to defend.

This guide focuses on questions HR and payroll teams actually get from managers and international partners: when do you still need an entry exam, when can you skip it, how DPP/DPČ jobs are affected and what to prepare for going into 2026.

2) Types of occupational health examinations

Czech law recognises several types of medical fitness checks:

• Entry (initial) examination – before an employee starts work in a job where fitness must be assessed.
• Periodic examination – repeated at defined intervals for higher-risk jobs and specific exposures.
• Extraordinary examination – for example after an accident, a significant change in health condition or suspicion that the employee may no longer be fit.
• Exit examination – when leaving some high-risk roles, mainly to document health status after long-term exposure.

At the same time, each job must be assigned to a risk category (1–4). Category 1 covers non-hazardous, typically administrative roles. Categories 3–4 include jobs with significant risk or exposure (noise, chemicals, heavy physical work, etc.). The risk category then determines which exams are mandatory and how often they must be repeated.

3) 2023: fewer periodic exams for non-risk work

From 1 January 2023, the Ministry of Health reduced the administrative burden for employers with non-risk jobs. Periodic occupational medical examinations for employees in categories 1 and 2 (non-risk) are no longer obligatory – they are performed only if requested by the employee or employer.

In practice this means:

• standard office staff no longer need to be called in for regular check-ups just to meet a formal deadline;
• if either the employee or employer wants a periodic exam, it can still be arranged and documented;
• for risk-exposed jobs (higher categories, specific hazards), periodic exams remain fully mandatory and should be planned in advance.

4) 2025 Flexi amendment: entry exams for category 1 become voluntary

The Flexi amendment to the Labour Code and health-services legislation, effective from 1 June 2025, went one step further. For category 1 non-hazardous jobs, the obligation to carry out entry medical examinations was removed.

Key points for HR:

• if neither side requests a medical check, an applicant for a category 1 job is treated as medically fit by default;
• both employer and employee still have the right to request an entry exam for category 1 – e.g. for safety-sensitive positions or if there are known health issues;
• for categories 2–4, entry examinations remain mandatory before work starts.

This makes hiring for typical administrative or remote roles faster and cheaper, but places more weight on proper job classification and internal guidelines (when HR will still send candidates for an exam even if it is not required by law).

5) DPP/DPČ and category 2 jobs: where rules became stricter

While category 1 jobs were simplified, rules for agreement-based work (especially DPP and DPČ) became stricter. For work performed under these agreements in category 2, an entry occupational health examination is now mandatory.

For employers this means:

• you must know the risk category of each DPP/DPČ role – “it’s only an agreement” is no longer enough;
• entry exams must be ordered and completed before the person actually starts work in a category 2 role;
• you should align your occupational health provider contract, referral templates and onboarding checklists with this change.

6) What to focus on for 2026 and beyond

At the moment there is no announcement of a completely new “2026 reform” of occupational health examinations. Instead, practice is moving towards:

• targeting mandatory exams at genuinely risk-exposed work;
• allowing more flexibility and health-promotion programmes for low-risk jobs;
• clarifying how decisions about medical fitness interact with termination, redeployment and severance.

For HR and payroll teams, the priority for 2026 is to make sure internal processes match the new mix of mandatory and voluntary exams – especially around DPP/DPČ roles and categories 2–4.

7) Practical checklist for HR & payroll teams

Use this quick checklist when designing or reviewing your framework for mandatory occupational health examinations in the Czech Republic:

8) Common mistakes to avoid

• Sending every new hire for an entry exam even when the job is clearly category 1 and the law no longer requires it.
• Assuming DPP/DPČ workers never need exams – category 2 roles now clearly require an entry check.
• Failing to document risk categories, leaving you exposed in the event of an inspection or accident.
• Not updating contracts and workflows with occupational health providers after the 2023 and 2025 changes.
• Ignoring restrictions in medical opinions when planning shifts, overtime or night work.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and does not replace official legal or medical advice. Always verify current legislation and ministry guidance before making decisions about occupational health examinations.

Czech employee benefits are treated in payroll according to whether they are statutory reimbursements, taxable perks, or documented business expenses. This guide explains the payroll impact, tax treatment, and the documentation you should keep.

1) How Czech payroll treats benefits and allowances

In the Czech payroll context, benefits and allowances split into three practical groups: (a) statutory reimbursements and allowances (typically tax-exempt within legal rules), (b) non-cash or cash benefits that may be partially exempt or fully taxable, and (c) business expenses that should not enter payroll at all when reimbursed against proper documentation. Getting the categorisation right prevents under/over-taxation and avoids insurer/tax corrections.

2) Statutory reimbursements (generally tax-exempt within limits)

• Business travel reimbursements: per diem/meals, accommodation, mileage or public transport — tax-exempt if paid per the Labour Code and supported by travel orders and receipts.
• Work-related medical checks & mandatory training: employer-paid statutory checks/certifications are not taxable income for the employee.
• Remote-work/operational expenses: when reimbursing demonstrable work expenses under an internal policy, amounts are typically outside taxable income (keep documentation and caps aligned with law/policy).

3) Common benefits — taxable vs. exempt (payroll view)

4) What should not be processed as taxable payroll

Ensure teams distinguish between a benefit and a business expense. Properly documented business costs (e.g., client lunches, business travel, work tools) are company expenses reimbursed outside the taxable payroll base. Use clear expense policies, receipt requirements, and cost-centre routing to prevent accidental payroll taxation.

5) Controls to add before month-end close

• Classification check: benefit vs. reimbursement vs. business expense — verify ledger mapping before payroll cut-off.
• Limits & caps control: annual/monthly caps (e.g., meal support, wellness budgets) and split taxable/exempt portions.
• Documentation control: travel orders, receipts, asset handover forms, internal approvals.
• Payslip clarity: separate taxable vs. non-taxable rows; keep descriptions understandable for employees.
• Vendor coordination: align HRIS/benefits export with payroll import — fields, codes, and period mapping.

6) Practical example scenarios

• Hybrid employee with meal support and remote-work reimbursement: part of meal support may be tax-advantaged within limits; remote-work reimbursement stays outside taxable income if policy-based and documented.
• Remote-work reimbursement vs. cash allowance: documented home-office costs or a statutory per-hour flat rate are non-taxable; a general monthly “home-office stipend” without linkage to hours/costs is taxable income.
• Training budget: job-related course is not taxable; a personal hobby course is taxable and should appear in gross income.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information. Always confirm current limits and legal definitions before payroll close; tax and insurance rules may change.

1) Main authorities & responsibilities

In czech payroll reporting obligations, employers coordinate with three institutions that each have distinct forms, deadlines, and payment references.

Tip: Before each month-end, confirm IDs, insurer codes, and payment references match current records.

2) Monthly reporting & payments — practical workflow

1. Close inputs — freeze HR changes, attendance, and benefits before calculation.
2. Calculate payroll — verify gross→net, tax credits, social/health contributions, and contract thresholds.
3. Prepare reports — ČSSZ + health insurer files; totals agree with payroll output.
4. Submit & archive receipts — submit via portals; save confirmation PDFs.
5. Execute payments — bank transfers with correct symbols (maker–checker approval).
6. Reconcile & file — archive submission receipts with bank proofs in the month folder.

Exact due-day examples (2025 practice)

If the 20th falls on a weekend or public holiday, use the next business day.

3) Annual reporting & key deadlines

• ELDP to ČSSZ: submit annual employee records by 30 April for the prior year; verify insured periods and IDs.
• Employee tax reconciliation: process employee requests and issue confirmations by 31 March of the following year.
• ISPV/statistics (selected employers): follow the survey schedule; validate mapping of pay elements and job codes annually.

4) Payments & bank references

Payments remain separate for each stream — ČSSZ, each health insurer, and the Tax Office (withheld/advance tax). Use the correct bank accounts and mandatory symbols to avoid misallocation. Apply maker–checker approvals in banking and log approvals alongside payment proofs. File payment confirmations with corresponding submission receipts for a complete audit trail.

5) Internal controls & documentation

• Access & roles: restrict portal access; dual control for submissions and banking.
• Consistency checks: headcount, total gross, employer cost vs. prior month; investigate variances.
• Evidence: store export files, submission receipts, bank proofs, and approval logs by month/entity.
• Change management: rehearse the close after vendor updates or legislative changes.

6) Common errors & prevention

• Missed insurer change: use a joiner/mover/leaver checklist that flags insurer updates before reporting.
• Unmapped benefit codes: validate code-to-report mapping after any HRIS/payroll change.
• Wrong payment reference: template the bank order with fixed symbols and a second checker.
• Evidence gaps: enforce a “no close without receipts + bank proofs” rule.

7) 2026 note — Unified Employer Report (JRF)

From January 2026, the Czech system is scheduled to introduce a unified employer report (JRF) submitted via the ČSSZ ePortál. The JRF consolidates data previously sent separately to ČSSZ, health insurers, and the tax administration. Reporting routes unify, while payments remain separate to the usual accounts.

• What to do now: confirm your payroll vendor’s JRF export readiness; pilot test in late 2025.
• Controls: keep dual checks during early 2026 (totals parity, insurer splits, tax values).
• Documentation: update the Reporting Calendar and code mapping sheet for the new format.

Disclaimer: General information for payroll operations in the Czech Republic. Always verify current forms and dates before closing payroll.