Social security is a state-organised system that provides financial support and services to individuals in the event of old age, sickness, disability, maternity, unemployment or loss of breadwinner. Its aim is therefore to ensure a basic standard of living and social protection for citizens in difficult life situations. It is always good to know in which cases the state protects us and to what extent. Here is an overview of what social security covers.
Thesocial security system is a comprehensive and central instrument of the government and its social policy. In turn, from the perspective of the individual, it is then a supportive network of regulations, institutions and rights that help to assist them with financial adversity in various life situations so that they cannot fall to the bottom.
The social security system in the Czech Republic consists of sickness, pension and health insurance, state unemployment policy and a system of social support benefits. Most of the components are covered by the state budget, with the exception of health insurance, which is mainly managed by health insurance companies (however, state regulation in the form of legislation also operates in this area).
The main components of social security in the Czech Republic include:
Didn't find the answer to your question about social security?
We are ready to answer any legal question. Our team includes specialists in all areas of law, so we can guarantee a really high quality of legal advice. In addition, we can give it to you online and within two working days
Tip: Social security or health insurance debt can build up quickly – just forget one payment or fail to pay the full amount and you’re done. On top of that, there are penalties and you could be in for a nasty surprise. So how exactly does it work if you’re self-employed and what if your employer doesn’t pay your insurance? This is the subject of our separate article.
The main regulation of the social security system used to be the Social Security Act. However, this has been repealed and replaced by other legislation. Overall, the social security field is covered by a large number of regulations divided according to different areas. Let us mention at least the most important ones. These are:
According to the Act on the Organisation and Implementation of Social Security, the main social security bodies are:
Tip: Social security is a levy that almost all working people have to pay. It is a substantial part of our salary. However, many people do not know why they pay social security and how much is actually deducted from their wages or salary. In our next article, we’ll give you the answers to who has to pay social security, where and how much. In addition, we will also tell you where all the money actually goes.
The sickness insurance scheme is primarily designed for wage earners, who can receive cash sickness insurance benefits in various situations, such as temporary incapacity for work due to illness or injury or quarantine, treatment of a family member, pregnancy and maternity or childcare.
Employees and self-employed persons are covered by sickness insurance. A significant difference is that while sickness insurance is compulsory for employees, sickness insurance remains voluntary for the self-employed.
However, even for employees, certain conditions should occur at the same time to trigger participation in sickness insurance. These include:
Sickness insurance subsequently provides four types of cash benefits, namely:
Each benefit is paid at different intervals and under different conditions. Probably the most frequently encountered is the payment of sickness benefit, which protects employees in situations where there is a threat of loss of income due to illness. Sick pay is paid from the 15th calendar day of the temporary incapacity for work, in calendar days. For the first 14 calendar days, an employee who has an employment relationship giving rise to sickness insurance is covered by wage compensation provided by his employer.
Participation in pension insurance may be of two types. As far as basic pension insurance is concerned, this applies to all of us. Participation is compulsory.
basic pension insurance is compulsory if certain conditions are met. At the same time, however, the Pension Insurance Act also allows forvoluntary participation in pension insurance. This then has uniformly set parameters for everyone, it just depends on which company and how much you are willing to save and how favourable the entry conditions are.
The pension system works with two basic principles, which are the principle of merit and solidarity. These are that while a person’s pension increases with higher pension contributions (the merit principle), at the same time a person’s pension increases more slowly with higher income (the solidarity principle).
Pensions are granted from the basic pension insurance:
The Act on Social Security Contributions and State Employment Policy Contributions contains the legal regulation. Under the Act, social security contributions are collected by district social security administrations and paid by employees, employers and self-employed persons.
The social security system in the Czech Republic consists of
Our team of experienced attorneys will help you solve any legal issue. Within 24 hours we’ll evaluate your situation and suggest a step-by-step solution, including all costs. The price for this proposal is only CZK 690, and this is refunded to you when you order service from us.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
In person and online. Just choose the appropriate service or opt for an independent consultation when you are unsure.
