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 market in some regions (especially big cities) nor higher costs of living justify higher wage for the employees performing their work in such a region in comparison with the employees of the same employer working in less “demanding” regions. This judgment will affect especially the employers doing their business all around the country. 

According to the Supreme Court the criterions for remuneration can have only internal character because of their capability to influence the working performance. From this point of view external conditions cannot be taken into consideration. The court concluded that the working conditions as defined and listed for the purpose of remuneration in the Labour Code are taxative and any extensive interpretation is not possible.