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LEGAL FORMS OF ATYPICAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Jana Borska, S. Reznikova

Abstract

Generally, the right to employment is considered to be one of the fundamental human rights in a democratic society. It is considered to be a subjective right of anybody to choose employment according to his/her abilities and with a corresponding reward. The legislative base for this right in the Czech Republic is in the constitutional law, particularly in Article 26, paragraph 3 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, which declares that anybody has the right to make his/her living through work. This provision reflects numerous international documents, such as the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Social Charter, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the Convention No. 122 of the International Labour Organization. The fundamental domestic legal regulation is the Act No 262/2006 Coll., the Labour Code, as amended, which regulates the fundamental relations between employers and employees through peremptory norms. The “typical” form of employment is considered to be employment based on work contract or based on agreements on work outside work contract. However, atypical forms of employment are mostly not dealt with by statutory regulations. The parties can agree on certain modifications of labour relations such as home-office and shared work-space or can regulate their mutual rights and obligations through one of the contracts under Act No. 89/2012 Coll. the Civil Code, such as contract for work. Nevertheless, the dominant form of employment in the Czech Republic is a permanent full-time labour contract. This form means certainty and stability assured for the employee. The atypical forms of employment are only subsidiary, in both private and public sector. Yet, they can bring advantages to both employers and employees. For instance, employers can try new forms of work outside the work place which have not yet been fully covered by statutes. Therefore, it is solely left on the will of the employer and the employee whether they are willing to accept the non-traditional forms of employment. This paper analyses the various forms of atypical employment and the detailed analysis is used to show the corresponding legal arrangements and the possible risks of the usage of such forms of employment.

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