Confirmation of employment or credit certificate

Quick overview

• Your employer must give you a letter of credit (employment certificate) no later than the day your employment ends – regardless of whether you or your employer gave notice.
• The document contains key details about your employment, in particular the length of your employment and information about payroll deductions.
• If you don’t get it, you can defend yourself and claim damages.
• In addition, in practice, without it you often won’t start a new job or get benefits.

Has your employer not issued you with a credit slip or does it contain errors? Have a solicitor assess the situation – we can prepare a notice to the employer or help you claim compensation.

What is a credit slip

A credit slip is a confirmation of your employment. It is issued by your employer immediately after your employment ends, usually on your last day and directly into your hands.

If he or she cannot give it to you in person, your employer is obliged to deliver it to you by registered post in his or her own hands. Electronic delivery is also possible, but only if you have agreed to this in advance.

In practice, we often see that employees do not consider the credit report at all and only start looking for it when they start a new job. However, it may be too late at that point – the new employer may make it a condition of joining.

We have repeatedly encountered that the document contains errors (e.g. incorrectly stated deductions from wages), which can lead to further legal complications.

The latest date for issuing a credit note is always the last day of your employment – whether it was terminated by agreement, termination of employment or immediate termination by the employer. This deadline may not be extended. If your employer does not issue you with a credit slip and you have problems starting a new job because of this, you can claim compensation. In addition, the employer would also be liable to penalties from the State Labour Inspection Office of up to two million crowns.

In this area, we can mention a real situation where an employee repeatedly asked his former employer to issue him a credit note. However, the employer did not comply with his requests and the employee was thus unable to start a new job, where he was asked for a credit certificate as a condition of employment. This situation was eventually resolved by the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic, which awarded the employee compensation in the amount of CZK 245,000 for lost wages.

If you are in a similar situation, we recommend that you do not wait – the sooner the problem is resolved, the better the chances of obtaining the document or compensation quickly. A solicitor can help you with your first challenge to your employer.

What should the credit report contain

The credit report has mandatory components that must always be included. Specifically, these are:

• the employee’s identification data,
• the employer’s identification data,
• identification of the type of employment relationship (main employment relationship or agreement),
• information on your educational qualifications and other qualifications at the date of termination of employment,
• information on the period of creditable employment in job categories I and II before 1 January 1993 for pension insurance purposes,
• details of deductions from your wages (for example, in the event of execution).

On the other hand, there are certainly things that are not legally allowed to be on the credit slip without your express consent. These include, for example, the evaluation of the work you have done, the amount of your salary, or the reason for terminating your employment (for example, in the event of a serious breach of your employment obligations on your part).

The compulsory information in the credit slip does not change even if the employment relationship has ended by way of termination of employment or has been terminated unilaterally by way of immediate dismissal by the employer.

The most common mistake employers make is to include information on the credit slip that does not belong there – for example, the reason for termination of employment or the employee’s evaluation. Such a practice is contrary to the Labour Code and the employee may seek correction through the courts.

Not sure if your credit slip is correct? Have it checked by a lawyer – errors can affect your future employment and benefits.

Why it’s worth remembering your credit report

Although it may not seem so at first glance, the credit report plays a very important role.

Your new employer may want it

In the first place, your new job may require it. Although this is not stipulated in the Labour Code, it is quite common. This is because the employer is taking a big risk by hiring an employee without a credit card. The credit slip contains very important information for the employer. In particular, information about deductions from wages due to garnishment.

According to the Civil Code, the employer is obliged to request information from the new employee about the deductions from wages, which is included in the credit certificate. If he fails to request this information, he may be fined up to CZK 50,000.

The authorities may request it

At some point in the future, the Labour Office or the Czech Social Security Administration may also ask you for a credit certificate. The Labour Office will ask you for it if you lose your job and seek help from them in finding new employment. In this case, the credit certificate is used to assess your eligibility for unemployment benefits. In turn, the Czech Social Security Administration needs your credit certificate to determine when you will retire and how much you will receive in retirement pension.

How the credit slip works, FTE and LTTE

As far as so-called agreement work is concerned, here your employer is only obliged to issue a credit slip if the remuneration for the work performed has given rise to participation in sickness insurance or if the remuneration has been subject to enforcement or execution by deduction from wages. Participation in sickness insurance starts at CZK 2,999 for employment agreement and CZK 10,000 for employment agreement.

How does the sickness credit note work in the event of sickness in the protection period

The protection period is defined by the Sickness Insurance Act, refers to the period after the end of employment, relates to entitlement to sickness or maternity pay and is used to ensure that a person does not end up destitute after leaving employment. In the case of sickness insurance, it lasts 7 calendar days from the end of the insurance. If you fall ill during this time, you can take sick pay.

For the first 14 days of your illness, if you are employed, you are entitled to wage replacement from your employer and then receive sickness benefits from the 15th day of your illness. However, if you are in a protective period, you will get nothing for the first 14 days as you are no longer entitled to wage replacement.

In the event of your illness or incapacity for work, this period is not included in the credit certificate, so if you want to prove the duration of your sickness insurance to your new employer, for example, this must be documented in a separate certificate.

The protection period does not apply to all situations without exception. Typically, it does not apply to people in receipt of an old-age pension or a level III disability pension, or to pupils and students where employment falls during school holidays. It also does not apply to work under a work performance agreement and in certain other situations where the law so provides.

Finally, it should be recalled once again that the employment certificate or credit certificate is by no means a trivial document. It is important in various aspects of your professional life, from securing new job opportunities to securing various entitlements, such as in particular the length and amount of your retirement pension.

Its absence can lead to complications, especially if you have been summarily dismissed by your employer or have given notice of termination of employment, so it is very important that your employer issues you with a credit slip immediately.

Are you dealing with a problem with a credit slip? Whether your employer has not issued it or it contains errors, we can help you resolve the situation quickly.

Summary

A credit slip is a mandatory document that an employer must issue to an employee upon termination of employment, regardless of whether there has been a termination of employment, agreement or immediate termination by the employer. It must be issued no later than the date of termination of employment and must contain the statutory details such as the type of work, the period of employment, information on deductions from wages and participation in sickness insurance. Conversely, it must not include the employee’s evaluation, the amount of pay or the reasons for termination unless the employee has given his or her written consent. A credit report is often required by the new employer and by authorities such as the Labour Office or the Social Security Agency, and its absence can cause complications. The obligation to issue a credit slip also applies to certain agreements (FTE, FTE) if participation in the insurance has arisen. The consistent issue of this document is therefore crucial to protect the employee’s rights in any form of termination of employment.