Inspection by the Labour Inspectorate

In the first half of 2024, the labour inspection authorities carried out a total of 10,006 inspections of employers, which corresponds to a trend of around 20,000 inspections per year. Violations of legislation were found by regional labour inspectorates in more than 50% of all completed inspections, for which fines totalling almost CZK 254 million were imposed in the first half of 2024.

What are the inspections focused on?

Most inspections concern compliance with workplace safety and the safe operation of dedicated technical equipment. In this area, employers most often commit breaches of legislation in the area of identifying and managing risks associated with potential threats to the life and health of employees. The proper and regular training of employees in occupational health and safety is also monitored.

Another heavily controlled area is the detection of illegal employment. Controls cover the performance of dependent work by natural persons outside the employment relationship (including the so-called „Schvarcsystem“) or without a proper work permit or residence permit (employment of foreigners). In the first half of 2024, the regional labour inspectorates detected 896 such illegally employed persons.

A significant part of the inspections also focuses on compliance with labour law regulations and conditions of work. The most frequently detected breaches in this area are violations of obligations in remuneration, in the negotiation and termination of the employment relationship or in observing working and rest periods. The inspections also focus on the obligations in working time evidence, the obligation to have documents on the employment relationship in written form at the workplace, including written information on the content of the employment relationship, compliance with internal regulations and collective agreements, etc.

Why is the inspection at your company?

Labour inspectorates follow an annual program of inspections, for which the entities to be inspected are selected more or less at random. This means that you can find yourself in the crosshairs of an inspection despite perfect relations both inside and outside the workplace.

In addition to these inspections, the labour inspectorates also carry out unplanned inspections on the basis of complaints received or in cases of serious accidents at work. In the first six months of 2024, the labour inspection authorities received a total of 3 345 inspection complaints. More than half of them drew attention to possible breaches of legislation on the terms and conditions of employment and agreements on work performed outside the employment relationship. The second highest volume of complaints concerned illegal work. In addition to complaints from own employees, these may be complaints from cooperating or competing entities or other state bodies in the context of findings in their supervisory activities (e.g. inspections by the Aliens Police or the Trade Licensing Office and their suspicion of illegal employment of the inspected persons). The identity of the applicant shall remain confidential. At the same time, the scope of the inspection is not limited by the complaint or the work-related injury suffered; inspectorates will usually also focus on other related areas.

What to prepare for during the inspection?

The employer usually learns about the inspection in advance by delivering a written Notice of Commencement of Inspection, which, in addition to identifying the inspected person, also specifies the subject of the inspection, the inspection period, the list of inspectors inspecting and instructions on rights and obligations. In most cases, the Notice is followed by a written Request for Assistance, which includes a request from the inspectorate to answer the questions asked and to provide relevant documents within a specified time limit (usually 7/10/14 days from the date of delivery). With regard to the answers and documents provided, additional requests or other actions such as personal inspection by the inspector, interviews of persons, etc. may follow. A qualified response to the first Request, including the submission of supporting documents, should therefore not be underestimated. Although the answers to the questions asked may seem simple at first sight, an employer can significantly harm himself by not answering them correctly. It is necessary to distinguish between: employees and self-employed persons; employees under an employment relationship and under agreements for work performed outside the employment relationship; payment of wages, remuneration or prizes, e.g. for work, services, etc. Incorrect use of the terms may, for example, cause the Labour Inspectorate to consider that instead of a real relationship between an entrepreneur and a self-employed person, it is the facilitation of the performance of dependent work outside the employment relationship (facilitation of illegal work), for which legal entities are liable to fines ranging from CZK 50,000 to CZK 10,000,000.

In addition, labour inspectorates can also carry out unannounced inspections. It is necessary to take into account that the inspector is entitled to enter the employer’s premises; verify the identity of persons at workplaces; conduct interviews with employees and other persons at the workplace without the presence of other persons; demand the production of documents; and take audio, visual and audio-visual recordings, probably even without the knowledge of the persons being inspected as of 1 January 2025. In such cases, the inspected person can then only rely on proper prevention, consisting in particular of regular internal checks on compliance with all the obligations inspected by the labour inspectorate, including training of persons who may be subject to inspection.

Don’t want to be caught unprepared by an inspection by the Labour Inspectorate? Get advice from employment law experts. An employment law audit will examine workplace relations, including the processes in place and documents required, identify potential weak points with suggestions for improvement, and prepare the relevant employees for the course of the inspection, including possible questions from inspectors.

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