COVID-19 vaccination and testing in the Czech Republic - employment law perspective

Employers can raise awareness and inform their employees of the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccination. They can also encourage vaccinations among staff by allowing inoculations during working hours and recording the time spent doing so as working time.

However, employers cannot offer a financial incentive to employees. They cannot treat employees who do not wish to be vaccinated differently than those that do, because this could be considered discrimination.

Employers are not obliged to offer their employees the opportunity to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Employers are not obliged to support third parties or governmental institutions providing vaccines to employees.

The employer can ask employees whether they have been vaccinated to the extent such information is necessary to ensure the safety of the workplace. Theoretically, the employer can record such data but only for the above purpose. However, documents containing health data such as vaccination certificates should not be kept (i.e. the data minimisation principle).

However, it is forbidden to treat employees differently based on their vaccination status. We believe that limitation of access to the workplace due to an employee's decision not to get vaccinated would be discriminatory. Additionally, some employees may perceive it as an indirect obligation to undergo vaccinations, which may be imposed only by law. Given the above, employers cannot restrict access to the workplace by establishing an "only vaccinated persons allowed" policy.

Employees do not have a duty to inform their employers of their vaccination status. 

In principle, no. Employers cannot make vaccination against COVID-19 compulsory. As a result, having a vaccination cannot be a condition of employment, regardless of the employee's profession. Vaccination against COVID-19 in the Czech Republic is voluntary and cannot be forced on an individual.

Yes, employees can refuse to be vaccinated since there is no current obligation for employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Czech government has not implemented obligations for any profession to undergo vaccinations.

At the moment, employees are not legally obliged to give a reason for refusing to be vaccinated.

In general, employers cannot forbid unvaccinated employees from entering the workplace. This could be a breach of discrimination law and could expose employers to liability. Theoretically, the employer can implement different measures for some groups of employees after consulting with OHS experts. However, the distinction must be justified vis-à-vis the epidemiological situation.

No, according to the Civil Code, the landlord must allow the tenant to use the rented premises to meet the purpose of the rent (i.e. using the premises as a workplace). If the landlord forbids the employees of the tenant to enter the building, it would be considered a breach of the landlord’s duties.

The employer can ask employees or visitors about their vaccination status to the extent such information is necessary to ensure the safety of the workplace. It should be possible to implement different mechanisms for verification of the vaccination status between employees and third parties.

The Digital Covid Certificate has been used in the Czech Republic since 1 June 2021, and it is downloadable from the official web page https://ocko.uzis.cz. The official mobile application “Tečka” has been available since 1 July 2021. 

Currently, a certificate attesting to the infection-free status of a Czech citizen on the territory of the Czech Republic should be issued only in this single form, even in cases of vaccination, testing, or immunity gained after recovering from the disease.

The certificate downloaded and presented through the “Tečka” mobile application works as an ultimate proof of infection-free status and can be used in any and every situation where there is obligation to prove that an individual is infection-free (i.e. with public authorities, employers, and access to services such concerts or restaurants, travelling purposes, etc.). A certificate presented in this fashion should be accepted across the EU (i.e. everywhere the EU DCC Directive has been implemented).

The service provider can ask employees on behalf of the employer about their vaccination status to the extent such information is necessary to ensure the safety of other employees taking part in the event. Service providers will process this data for the employer. Therefore, the employer should conclude a data processing agreement with the service provider and fulfil other obligations under the GDPR.

Different requirements to enter the Czech Republic apply to travellers from abroad, depending on the country of origin and its risk level. Each European country is given one of four colours depending on its risk of contagion. From lowest to highest risk, the colours are: green, orange, red, and dark red. A negative result from a professionally administered PCR or antigen test is needed if a person is travelling from countries of all colours. Exempt from this obligation are people who (i) prove themselves vaccinated, (ii) have had COVID-19 in more than 11 days and less than 180 days from the first positive test, and (iii) children younger than six years old.

No, the employer and the employee must agree upon business travel. The agreement can have any form; it can be a part of the employment contract, but it also can be a separate or verbal agreement, or the agreement may even be implied. However, we recommend concluding a written agreement.

If the travelling employee is obliged to test for COVID-19, testing should be considered a necessary travel expense and as such must be covered by the employer.

Mandatory testing of employees before entering the workplace was cancelled before the summer holidays of 2021. However, the Czech Ministry of Health states that employers may introduce mandatory testing as a OHS measure. But simple testing may interfere with the integrity of an individual. Under the Czech Civil Code, the potential for such interference requires an individual’s consent. Therefore, from a legal point of view, the legitimacy of mandatory testing imposed by the employer remains questionable.

Some companies began offering monetary benefits to employees for becoming vaccinated. Although, the law does not explicitly forbid such practices, we believe that employers should not process health data for bonus purposes. 

Mandatory testing of employees before entering the workplace was cancelled before the summer holidays. However, according to the Ministry of Health, individual employers can introduce extraordinary measures such as mandatory testing. We believe that such measures must be justified by the situation, such as an increasing number of COVID-19 cases. 

If such a situation arises and the employer introduces mandatory testing, the employees would be obliged to undergo the test (unless they prove to the employer that they were vaccinated or another form of generally accepted exemption from the testing applies). The employer must always bear the cost of OHS measures. Therefore, the employer must provide workplace tests for free. In any case, the employee is not obliged to pay for tests and is entitled to compensation of salary for time spent undergoing testing.

Since general mandatory tests have been cancelled, it is up to the employer to reintroduce mandatory testing as their OHS measures. It is up to the employer to set how often  employees must take tests. We strongly recommend discussing such measures with OHS experts. There are no statutory rules on how the tests should be managed, whether by medical personnel or by a professional third party.

If the employer introduced mandatory tests as a condition of admission to the workplace, the employees are obliged to share the outcome of their COVID-19 tests. 

If an employee refuses to undergo mandatory testing introduced by the employer at the workplace, and also does not provide a result of a professional test (and is not exempted from the testing obligation), this is considered a breach of the employee’s obligations and could result in disciplinary action. The employee would not be granted access to the workplace. This status would be considered the fault of the employee who could be put on unpaid leave (unless the employee and employer agree otherwise). 

No, the employer cannot assign different duties to employees who are unable to provide a negative COVID-19 test. The employer is entitled to change the employee’ duties only in specific situations provided by law.