Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - Czechia (Ratification: 1993)

Article 2 of the Convention. General standard on daily hours of work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 83 of the Labour Code provides for a unified maximum shift length of 12 hours for unevenly and evenly distributed working hours of employees and requested the Government to take appropriate measures to ensure that the daily limit on the normal hours of work is brought into conformity with the Convention. The Government indicates in its report that: (i) this arrangement gives the employer more flexibility to schedule the hours of work and employees gain longer uninterrupted rest periods; (ii) a 12-hour shift is not a common practice, but the 8-hour shift in a five-day work week continues to be the most common practice; and (iii) the stated maximum limit of working hours and the weekly limit of the fixed weekly working hours is fully in line with the requirements of Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain aspects of the organization of working hours. The Committee recalls that compliance with Directive 2003/88/EC is not in itself sufficient to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Convention, one of whose main principles is the cumulative limit of 8 hours of normal working hours per day and 48 hours per week. Noting the Government’s explanations regarding the application in practice of section 83 of the Labour Code, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure full conformity with this provision of the Convention both in law and in practice.

Articles 2(b), 2(c), 4, and 5. Variable distribution of working hours. Circumstances. Further to its previous comments on section 78(1)(m) of the Labour Code that allows the averaging of working time over a period of 26 weeks, with the possibility of extending it to 52 weeks by collective agreement, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is not considering shortening the averaging period and tying the possibility of averaging only to specific exceptional cases. The Committee recalls that the averaging of hours of work in general is authorized in the Convention only over a reference period of one week, and provided that a daily limit of nine hours is required (Article 2(b)); and that in all the other cases in which the averaging of working hours is allowed over reference periods longer than a week, the circumstances are clearly specified, as follows:

• in case of shift work, it shall be permissible to employ persons in excess of 8 hours in any one day and 48 hours in any one week, if the average number of hours over a period of three weeks or less does not exceed 8 per day and 48 per week (Article 2(c));
• in those processes which are required by reason of the nature of the process to be carried on continuously by a succession of shifts, the daily and weekly limit of hours of work may be exceeded subject to the condition that the working hours shall not exceed 56 in the week on the average (Article 4); and
• in exceptional cases where it is recognized that the limits of 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week cannot be applied, agreements between workers’ and employers’ organizations may fix a longer daily limit of works, provided that the average number of hours worked per week, over the number of weeks covered by any such agreement, shall not exceed 48 (Article 5).

The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring section 78(1)(m) of the Labour Code in conformity with the requirements of the Convention.

Article 6(2). Temporary exceptions. 1. Limits to overtime. In previous comments, the Committee noted that: (i) section 93(3) and (4) of the Labour Code authorize overtime work beyond the absolute limits of 8 hours per week and 150 hours per year with the employee’s agreement, as far as an average of 8 hours per week over 26 consecutive weeks is not exceeded; and (ii) a collective agreement can extend that limit to 52 consecutive weeks. Noting that the possibility of averaging overtime over a very long reference period without absolute daily limits may lead to a very high number of overtime hours being worked over certain weeks, the Committee requested the Government to bring this provision into conformity with the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that is not considering restricting overtime limits. Recalling the impact that long hours of work can have on workers’ health and work-private life balance, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the application of section 93(3) and (4) in the practice, takes into account the importance of keeping the number of additional hours allowed within reasonable limits to respect both the health and well-being of workers, and the employers’ productivity needs. It also requests the Government to communicate concrete examples and statistics on the manner section 93(3) and (4) is applied.

2. Overtime pay. For a number of years, the Committee has been noting that sections 114 and 127 of the Labour Code which state that overtime shall be paid at a 25 per cent higher rate than the regular rate, unless the worker concerned and the employer agree to replace the higher rate of pay with compensatory rest, is not consistent with Article 6(2). The Committee notes that the Government does not provide any relevant information on this issue. Recalling the importance of additional hours being in all cases remunerated and paid at a higher rate than normal hours, even in the cases where compensatory time off is granted (2018 General Survey on working time instruments, paragraph 158), the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention.