Not sure what the holiday entitlement is and when you are actually entitled to it? And what to do if your employer doesn’t want to recognise your holiday even though you have already paid for the trip?
Not sure what the holiday entitlement is and when you are actually entitled to it? And what to do if your employer doesn’t want to recognise your holiday even though you have already paid for the trip?
To start with, it is important to note that there are several types of leave. The most common is the annual leave, or a pro rata part of it in the case of shorter periods of service with the employer. The default rate is at least four weeks per year if the employment relationship has been continuous for 52 weeks and the employee has worked 52 times his weekly working time.
If you do not yet meet the 52-week condition, leave is pro-rated according to the hours actually worked. The annual rate (e.g. 200 hours for five weeks’ leave and a 40-hour week) is divided by 52; each week worked will therefore be worth 1/52 of the annual rate.
Example: a full-time employee who is entitled to five weeks’ holiday (200 hours per year) has worked four weeks. His entitlement is 200 ÷ 52 × 4 = 15.4 hours, i.e. 16 hours after rounding.
The employee may take leave as soon as he is entitled to it on the basis of the hours worked; the law no longer sets a minimum period of employment (e.g. three months). The result is always rounded up to whole hours.
An extra fifth week of holiday is also popular in recent times, as employers race to attract new employees with benefits. In fact, it is possible to agree with the employer on any extension of leave, even if only for some employees. However, in this case it is important to pay attention to the principle of non-discrimination.
If the longer leave applies only to certain positions, there must be a justification for it and it is not possible to extend it only to some employees who all do the same job. Teachers or teaching staff, who have 8 weeks’ leave, also have a different length of leave.
The amendment also introduced leave for employees working under performance and employment agreements. After a continuous four-week agreement and a minimum of 80 hours worked, ‘agreement workers’ find themselves in the same situation as regular employees: their notional weekly working time is set at 20 hours and their holiday entitlement increases by approximately 1.5 hours for every 20 hours worked.
Example: if you work 120 hours, we calculate six full fictitious weeks (6 × 20 hours) and, after recalculation, you get approximately 9 hours of leave, rounded up to the nearest whole hour.
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The holiday rules have relatively recently undergone a major change. As of 2021, the actual number of hours worked is taken into account when calculating leave and the rate of leave is set accordingly. It is therefore not calculated on the basis of weeks, as was previously the case.
This rule is being introduced to accommodate employees with flexible working hours, e.g. in the case of different shift lengths. This is because there may be inequalities in the calculation of leave, for example, in the case of irregular shifts where some weeks meant five days off and others just two extra days off
The mandatory 4 weeks (or 5 or more weeks that an employer may voluntarily grant) of leave for a standard 8-hour working day is therefore converted to 160 hours. If you are entitled to 5 weeks’ holiday, this means 200 hours.
Let’s look at how the calculation of leave would work with shorter hours, for example. An employee who works 30 hours in a week has 5 weeks’ holiday agreed with their employer. He has worked 52 weeks in a calendar year, i.e. 1 585 hours. His holiday entitlement is therefore calculated as 30 hours x 5 weeks’ holiday, giving a total of 150 hours’ holiday.
The purpose of leave is to allow the employee to rest and recharge. The rules are therefore set so that the leave is actually taken. For this reason, the Labour Code restricts the possibility of paying for untaken leave.
The only possible situation in which an exchange of leave for money is possible is in the event of termination of employment. Thus, in the termination notice or agreement, the employer can choose whether to order the remaining leave within the notice period or to let the employee work until the last day and then pay compensation for the untaken leave.
The employer decides when to take leave. It must give at least 14 days’ notice. In practice, however, the holiday date is usually set by mutual agreement or on the basis of an internal system. However, the employee is also entitled to at least two weeks’ holiday in total, unless otherwise agreed.
As of 1 August 2024, employers no longer have to draw up a written ‘holiday schedule’, i.e. a table which used to set out in advance when each employee would take leave for the whole year. This was a purely administrative obligation that did not protect either the employee or the company – its abolition was therefore welcomed by both parties. In practice, nothing has changed in that your employer must give you at least a fortnight’s notice of the specific date, and it remains the case that they must take into account your ‘legitimate interests’, typically family commitments or whether you have already paid your holiday to a travel agent.
A frequently discussed issue is the carry-over of untaken leave to the next year. The Labour Code only allows such carry-over in three situations. First, if you request it in writing yourself – and only with what exceeds the legal minimum of four weeks. Second, if the employer has urgent operational reasons (situations where your absence would cause significant financial damage to the company). Thirdly, if you face a full-time disruption to your work for most of the year, such as long-term sickness or maternity leave. If you do not transfer leave in either of these ways, it must normally be taken by the end of the year in which it is taken.
If an employee does not take leave in a calendar year and does not stop working, the untaken leave is carried over to the next year, provided that if the employer does not determine the period of this ‘old’ leave by 30 June of the following year, the employee will determine the period of leave themselves, which must be notified to the employer at least 14 days in advance.
If an employee does not attend work for certain reasons and misses shifts, the employer may shorten the leave. However, leave cannot be reduced for absence for reasons such as employer’s obstacles, maternity leave, temporary incapacity for work due to an occupational accident or disease, public holidays or when taking time off in lieu for overtime or public holidays.
In addition, the employer may reduce leave for unexcused absences. For an unexcused missed shift, the employer may reduce the leave only by the number of hours actually missed; unexcused missed shorter shifts shall be added together. In doing so, the employee must be allowed at least the minimum statutory leave of two weeks.
The holiday season is approaching. You may be wondering how many days you’re entitled to and whether your boss will let you go at a time that suits you. What are the rules for taking vacation this year, how is the length calculated, and when can your boss restrict you from taking it?
According to the latest amendment, a female employee is entitled to take ordinary leave immediately after maternity leave. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that the leave is not cut short by subsequent parental care and to allow the woman to plan her return to work more smoothly. The law provides the same protection for men who are caring for a child. In practice, this means that your employer must grant your request unless it can show a serious operational reason, which is more likely to be the exception in such situations.
An interesting institution remains the so-called all-working holiday, i.e. collective closure. The law allows for a maximum of two weeks in a row, or four for artistic ensembles. The employer can only announce it with the consent of the trade union and taking into account the living needs of the workers; if you have already bought a tour for another date, the company must look for a solution (for example, keeping you at work). Most companies therefore choose weeks when they stop machines for maintenance anyway, to minimize conflicts with employees’ private schedules.
Have you started a new job, have a three-month probationary period and are not sure when you are entitled to take your holiday? Can you use it during the probationary period? And what about if you work “on an I.T.O.”?
In such a case, the Labour Code states that the employer is obliged to compensate the employee for the costs incurred through no fault of his/her own. Therefore, if the employer approves a holiday in the spring for July, for example, and then changes its mind, the employer must reimburse the employee for all costs, including the purchased trip.
It’s not enough to pay for the trip itself; the Labour Code also entitles you to reimbursement of hotel cancellation fees, unused insurance, or additional payment for an early return home if you have to end your holiday early. I therefore recommend keeping all receipts – from airline tickets to proof of parking. In practice, these claims are often settled by agreement, but if the employer refuses, you can seek compensation through the courts; for smaller amounts, it is often advisable to send a pre-action notice first, which often encourages the employer to settle out of court. In practice, however, this does not often happen; we have dealt with only one such case.
Are you going on holiday and have decided to boost your home security by installing a camera? This is a sensible step. But be aware of the circumstances under which you may be breaking the law.
Employees are legally entitled to at least 4 weeks holiday per year. From 2021, holiday is calculated according to the hours actually worked: the total annual allowance (e.g. 160 hours for four weeks) is divided by 52 and for each week worked, 1/52 of that allowance is due, and the entitlement can be taken as soon as the corresponding number of hours has been calculated. The same logic now also applies to “agreement workers” (FTEs) who, after four weeks of agreement and 80 hours worked, accrue leave at the rate of approximately 1.5 hours for every 20 hours worked.
The employer decides when to take the leave (at least 14 days’ notice must be given), but the employee is entitled to two weeks’ leave in total. Untaken leave can only be carried over to the following year in three cases (on request beyond 4 weeks, for serious operational reasons of the employer or because of a long-term obstacle to work). If the employer does not designate it by 30 June, the employee may determine the period of use himself. Reimbursement of leave is possible only on termination of employment.
Leave may only be reduced for unexcused absences (max. by the hours missed), provided that a minimum of 2 weeks must always be left. After maternity (and paternity) leave, the employee may take regular leave automatically. The employer may declare up to two weeks’ leave (four weeks for arts groups). If the date is cancelled at the last minute, the employee must reimburse all demonstrably incurred costs.
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.
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