Czech Republic: Extension of Antivirus Programme and Introduction of Scheme C

The Government also approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for further financial assistance to companies aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employers and preserving as many jobs as possible.

This involves an extension of the Antivirus Programme by scheme C, under which the employer's contributions to social security for the months of June, July and August 2020 will be waived in the form of a reduction in the employer's assessment base.

Therefore, if the employee is employed until the last day of the calendar month and he or she was not terminated for organisational reasons on the part of the employer, the employee's assessment base will not be included in the employer's assessment base, but only up to 1.5 times the average wage.

The employer will apply the reduction of its assessment base directly on the prescribed form (meaning it does not have to submit a special application for the waiver). The reduction cannot be applied retroactively.

Employers will be entitled to the waiver if they meet the following basic conditions:

a.) they employ a maximum of 50 employees covered by sickness insurance, the number of employees being determined on the
last day of March;
b.) they have not laid off more than 10 % of their employees and maintain 90 % of the volume of wages as in March 2020;
c.) they pay insurance contributions for employees in the entire amount and on time.

Employers with obstacles to work drawing funds for the partial payment of wage costs from schemes A/B of the Antivirus Programme may not concurrently apply the waiver in scheme C in the relevant calendar month. ​

Compliance with the conditions will be checked as part of standard inspections carried out by the district social security administration, i.e. within three years at the latest.

However, the support in scheme C still has to go through the relevant legislative process, i.e. in the framework of the bill on the waiver of social security premiums and contributions to the state employment policy paid by employers in connection with emergency measures during the 2020 pandemic.

The bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and will be discussed by the Senate on 10 June 2020. After being signed by the President, the law will take effect on the day of its promulgation.

Important notice: The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature only and should not be regarded as a substitute for legal advice on a specific issue.