Work Schedule Options: How Work Hours Can Be Scheduled

Quick Overview: What Are the Different Options for Working Hours?

• Even distribution of working hours: The employer distributes the prescribed or shorter working hours evenly across individual weeks.
• Uneven distribution of working hours: The number of hours may vary from week to week, but within the adjustment period, the average must correspond to the statutory working hours.
• Flexible working hours: The employer sets core and optional working hours, and the employee chooses the start and end times of their work within specified limits.
• Working-time account: a special method of uneven scheduling suitable, for example, for operations with significant fluctuations in the volume of work.
• Employee-scheduled work hours: Based on a written agreement, an employee may schedule their own shifts under agreed-upon conditions.

Are you setting up work schedules at your company? An improperly created shift schedule or an incorrectly set adjustment period can cause problems for the employer during audits or in disputes with employees. Our attorneys will help you review employment contracts, internal policies, and specific working time arrangements.

Fixed or Flexible Work Hours?

It’s important for employees to have a clear understanding of their work hours. Is overtime expected? Are weekends off? And how long are the shifts? However, employers in particular must follow certain rules when setting working hours to ensure operations run smoothly while also giving employees time to rest.

First, let’s clarify exactly what constitutes working hours. It is the time during which an employee is required to perform work for the employer, as well as the time during which they must be at the workplace and ready to perform that work. Therefore, from the start of working hours, the employee must be present at the workplace and ready to perform their duties.

So, if, for example, an employee needs to change into work clothes, the time spent changing is not counted as working hours. An employer may require employees to arrive at work earlier precisely so that they are ready to work at the designated time.

Employee Obligations

The standard workweek is 40 hours. There are exceptions where the prescribed workweek is shorter—for example, for mine workers, as well as for those working in two-shift, three-shift, or continuous operations.

The basic rule is that the employer schedules working hours. According to the Labor Code, the employer schedules working hours and also determines the start and end times of individual shifts.

The employer is required to schedule working hours into specific shifts within the week. The difference between working hours and a shift is that working hours include overtime, whereas a shift refers only to what was originally scheduled; overtime is therefore not included in a shift. However, the rule for employers remains that the length of a single shift must not exceed 12 hours.

Working hours are generally scheduled over a five-day workweek. When scheduling working hours, the employer is required to ensure that the schedule does not conflict with the principles of safe and healthy working conditions.

Even and Uneven Scheduling of Working Hours

An employer may schedule working hours on an even or uneven basis. In an even schedule, the specified or agreed-upon shorter working hours are distributed evenly across individual weeks.

An uneven schedule, on the other hand, means that an employee may work more hours in one week and fewer in another. The average over the entire balancing period is decisive. This period may not exceed 26 consecutive weeks; only a collective bargaining agreement may extend it to up to 52 weeks.

This option is particularly suitable where the workload varies throughout the year—for example, in seasonal operations. However, even with an uneven distribution, the length of a single shift generally may not exceed 12 hours.

If working hours are fixed, the employee must report for a shift at a precisely specified time, and the employer also specifies the end of the workday. In the case of flexible working hours, it can be said—with a bit of exaggeration—that the employee can come and go as they please. The employer usually sets certain core hours (e.g., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) during which the employee must be available at the workplace, and then optional hours during which it is up to the employee to decide whether to work. On average, however, even an employee with flexible working hours should work 40 hours per week (unless their working hours have been reduced). The weekly working hours must be fulfilled within a balancing period determined by the employer (not exceeding 52 weeks). As employees enjoy an increasing degree of freedom in their work arrangements, employers face a growing need to manage teams remotely. It is important to track the time employees spend working and to streamline all processes through digitalization.

One way to address the uneven distribution of working hours is through a “working time account,” which an employer can implement via an internal regulation or a collective bargaining agreement. This is a relatively complex mechanism, which is why not many employers utilize it. However, if implemented correctly, it can assist employers in situations where they experience seasonal fluctuations in demand for their goods or services and therefore require greater flexibility.

From legal practice: In cases of unevenly distributed working hours, a common source of disputes arises when an employer alternates between shorter and longer workweeks but has not properly set the balancing period or fails to inform employees of the shift schedule in a timely manner. The problem often only becomes apparent when dealing with overtime, wages, or a labor inspection.

Not sure if your work schedules are set up correctly? Especially with irregular schedules, shift work, or work-time accounts, an incorrect schedule can impact overtime, rest periods, and employee compensation. Have a lawyer review your labor law documents.

When can an employee schedule their own working hours?

Starting in 2025, the Labor Code will also allow for so-called “self-scheduling” of working hours. An employer may agree in writing with an employee that the employee will schedule their own shifts under agreed-upon conditions.

Even in such cases, however, this does not constitute complete freedom to manage one’s time without rules. In particular, the employee must comply with the statutory limits on shift length, and their average weekly working hours must be fulfilled within the specified adjustment period.

Job Sharing

One flexible option for organizing work is the so-called shared position. In short, this works by having two or more employees take turns in a single position so that they collectively cover the required working hours, which do not exceed theweekly working hours limit.

A single position may thus be shared by employees who have employment contracts for the same type of work and agreed-upon shorter working hours. In this case, however, an individual agreement must be reached between the employer and each employee. Such an agreement may then be terminated either by mutual consent or unilaterally, without stating a reason, with a 15-day notice period. If the agreement is terminated with only one employee, this has no effect on the existence of the employment relationship.

This legal provision also provides for a fixed allocation of working hours among employees in the form of a schedule submitted to the employer in advance in writing, without the possibility of substitution among employees. Substitution is only permitted with the employee’s consent. This measure is intended to prevent a situation in which both employees would be on constant standby.

Minimum wage rules must also be observed in the case of a shared position. If an employee has agreed to shorter working hours, the monthly minimum wage is reduced in proportion to the hours worked. In 2026, the minimum wage for a standard 40-hour workweek is 22,400 CZK per month or 134.40 CZK per hour.

For employees with shorter standard weekly working hours (two-shift, multi-shift, or continuous operations), the monthly minimum remains the same, but the hourly rate is higher. An overview of rates for individual types of operations and other amounts derived from the minimum wage is summarized by the accounting firm Jake&James in an article on calculating the minimum wage.

The key to successfully sharing a workstation is choosing a coworker with whom the other employee will be able to communicate effectively. It is also important to ensure a clear division of tasks. It is not enough to simply set working hours; it is also necessary to agree on who will take responsibility for specific tasks. It may therefore be standard practice for employees’ working hours to overlap so that tasks can be handed over and other organizational matters can be addressed during that time.

The primary reason for introducing job sharing is to provide a certain degree of flexibility in employment relationships. Due to record-low unemployment and the fact that young people, in particular, tend to prioritize lifestyle over career, employers are being forced to resort to various atypical forms of employment. Although this is still a relatively new concept for us, it is becoming increasingly popular in countries west of the Czech Republic. Currently, in the Czech Republic, approximately 7% of employers use a form of agreement that is very similar to a job-sharing arrangement, whereas in neighboring Germany, for example, half of all companies utilize job-sharing.

Job sharing brings many benefits for both parties. It is expected to increase employee efficiency and offers a more creative solution to the current situation. Since it’s said that two heads are better than one, it can also help eliminate potential mistakes. For employees, this is a great opportunity to develop in other areas during the rest of the week or to spend more time with their families.

Summary

The Labor Code allows for various working time arrangements. Working hours are generally scheduled by the employer, who determines the start and end times of shifts, but under certain conditions, the employee may also schedule them. In addition to an even distribution, there are uneven work schedules, flexible work schedules, work time accounts, and job sharing. With an uneven schedule, the number of hours may vary from week to week; however, the average weekly working hours must be maintained over the entire adjustment period. When setting up any of these options, it is also necessary to comply with the maximum shift length, employee rest periods, and other provisions of the Labor Code.