[Czech Republic] Equalization of paternity leave

On 1 December 2022, a change to the Labour Code came into force, which, after almost 5 years of paternity benefit as a sickness insurance benefit, brings an official obstacle to work called “paternity leave”. Until now, new fathers had to request for parental leave from their employers if they wanted to take paternity leave. It is now officially possible to apply for paternity leave, which has also been brought into line with maternity leave.

This means that an employee who takes paternity leave is covered by the prohibition of notice by employer. In practice, however, there has been no change, as this prohibition also applied to parental leave, which until now had to be taken by fathers instead of paternity leave. It is also the case that if the employee requests for holiday leave that starts immediately after the end of paternity leave, the employer is obliged to comply with such a request.

At the same time, all paternity leave is considered as worked time for the purposes of calculating of holiday entitlement without limitations, thus it is treated in the same way as maternity leave.

The conditions for entitlement to paternity benefits have also changed. The entitlement now arises if the child is stillborn or dies within 6 weeks of the date of birth.

Author:
Martin Svoboda
Payroll Development Specialist

Labour law – see how we can help: