Employee's long-term loss of medical fitness: the employer's perspective under Czech law

Updated on 4 October 2026. The text reflects amendments to the Labour Code in force from 1 June 2025.

A medical report on an employee's long-term unfitness is not merely a basis for possible dismissal under Czech law. The employer must deal with assigning work safely and with the possibility of transferring the employee. Since 2025, the designation of the ground for notice and the compensation on termination because of a work injury or occupational disease have also changed. The older reference to Section 52(e) of the Labour Code for general long-term unfitness no longer corresponds to the current wording.

The medical report and its review

What is decisive for the employment law procedure is a proper report from the occupational health service provider or a decision of the administrative authority reviewing it. Sick leave or subjective difficulties alone do not replace an assessment of long-term fitness for the current work. The employer needs a report relating to the work actually performed and its conditions.

Under Section 46 of Act No. 373/2011 Coll., on Specific Health Services, the entitled person may request a review within ten working days of demonstrable delivery of the report. For a conclusion of medical unfitness or long-term loss of fitness, the request in principle has no suspensive effect. The employer therefore cannot continue to expose the employee to work contrary to the report merely because the employee disagrees with its conclusion.

Transfer to suitable work

Under Section 41(1)(a) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labour Code, the employer is obliged to transfer an employee who has lost long-term fitness to other work. If the purpose cannot be achieved within the agreed type of work, Section 41(3) allows a transfer to a different type of work even without the employee's consent. The employer assesses the suitability of the work according to the employee's state of health and abilities and, where possible, also his or her qualifications; this duty is set out in Section 41(6).

The employer must discuss the reason for and expected duration of the transfer with the employee in advance. Written confirmation when the employment contract changes is governed by Section 41(7).

Notice and distinguishing the grounds of unfitness

Long-term loss of fitness for the current work is now a ground for notice under Section 52(d) of the Labour Code. Letter (e) covers a different situation: reaching the maximum permissible exposure at a workplace designated by a decision of the public health authority. These distinctions are also important for the employee's financial entitlements.

Termination of employment must meet further statutory conditions, including proper specification of the ground, delivery and any protection period. In the case of an agreement, the actual reason must be stated correctly if an entitlement to compensation is linked to it. A general wording of the agreement may lead to a dispute about why the employment ended.

One-off compensation and severance pay

Under Section 271ca(1) of the Labour Code, an employee given notice under Section 52(d) is entitled to one-off compensation equal to twelve times average monthly earnings if the long-term unfitness arose because of a work injury, occupational disease or threat of such a disease. The compensation is also due on an agreement concluded for the same reason. It is not a flat-rate entitlement for every health restriction.

For reaching the maximum permissible exposure under Section 52(e), Section 67(3) of the Labour Code provides for severance pay of at least twelve times average monthly earnings. For general illness outside the cases under Section 271ca, there is no statutory entitlement to this one-off compensation; other benefits may follow, for example, from an agreement between the parties. The old general claim that an employee is never entitled to compensation for medical unfitness can therefore no longer be used.

Before deciding, the employer needs the employment contract, the medical report and proof of its delivery, an overview of suitable vacancies and documents on the cause of the health restriction. We assess the specific procedure as part of our employment law practice.

Sources: Sections 41, 52, 67 and 271ca of Act No. 262/2006 Coll.; Section 46 of Act No. 373/2011 Coll., as amended.

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