Czech working hours, overtime and holidays: what the law guarantees

The number most people want first is the length of the working week, and in Czechia the answer is simple: 40 hours. What surrounds it, how hours are counted, when overtime begins and what is owed for working a holiday, is set by the Labour Code, and it is more specific than the looser arrangements of some neighbours.

This explainer describes the statutory framework for employees. A contract or collective agreement can improve on it.

The working week

The standard full-time week is 40 hours (as of 2026; check the official source). Employers may spread hours unevenly across the week or a longer period within limits, and may use flexible arrangements. Some roles have shorter statutory weeks, for instance work in difficult conditions, and young workers have limits of their own.

The rules on the working day aim at rest. Between the end of one shift and the start of the next an employee must have an uninterrupted rest of at least 11 hours, and an uninterrupted weekly rest of at least 35 hours. A break for rest and food of at least 30 minutes must be given after six hours of continuous work. Breaks do not count as working time unless the contract says so.

The rest rules come up often in practice. An employee who closes a restaurant at midnight cannot be asked to open at six without the rest period being met, and a schedule that offers less is not lawful. If a rota repeatedly breaks the minimums, say so in writing, to the employer first.

Overtime

Overtime (práce přesčas) is work above the set weekly hours, ordered by the employer or agreed with the employee, and done outside the schedule. The Code caps it per week and per calendar year, and a higher limit needs the employee's consent. An employer cannot demand unlimited overtime.

Overtime is paid at the normal wage plus a premium of at least 25% of average earnings, or by time off equal to the extra hours plus the premium if that is agreed (as of 2026; check the official source). Some contracts say overtime is included in the salary, but the Code restricts that to certain roles, and for most employees the rule applies as written. Managers at higher levels are treated differently. If your contract says your salary covers overtime, ask what that means for you.

Work at weekends, at night or in other special conditions can carry further premiums, and the Code sets minimums for weekend and night work. Check the exact percentages in the current text.

Annual leave

The statutory minimum is four weeks of paid leave (dovolená) a year for a full-time employee (as of 2026; check the official source). Some public-sector and other groups have longer entitlements. Leave is counted in weeks or days depending on the schedule, and part-time employees receive a proportionate amount.

Leave accrues after a qualifying period of work with the employer. In the first year you receive leave in proportion to the time worked, unless you have already worked enough to earn the whole amount. The Code gives the formula, and payroll will calculate your entitlement.

The employer schedules leave after consulting the employee and must give notice in advance. It also has to see that the employee takes the leave within the period the Code sets, and unused leave carries over only in defined cases. Leave is paid at average earnings, not a flat sum. While employment continues it is not paid out in money, but unused leave is compensated when employment ends.

Contracts often offer more than four weeks. Many private employers give extra days, and some add "sick days". Those come from the contract and not the statute.

Public holidays

There are 13 public holidays on which most employees are not required to work, set by Act No. 245/2000 Coll. (as of 2026; check the official source):

• 1 January (New Year's Day and the day of the restoration of the independent Czech state);
• Good Friday and Easter Monday (the dates move);
• 1 May (Labour Day);
• 8 May (Liberation Day);
• 5 July (Saints Cyril and Methodius);
• 6 July (the anniversary of the burning of Jan Hus);
• 28 September (Czech Statehood Day);
• 28 October (Independence Day);
• 17 November (Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day);
• 24, 25 and 26 December.

A separate law restricts shop opening on certain holidays. People who must work on a holiday, in hospitals, hotels and transport for example, are owed extra pay or time off, and the rules apply to specific roles and categories.

A worked example of a leave year

Take a hypothetical employee who joins on 1 March with a contract that gives the statutory four weeks. She will not have the full year's leave in the first year, because it accrues in proportion to the time worked, unless she has already worked long enough with the employer to earn the whole amount. Her payroll team calculates the entitlement and shows it in the HR system. In August she agrees two weeks with her manager, who confirms in writing. Public holidays that fall on working days in the year, such as 28 September and 28 October, are days off in addition to her leave, so she does not use leave days for them. In December she checks the balance, finds that a few days remain and asks whether they carry over under her employer's rules. The employer, not she, bears the duty to ensure that leave is taken in the period the Code sets.

Shift work, night work and flexible hours

Employers with irregular demand use schedules that spread hours across weeks or months, and the Code sets the framework: the reference period, the limits on daily and weekly hours, and the rest periods. Night work and work on weekends carry premiums, and some groups, including young workers and pregnant employees, have protections. If you work shifts, ask for the schedule in writing in advance, and check that the rota meets the minimum rest periods. Many disputes about hours come down to whether the rota was published in time and whether the rest rules were met.

Time recording and rights

The employer must keep records of working time and overtime, and an employee can ask to see them. Complaints about unpaid overtime, missed rest or refused leave go first to the employer. If that fails, the state labour inspection authority (inspektorát práce) handles complaints and can fine employers.

Keep your own notes. A personal log of hours worked, with dates, is the simplest evidence in a dispute, and it costs nothing. It does not replace the employer's record but it can reveal where the two differ.

Foreigners and working time

The same rules apply to foreign employees. If your residence card is tied to an employer, overtime and extra work for that employer fall within the contract, but a second job generally does not unless your status allows it. See employee cards and Blue Cards explained. For the contract basics, see how a Czech employment contract works, for agreement work Czech employment contracts: DPP and DPČ explained, and for illness Czech sick pay and sick leave explained.

Planning a year

For someone new to the system, a few practical habits help. At the start of the year, mark the public holidays and note which fall on weekdays, since those are days off that do not reduce your leave. Ask payroll how many days of leave you have and how they are counted. Agree the big blocks of leave early with the team, because the employer schedules leave after consulting you. And check, in December, whether any unused leave carries over under your employer's rules, so that nothing lapses by surprise.

Common mistakes

• Assuming that the salary always covers overtime.
• Treating the break as paid time.
• Taking leave without an agreement with the employer on the dates.
• Forgetting that part-time leave is proportionate.
• Working a second job on a card that does not allow it.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the standard Czech working week?

40 hours for a full-time employee (as of 2026; check the official source).

How much leave am I entitled to?

At least four weeks of paid leave a year for a full-time employee. Contracts often offer more.

How is overtime paid?

At the normal wage plus a premium of at least 25% of average earnings, or by time off if that is agreed. The Code caps overtime per week and per year.

How many public holidays are there?

13 a year, including Good Friday and Easter Monday, whose dates move.

Check your contract this week for three things: weekly hours, leave days and the overtime clause.

This is a general explainer, not legal or tax advice. Labour and immigration rules change; check the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs or a licensed adviser.