Employee representatives and employers

It is generally accepted that in the relationship between employers and employees, an employee is in a weaker position. In order to compensate for this power differential, employees should organize themselves and elect representatives who will enforce labour rights and ensure good working conditions on behalf of employees towards an employer. These representatives may be:

• employee council
• representative for health and safety at work
• trade union organization.

Upon commencing an employment, inform yourself as to whether there are such representatives in your new employment and how they may be of assistance to you.

Employee council can be elected by employees to ensure their right to statutory information and to be consulted by management over statutory workplace matters. The council shall have not less than 3, and no more than 15 members, always having an odd number of members. The term of office of the council shall be three years, as long as the number of its members is greater than 3. The council is elected by all employees upon a proposal coming from at least one third of the employees working for the employer, and at the costs of the employer.

A representative for health and safety at work may be elected by employees to ensure their right to information and to discuss matters related to this area. The total number of these representatives depends on the total number of employees working with the employer and on the degree of risk of the undertaken work. It must, however, be possible to establish no more than one representative per 10 employees. The term of office shall be three years, and as regards the election of this representative and the termination of his or her term, the same rules apply as to the employee council election (with the exception of the rule on the number of Council members).

If there already is an employee council or a representative for health and safety at work with a given employer and a trade union organization starts up as well, the employer needs to fulfill his or her obligations with respect to all employee representatives, unless they agree between themselves and the employer on another way of cooperation.

Employee representatives are obliged to pass on information in an appropriate manner among employees at all workplaces; i.e. to inform of their activities, the content and outcomes of the information received from and given to the employer (e.g. by presenting it on a notice board, through circular letters, by holding meetings, or by informing on an individual basis). They must, however, respect the confidentiality of information specified by the employer as such.

Trade unions have the right to act on behalf of employees in employment relations, including collective bargaining, under conditions stipulated by law or by collective bargaining agreement. As the only one of possible employees' representatives, trade unions are granted the right to conclude collective agreements with the employer on behalf of employees, the right to control, to co-decision and decision-making. In practice, thus, trade union bodies shall ensure the rights of employees to receive certain information, and to have certain measures discussed (e.g. matters related to work schedules), or to find an agreement (e.g. issuance of internal labour regulations, determining the vacation schedule).

Collective agreement is entered into by the employer and a trade union organization, or by more trade unions (or a trade union federation) with several employers (or an employers' federation). In a collective agreement, it can be concluded that the staff will have more rights than those granted by law or than an individual employee had arranged in his or her individual contract of employment. Collective agreement shall be concluded for a year at least. When bargaining the collective contract, under certain conditions, the trade union organization may declare a strike.

A trade union organization must have three members at minimum and it can be established as a society (spolek, formerly civic association – obèanské sdružení) by adopting the statutes and sending notification on the establishment of a trade union organization to the competent regional court. A trade union organization can only operate where it has at least 3 members who are in an employment relationship with the employer. With the same employer, there may even be a larger number of trade union organizations and the employer must then meet his or her obligations towards all these trade unions, unless another way of giving and receiving information, discussing matters or giving consent is agreed upon.

If you are not organized in a trade union organization, you are represented by the trade union organization with the largest number of members who are in employment relationship with the employer – unless you yourself specify otherwise. Trade union members only are entitled to representation in court, or one can for these purposes become an extraordinary member of a trade union organization.

Inform yourself about the possibilities of your membership and representation directly with those trade unions, which operate within your employer. Or you can also contact free counseling centers of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions, which are open to everybody, including non-members.