Authors: Jan Koval, Petra Sochorová
Updated on December 7 2021.
As of 30 November 2021, the Government has again approved the “Antivirus” employment promotion program, the essence of which is the partial compensation of employee wage costs during the period of obstacles caused by the quarantine and emergency or crisis measures related to the spread of the COVID-19 disease. The Antivirus program was extended/activated in regime A and regime B.
| REGIME | STATE BENEFIT |
| Regime A Imposed quarantine and isolation | The benefit will be provided in the amount of 80% of paid wage and insurance compensation, up to a maximum of CZK 39,000 per employee. |
| Regime B Related economic difficulties associated with COVID-19 | The benefit will be provided in the amount of 60% of paid wage and insurance compensation, up to a maximum of CZK 29,000 per employee. |
The program is intended for all employers, including employment agencies, whose wage funds are not covered by public budgets.
The state benefit is provided exclusively for employees being in an employment relationship who are still the employees of the employer when it submits a summary of paid wage compensation and have not been served a termination notice nor are they in the notice period (except for termination notice pursuant to Section 52(g) and (h) of the LC).
The state benefit is provided only if the employer has paid wages or wage compensation to employees and has duly paid compulsory public health insurance and social security contributions, and the contribution to the state employment policy.
The program can cover benefits for paid wage compensation occurred between 1 November 2021 and 28 February 2022, with the possibility of extension if necessary.
Acts related to submitting an application for granting a state benefit are still to be performed through a web application, data boxes, or by e-mail with a recognized electronic signature. The administration process can be simply divided into: (1) submitting the application, (2) concluding an agreement, (3) submitting the statement of paid wage compensation, and (4) providing a state benefit, while the employer must also submit the required documents.
Compliance with labour laws and conditions for the payment of the state benefit will be subject to comprehensive inspections by the competent authorities.
Misuse of the state benefit may also be classified as a criminal offense.
Our labour law experts are available for you to consult on any issues related to this program.
