The long-discussed “flexible amendment,” which amends the Labour Code and other legal regulations, brings a number of important changes in the area of labour relations. The changes and new provisions, most of which will take effect on 1 June 2025, will affect many areas of labour law and institutions. An overview of these changes, including basic information, can be found in our information leaflet.
We have also prepared a series of articles on the individual changes brought about by the flexiamendment, and in this article we will take a closer look at the changes relating to termination due to loss of health.
Current regulation of termination
The Labour Code regulates termination as one of the ways of terminating an employment relationship, setting out different rules for termination by the employer and termination by the employee.
In order to protect employees, employers may only terminate an employee’s employment for reasons expressly specified in Section 52 of the Labour Code. One of these reasons is the loss of an employee’s health, which we will discuss in this article.
Currently, this reason is divided into two letters of Section 52 of the Labour Code, namely letters d) and e). The first of these applies to cases where an employee has lost their medical eligibility and is therefore unable to perform their current work due to an accident at work, an occupational disease or a risk of such a disease, or if they have reached the maximum permissible exposure at the workplace. Letter e) regulates general long-term loss of medical eligibility, which covers other cases that cannot be classified under letter d).
In both cases, the termination of employment requires a medical assessment of the loss of medical eligibility or a decision by the competent administrative authority reviewing the medical assessment.
New wording of the notice of termination due to loss of medical eligibility
Long-term loss of medical eligibility is now classified as a single reason for termination under Section 52(d). All cases, whether due to an accident at work, occupational disease or general health reasons, have therefore been combined into a single letter, and there is no longer any distinction between the specific reasons for loss of medical elegibility for the purpose of terminating employment. If an employee loses their medical eligibility, the employer will not have to investigate the reasons for the loss if they wish to terminate the employment relationship with that employee.
In point e), the legislator has only excluded cases where the employee reaches the maximum permissible exposure at the workplace. This means that the employee has been exposed to certain adverse effects of the working environment (e.g. certain chemical substances, dust) to the maximum permissible extent, which is determined by the competent public health authority.
Compensation for loss of health
Until now, an employee whose employment was terminated by the employer for reasons specified in Section 52(d) was entitled to severance pay from the employer in the amount of at least twelve times the employee’s average monthly earnings.
Newly, if it is proven that the employee lost their health due to an accident at work or an occupational disease, they will no longer be entitled to severance pay, but to a one-off compensation upon termination of employment, also equal to twelve times their average monthly earnings. In the event of partial release of the employer for reasons under Section 270 et seq. of the Labour Code, this one-off compensation shall be reduced proportionally. In addition, this compensation shall be exempt from tax and its payment shall be covered by the employer’s liability insurance.
The one-off compensation upon termination of employment shall be payable on the next payday set by the employer for the payment of wages or salary following the termination of employment.
What are the practical implications of these changes?
The amendment harmonises the grounds for termination due to long-term loss of health. Employers will no longer have to distinguish between occupational accidents, occupational diseases or other health reasons, nor will they have to provide detailed reasons for termination. In practice, this will speed up the administrative process for employers and reduce the risk of termination being invalidated, which is why this change is being introduced.
For employees, the change is that if their fitness for work ceases due to an accident at work or occupational disease, they will not receive severance pay, but a one-off compensation payment, which will be paid by the employer’s insurance company, reducing the financial burden on employers when terminating employment. Upon reaching the maximum permissible exposure, severance pay will remain at the current level.
Summary
The flexiamendment introduces several fundamental changes that will have a significant impact on the day-to-day functioning of employment relationships.
One of the most significant changes introduced by the flexiamendment is the new wording of the reason for termination of employment due to long-term loss of health. This reason has been clarified and simplified, and the method of compensation for employees has been changed from severance pay to a one-off compensation payment.
If you have any questions regarding the flexiamendment to the Labour Code or labour law in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Rozálie Polášková, legal assistant – polaskova@plegal.cz
Mgr. Nikola Tomíčková, junior lawyer – tomickova@plegal.cz
Mgr. Jakub Málek, managing partner – malek@plegal.cz
19. 5. 2025