Living and Working in The Czech Republic Jana Kačenová

General information about the Czech Republic Situated in the ´heart´ of Europe Bordering countries: Slovakia, Poland, Germany and Austria Three historical regions: Bohemia, Moravia and the Czech part of Silesia Population: 10,3 million (Italy 58,5 million) Area: 79.000 km2 (Italy 301.338 km2) Currency: Czech Crown (Kč/CZK) 1€= CZK 25 Internet domain: .cz

Regions in the Czech Republic 77 Labour Offices - of which 14 are regional

Main economic indicators GDP + 6,6% (Average Annual in 2007) Inflation 2,8% (Avrg. Annual Consumer Price Indices 2007) Unemployment rate 5,9% (31st March 2008) EUROSTAT data – unemployment (February 2008): Czech Republic 4,8% EU27 7,1%

Useful numbers (31st March 2008) Wages Current minimum monthly wage 8 000 CZK €320 Average gross monthly wage 23 435 CZK €937 (4th Q 2007) Jobseekers x vacancies (moving average workforce 5 562 785) Unemployed (5,9%) 355 033 Registered vacancies (labour offices) 150 328 Average number of applicants per 1 vacancy 2,4 (March 2007: 4,3)

Regional unemployment (31st March 2008) 6,0% 10,9% 4,5% 7,4% 9,3% 2,2% 6,9% 5,5% 4,2% 4,4% 5,7% 6,8% 6,1% 4,6%

Foreign labour force from EU in the Czech Republic (March 2008 – total workforce - moving average 5 562 785) Slovakia 98 157 Poland 23 227 Bulgaria 5 896 Romania 4 555 Germany 2 812 United Kingdom 1 823 France 1 267 Austria 709 Italy 614 10. Netherlands 507

Foreign Labour force from non-EU countries – workpermits (March 2008 – total workforce - moving average 5 562 785) Ukraine 57 300 Mongolia 7 515 Vietnam 6 295 Moldavia 5 246 Russia 1 575 USA 1 078 Uzbekistan 1 037 China 1 019 Macedonia 923 Bosna Herzegovina 888

Working in the Czech Republic Citizens of EU/EEA countries do not need a work permit Registration at Labour Office – obligation of the employer (latest on the first day of the employment) Residence permit – entitled to apply when staying more than 3 months http://portal.mpsv.cz/eures www.mvcr.cz – Ministry of Interior www.domavcr.cz – Information for foreigners of M.o.I.

Looking for work EURES EURES part of the Public Employment Services, provides information about job offers, living and working conditions etc. 15 EURES advisers in labour offices in regional towns and in Prague More information on: http://eures.europa.eu http://portal.mpsv.cz/eures

Looking for work Labour offices Services of Labour Offices wide range of service open to public: job placement, retraining, consultation, counselling, services to schools, control activities, protection of employees Vacancies displayed in all labour offices (77) - on information boards (paper form, leaflets) - on-line on website of labour offices http://portal.mpsv.cz/sz (clients can use PC self-service kiosks)

Looking for work Media Main newspapers for advertising vacancies: Mladá fronta DNES http://idnes.cz/ http://jobdnes.idnes.cz/ special supplement Zaměstnání on Thursdays Hospodářské noviny http://hn.ihned.cz/ http://kariera.ihned.cz special supplement Kariéra on Mondays Job advertisements are published in all daily press in special supplements or columns.

Looking for work Internet www.jobs.cz www.jobsinprague.cz www.hledampraci.cz www.hotjobs.cz www.joblist.cz www.prace.cz www.jobpilot.cz see list of other job servers

Looking for work Recruitment agencies Private personnel agencies must have a licence for mediatory services issued by the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs Database of licenced agencies: http://portal.mpsv.cz/sz/obcane/zpr_prace Personnel agencies are not allowed to ask for any charge from job seekers! (Employment Act No. 435/2004)

Looking for work Recruitment agencies Nearly 2 000 licenced agencies in the CR Biggest recruitment agencies: MANPOWER http://www.manpower.cz ADECCO http://www.adecco.cz GRAFTON http://www.grafton.cz START http://www.start.cz Agencies can be specialized in recruiting: at certain educational/professional levels in target countries or target groups

Looking for work Personal contacts Web sites companies have their own web sites with job offers (on-line application forms) Yellow pages (available in English) www.zlatestranky.cz Browsers www.seznam.cz www.klikni.cz www.centrum.cz see list of other browsers

What is needed when looking for work? Language skills Curriculum vitae typed, structured, EUROPASS form, common to attach pictures Cover letter, references Interview get details of the company Extract from the criminal register (when working with money, children) Health certificate (when working with food) Psychological tests

Living in the Czech Republic Registering in the territory of the CR (accommodation provider, automatically) Residence permit EU citizens do not need a special permission to stay Stays longer than 3 months - entitled to apply for ´permission to stay for a citizen of a European Communities member state´ (Application is submitted to the Foreigner's Police in the CR) http://portal.mpsv.cz/eures www.mvcr.cz – Ministry of Interior www.domavcr.cz – Information portal for foreigners

Social and Health Insurance Social Security Administration Health Insurance Company EU workers do not need to register with tax/social security authorities – employer does so on their behalf No special fiscal or social number health insurance: (compulsory) health care social insurance: illness, unemployment and other social situation (maternity, old age, etc.)

Deductions from earnings (in %) employee employer Health insurance 4,5 9,0 Social insurance 8,0 26,0 Change in income taxes for fiscal year 2008: flat income tax 15% (for fiscal year 2009: flat income tax 12,5%) www.mfcr.cz - Ministry of Finance

Healthcare General medical services are free - compulsory health insurance (In 2008 – patients´partial contribution for hospital stays, visits to GP, prescriptions etc.) When employed in the Czech Republic employer registers employees with Insurance Institution Charges are usually made for non-standard treatments

Working conditions Working time: 40 hours a week (reduced to 38,5 in 2 shift work operations and 37,5 hrs in 3 shift work operations) 8 hours a day (in shift work operations 12 hrs shifts) 30 minutes break after 6 hours of work Holidays: basic annual leave is 4 weeks (many employers offer 5 weeks)

Employment Required content of work contract work position place of work work starting date Other arrangements salary, description of work position, benefits etc. Conclusion of employment contract 2 months notice period (if not arranged otherwise) trial period of 3 months

Employee´s Rights and Obligations State Labour Inspection Authority regular open hours at local labour offices www.suip.cz Trade unions Czech - Moravian Confederation of Trade Uninons www.cmkos.cz/eng/

Unemployment Unemployed people can register with Labour Office as job seekers Entitled to unemployment benefits if they prove at least 12 months of work within the past 3 years preceding the submission of application Amount of benefits: 50% in first 3 months and 45% for the remaining months of the average monthly salary in the last job Unemployment benefits paid for 6 months (longer under certain criteria, eg. over 50 yrs, special needs, etc.)

Accommodation Availability of accommodation and prices depend upon geographical location Deposit is often charged if you rent a flat (usually a 3-months rent) A lot of rent and sales offers can be found in local or national newspapers or internet: www.bydleni.cz www.reality.cz www.annonce.cz www.sreality.cz Average rental of one bedroom flat around 7000 CZK/month (€280) (Flat shares are cheaper, Prague – most expensive) To find suitable long-term accommodation use estate agencies!

Banking Salaries are almost always paid into a bank account To open up a bank account, you need a valid ID/passport and some amount as the entrance deposit Most banks have a help line to provide information

Recognition of qualifications Recognition of qualification is necessary for work in any of the regulated professions List of regulated professions in the Czech Republic is available on the website of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports www.msmt.cz/uok

EURES Czech Republic national website http://portal.mpsv.cz/eures

Labour market – labour force -Shortages- Mechanical engineering technicians Electrical Engineering technicians Civil engineering technicians CNC operators Teachers of technical subjects Tool-makers Joiners, carpenters Welders, fitters Plastic processing machine operators Manufacturing operators Drivers

Labour market – labour force -Shortages- Medical staff Sales representatives Sales staff Security agent lower Chefs, waiters/tenders Traditional vocational trainees (apprenticeship leavers) Workers in food-processing industry Assembly lines operators Workers for shift work in general

Labour market – labour force +Surpluses+ Administrative workers Agricultural workers (livestock, plant production) Seasonal unemployment – gardeners, forestry workers, construction workers

Thank you for your attention! Any questions?

Jana Kačenová EURES adviser – Central Region Labour Office in Příbram The Czech Republic jana.kacenova@pb.mpsv.cz