HOME OFFICE FOREVER? HERE’S HOW PRAGUE COMPANIES ARE HANDLING THE SECOND WAVE

Our Associate, Iva Čípová, spoke to Expats.cz about the legal restraints surrounding work from home.

Back in March, roughly 35 percent of the Czech Republic was working from home in an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. By May masks were no longer required in offices and for many staffers, it was back to business as usual.

A number of Prague-based businesses, however, made home office a more permanent option, bracing for the inevitable second wave and an uncertain future.

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On a legal level, home office is not directly defined by the Czech Labor Code, it’s based on a case-by-case agreement between the employee and employer. “An employer cannot force the employee to work from home, legally, and the employee cannot work from home against the employer’s will,” said Iva Čípová, a lawyer for MACEK.LEGAL, a firm that specializes in employment law.

“In our experience,” said Čípová “a number of employers agree to home office with employees only orally, but it’s better to have a written agreement so that both parties know where they stand.”

READ MORE: https://news.expats.cz/weekly-czech-news/home-office-forever-heres-how-prague-companies-are-handling-the-second-wave/