BREXIT – Getting ready for the end of the transition period

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (‘United Kingdom’ or ‘UK’) left the European Union (‘EU’) and the European Atomic Energy Community (‘Euratom’) – hereafter referred together as ‘Union’ – on 1 February 2020. The Withdrawal Agreement concluded between the Union and the United Kingdom entered into force on that date, securing the United Kingdom’s orderly departure, and providing legal certainty in important areas, including citizens’ rights, the financial settlement and avoiding a hard

Cancellation of the Real Estate Acquisition tax in the Czech Republic

Real estate acquisition tax equaled to 4% of the total purchase price. In practice, this means that the buyer does not have to pay real estate acquisition tax anymore. Although in the Collection of Laws published on 25/09/2020, the cancellation of this tax applies retroactively – the tax obligation shall not apply for ownership entries registered in the Land Register since December 2019. 

There is also a change of the time test for exemption from the personal income tax of income from the sale of real esta

Planned changes in road transport law

Following changes in road transport law (zákon o provozu na pozemních komunikacích) were adopted by the Government of the Czech Republic on August 17, 2020.

The most significant change is creation of a new category „beginner driver“. A driver will belong into this category for the first two years starting from receipt of the driver´s licence. The Czech Republic uses points-based system for traffic offences, in which driver loses their driver´s license once they acquire 12 points. Beginner drivers have this

Remuneration reflecting regionally different social and economic conditions of living

The Czech Supreme Court decided on 20 July 2020 about an issue whether different social and economic conditions resulting from the region / locality of the place of workcan be a rightful reason for a variation in wages of the employees working for the same employer. And the answer is NO because such an unequal treatment does not comply with the legal principle “the same salary/wage to all employees by the same employer for the same work or work of the same value”.

 Neither larger jobs offer on the labour m

CZECH LABOUR CODE

CZECH LABOUR CODE - important amendment - summary

Following several years of preparations, the Parliament of the Czech Republic has approved an extensive amendment to Act No 262/2006, the Labour Code, as amended. The amendment was assigned No 285/2020 and will come into effect in two phases: on 30 July 2020 and 1 January 2021.

We have summarised for you all the important details. 

Effective from 30 July 2020:

1.  Delivery of documents

The changes concern the delivery of important documen

Contractual penalty newly allowed in case of a lease of a flat

The amendment to the Czech Civil Code, which entered into force on July 1, 2020, is changing the provision regulating the so-called prohibited stipulations between the lessor and the lessee of a flat.

As the law reflects a special protection of the lessee satisfying his/her housing needs, any contractual penalty was explicitly prohibited until now and the only security to cover debts arising from the lease allowed was to agree the payment of a deposit.

The amendment to the Civil Code cancels the explicit

Right of pre-emption for the co-owners: re-cancellation effective from 1. 7. 2020

Historically the pre-emption right of the co-owners used to have its place in the Czech legal order. It was more or less cancelled once the new Civil Code entered into force in 2014. Later there was some dissatisfaction coming from the co-owners of family houses and blocks of flats or perhaps from some “in-groups”, which intended to have right to influence who is going to co-own their real property and it resulted in re-introduction of the pre-emption right.

Unfortunately, the regulation was adopted in suc

The activity performed at the employee’s own instigation

The Supreme Court in its judgment issued under file no. 21 Cdo 2034/2019 of 21 January 2020 decided on the employee's appeal, who had suffered an accident at work (injury to the right hand) when operating a wood cutting machine that the employee should not have worked on because he was sent home by his employer. Among other things, the Supreme Court dealt with the questions of whether the employee's activity on the machine on which he should not work (because he was sent home) is the fulfilment of his work

COVID-19 accelerated legislative changes for digital platforms of the Airbnb type in the Czech Republic

New obligation introduced for the agencies running the digital platform of the Airbnb type - to inform the municipal trade licensing office, at its request, of the number of concluded contracts for tourism services, the total price for these services, as well as the address of the place where guests stay and to identify the “landlord” using the services of the digital platforms.

Legal Regulations will come into force only on January 1st or July 1st

At the beginning of this year an amendment to the Act No. 309/1999 Coll. came into force. In order to increase the clearness of the legal order, it is newly stated that all legal regulations will come into force always on January 1^st or July 1^st. On another day the legal regulations can come into force only in exceptional cases.