{"id":50506,"date":"2026-06-24T14:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/working-hours\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T07:19:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T07:19:40","slug":"working-hours","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/working-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Working Hours"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<section class=\"sp-article\">\n<header class=\"sp-hero\">\n<h1>Working Hours in the Czech Republic: 2026 Guide<\/h1>\n<p><strong>Working hours in the Czech Republic<\/strong> are regulated by the Czech Labour Code (<em>z\u00e1kon\u00edk pr\u00e1ce<\/em>). The rules cover standard weekly working time, overtime, breaks, daily and weekly rest periods, annual leave and more flexible arrangements such as DPP and DP\u010c agreements.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<section id=\"standard-working-time\">\n<h2>Standard Working Hours in the Czech Republic<\/h2>\n<p>The standard weekly working time is generally <strong>40 hours per week<\/strong>. Where possible, working time is normally scheduled over a five-day working week.<\/p>\n<p>Shorter statutory weekly limits apply to certain working regimes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Two-shift operations:<\/strong> 38.75 hours per week<\/li>\n<li><strong>Multi-shift and continuous operations:<\/strong> 37.5 hours per week<\/li>\n<li><strong>Certain underground mining activities:<\/strong> 37.5 hours per week<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The employer normally determines the working schedule and the beginning and end of shifts. Since 2025, employees may also arrange their own working time in certain cases if this is agreed in writing with the employer.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"overtime\">\n<h2>Overtime Work: Limits and Compensation<\/h2>\n<p>Under Czech labour law, overtime should be exceptional. An employer may order overtime only for serious operational reasons.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Maximum ordered overtime:<\/strong> 8 hours in an individual week<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maximum ordered overtime:<\/strong> 150 hours in a calendar year<\/li>\n<li><strong>Additional overtime:<\/strong> possible only by agreement with the employee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The total amount of overtime must not exceed an average of <strong>8 hours per week<\/strong> over a reference period of up to 26 consecutive weeks. A collective agreement may extend this reference period to a maximum of 52 weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Overtime is generally compensated by normal salary plus an overtime premium, unless compensatory time off is agreed instead. In some cases, salary may be agreed with overtime already taken into account within the limits permitted by law.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"breaks-and-rest\">\n<h2>Breaks and Rest Periods<\/h2>\n<p>The Czech Labour Code provides minimum rest periods designed to protect employees&#8217; health and safety.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Meal and rest break:<\/strong> generally at least 30 minutes after no more than 6 hours of continuous work<\/li>\n<li><strong>Daily rest:<\/strong> generally at least 11 consecutive hours between shifts<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weekly rest:<\/strong> at least 24 hours of uninterrupted weekly rest combined with the statutory daily rest, resulting in a continuous rest period of at least 35 hours in standard cases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Specific exceptions may apply in certain sectors and working regimes.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"annual-leave\">\n<h2>Annual Leave<\/h2>\n<p>The statutory minimum annual leave is generally <strong>4 weeks per year<\/strong>. Many employers provide 5 weeks as an employee benefit.<\/p>\n<p>Annual leave is calculated in hours rather than days. For an employee working a standard 40-hour week, four weeks of annual leave corresponds to 160 hours.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"dpp-dpc\">\n<h2>Flexible Work Arrangements: DPP and DP\u010c<\/h2>\n<p>Czech labour law also provides two common forms of work agreement outside a standard employment relationship:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DPP \u2013 Dohoda o proveden\u00ed pr\u00e1ce:<\/strong> generally up to 300 hours per calendar year with the same employer<\/li>\n<li><strong>DP\u010c \u2013 Dohoda o pracovn\u00ed \u010dinnosti:<\/strong> work may generally be performed up to an average of one half of the standard weekly working time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Employees working under DPP and DP\u010c agreements may also qualify for annual leave and are subject to working-time, rest-period and premium-pay rules in the situations provided by law.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"business-support\">\n<h2>Working Time Compliance for Czech Employers<\/h2>\n<p>Correctly managing <strong>working hours in the Czech Republic<\/strong> is an important part of employing staff through a Czech company. Employers should keep proper records of working time, overtime, breaks and leave and ensure that work schedules comply with the applicable statutory limits.<\/p>\n<p>For related information, see our guides to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/employment-contracts\/\">Employment contracts in the Czech Republic<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/labor-law\/\">Labour law in the Czech Republic<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/termination-indemnity\/\">Severance pay in the Czech Republic<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/contact\/\">Contact us<\/a> if you need practical assistance with employment documentation or Czech labour law requirements.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3>Foreign Workers and Applicable Rules<\/h3>\n<p>Czech labour law generally applies to employment relationships governed by Czech law, regardless of the employee&#8217;s nationality. Foreign employees should also ensure that their residence and immigration status is appropriate for the length and purpose of their stay.<\/p>\n<p>EU citizens do not need a work permit to work in the Czech Republic. If they stay for a longer period, they may choose to apply for a Czech registration certificate, which can be useful for certain administrative procedures. For more information, see our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/charmingprague.com\/residenza-temporanea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">residence registration in the Czech Republic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you have specific questions about your employment contract or working conditions, <a href=\"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/contact\/\">contact us<\/a> for an assessment of your situation.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Working Hours in the Czech Republic: 2026 Guide Working hours in the Czech Republic are regulated by the Czech Labour Code (z\u00e1kon\u00edk pr\u00e1ce). The rules cover standard weekly working time, overtime, breaks, daily and weekly rest periods, annual leave and more flexible arrangements such as DPP and DP\u010c agreements. Standard Working Hours in the Czech [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-50506","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50506"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50681,"href":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50506\/revisions\/50681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/societapraga.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}