The People’s Party is once again against the ODS on the issue of loosening the rules on the labor market. Last year, on the other hand, was carried out in the spirit of strengthening labor law under the baton of Labor Minister Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL), while representatives of the ODS promised to go in the opposite direction in the future and “correct” the situation. Now, however, the People’s Party is once again opposed on a fundamental issue, and the experience of the previous two years of the government shows that it is able to push through a number of steps that apparently raise the eyebrows of traditional ODS voters.
An increase in taxes for self-employed workers, tougher rules for flexible working hours, which practically “knocked” them out of the market, registration of contractors, transfer of the burden of proof to employers or new claims for employees, all with a portion of increased administrative costs, especially for smaller entrepreneurs. Last year, the Labor Code and the consolidation package brought about a tightening of the rules on the labor market. Now steps are being taken in the opposite direction, but a sharp dispute is emerging in the coalition.
The Minister of Labor Jurečka refuses to solve the issue of dismissals without giving a reason, which also appeared among the proposals of the National Economic Council of the Government (NERV), and the People’s Party strictly rejects that the proposal could pass as long as they are in the government. On the contrary, the ODS is preparing to include this proposal in an amendment to the Labor Code as part of the legislative process in the lower house.
The Czech Republic has long been one of the countries with the lowest unemployment in the EU. Employers complain about labor shortages. According to NERV, the Czech labor market needs to be stimulated. In its set of recommendations, the Council stated that problem employees or employees without performance cannot be fired in the Czech Republic, unless they grossly violate work discipline.
“Difficult layoffs, for example in response to external shocks, bind employees in less productive firms and thus also inhibit the development of more productive firms that are interested in hiring,” the council said. According to her, this leads to a loss of competitiveness. However, Minister of Labor Marian Jurečka refuses to deal with resignations without giving a reason, according to him, additional measures should be introduced in connection with this and it is not a topic for discussion now. What it allows, on the other hand, is an extension of the trial period or a shortening of the notice period.
However, the rest of the Spolu coalition sees it differently. “I support the possibility of being fired without giving a reason. I think it will pay off in the final for both parties. When a company offers high severance pay, the interest in leaving positions is often higher than the number of positions that actually need to be vacated,” recently stated the Minister of Finance Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS), saying that they are going to enter the amendment to the Labor Code through amendments in the lower house.
NERV member and economist Daniel Münich from the IDEA think tank at CERGE‑EI previously told Echo24 that within NERV’s 37 proposals, dismissals without giving reasons are a drop in the ocean, so there is nothing fundamental about not accepting this option, according to him. “A total of 10 framework measures directly affect the labor market, and dismissal without reason is only part of the proposal for measure number 10. The government’s menu is very long and the government has a lot to choose from,” Münich told the editors.
In the material, NERV recommends the possibility of dismissal without giving a reason, but within a “reasonable period of time with reasonable severance pay”. Years of service could be reflected in its amount. According to the council, inspiration could be sought abroad, for example in the Danish flexicurity model. The term consists of the words flexibility and security, i.e. flexibility and security. For this, it is necessary to prepare the Czech employment services, the council pointed out. She pointed to higher state expenditures to mitigate the effects of layoffs, such as retraining. In addition to easier dismissals, she also mentioned more flexible hiring and regulation of working hours.
While the unions strictly reject changes leading to easier dismissal of employees, employers, on the contrary, point out that one of the fundamental problems is precisely the legal reasons that make it possible to dismiss employees. Thus, as stated by NERV, it is practically impossible to dismiss in cases where employees are problematic or do not perform the necessary tasks.
