Part-time work: when are you legally entitled to it?

What is part-time work

Part-time work, also known as part-time work, is a form of employment in which an employee works fewer hours than the standard work week, which is normally set at 40 hours (except for shift work, underground work, etc., where the work week is reduced to 37.5 or 38.75 hours). Part-time work is therefore working less than 40 hours per week. However, in practice, we most often see half-time work, i.e. 20 hours per week, and three-quarter-time work, i.e. 30 hours per week.

Advantages and disadvantages of part-time work

Working part-time brings with it a number of advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a closer look at them:

Advantages

• Flexibility: shorter working hours allow you to better balance your work and personal life. Part-time working is also a common practice, as you can set your working hours to suit you. For example, you can choose to work eight hours three days a week or five hours five days a week.
• Additional earning potential: You can combine part-time work with other job opportunities. This allows you to expand your work skills and diversify your income in case you lose any of them.
• A gatewayto the labour market: for students, parents on parental leave or seniors, part-time work is a good way to get involved in the workforce while leaving plenty of room for other activities.

Disadvantages

• Lower income: fewer hours worked means lower earnings than full-time work.
• Limited benefits: As a part-time employee, you may have limited access to work benefits such as pension contributions, meal vouchers, etc.
• Shorter holidays: as a full-time employee, you are legally entitled to four weeks paid holiday per year. This decreases proportionately with part-time work. For example, if you work half-time, you only get two weeks’ holiday.
• Fewer career opportunities: your career opportunities are likely to be more limited compared to your full-time colleagues.
• Job security: If you work on a so-called contract basis, this means less stability for you. It is easier to terminate a fixed-term or permanent contract than a traditional employment contract.

Who is entitled to part-time work

Three groups of people are entitled to part-time work under the Labour Code :

1. pregnant women,
2. persons caring for a child under the age of 15, and
3. persons caring for another person with a dependency on foreign assistance in the second to fourth degree.

If you belong to one of these groups, your employer must comply and offer you part-time work. They can only refuse if the move would cause a significant disruption to your working life. The exact reasons are not set out in the law, but the employer must document them and they must be relevant. For example, it is considered relevant if you perform a very specific, skilled job for which it would be very difficult to find a replacement. On the other hand, a relevant reason will not be the simple reason that your employer has to hire another part-time employee to cover half of your work.

What else Czech law says about part-time work

Contract

You can work part-time on the basis of a regular employment contract or on the basis of a work performance agreement or a work activity agreement. However, with agreements you should take into account that they have significant limitations compared to an employment contract and also provide you with less protection. However, from 2023, a number of new rules are in force which at least partially blur these differences.

What you need to remember, however, is that both VPAs and FTCs limit the length of working time. FTE to 300 hours per year and VET to 20 hours per week. There is also a shorter notice period for FTEs and LTTEs and the overall protection of the employee is lower. In general, it is therefore more worthwhile to sign an employment contract.

Salary

Salary conditions are the same as for full-time employment. So, for example, if your hours are cut in half, your new salary should be half of your previous salary. The same applies to the minimum wage, which must be the same as full-time. In 2024, the minimum wage is set at CZK 18,900 for 160 hours of work per month. So if you work half-time, the minimum wage is CZK 9 450 per month.

Supplements for work

Theallowances for part-time work differ from full-time work. This applies in particular to overtime pay, which you don’t get easily with part-time work. Overtime is defined as working more than 40 hours per week. At the same time, for part-time work, your employer cannot order you to work overtime. You must always agree to it.

Social security and health insurance

For part-time work, 6.5% of your gross wage is deducted for social security and 4.5% for health insurance. Your employer also pays 24.8% for social security and 9% for health insurance. However, if your gross income does not reach the minimum assessment threshold (for 2024 this is CZK 24,983.50), you must pay the rest out of your own pocket. The premium is 13.5% of the difference between your gross income and the minimum assessment base and is paid through your employer.

If you have more than one part-time job, the total of your earnings counts. However, if you still do not reach the minimum assessment base, you still have to pay a supplement. Again, you pay the additional amount through one of your employers of your choice.

Summary

Part-time work offers flexibility that makes it easier to balance work and personal life, which is particularly advantageous for students, parents on parental leave and senior citizens. However, it also comes with disadvantages, such as lower income and limited benefits. Pregnant women and carers are entitled to part-time work by law, but only if it does not disrupt working life. This type of work can be done on the basis of a contract of employment or agreements (FTE, LTC), but these have significant limitations.