The Czech labor market is on the verge of a big change. A new law for platform work, designed to organize companies like Uber, Bolt, and Foodora, is being prepared for fast approval. The main goal of the Ministry of Labor is to protect couriers and drivers. However, experts warn that consumers will ultimately pay for the social guarantees for workers.
Fake Entrepreneurs
The main tool of the reform will be the introduction of a presumption of employment. Now, workers on digital platforms will automatically be considered employees with all the benefits: the right to vacation, paid sick leave, and severance pay.
To keep a courier as an independent contractor (on IČO), the platform will have to prove in court that there are no signs of dependency. Since the tax burden on the employer is much higher when hiring, experts predict a necessary increase in prices for taxi and food delivery services.
Transparency of Algorithms and Control of Robots
The law also introduces, for the first time, regulation of so-called "algorithmic management." Companies will be required to reveal how their automated systems work, which distribute orders and calculate payments. Moreover, key decisions (like blocking an account or withholding payments) must now be made by a person, not an algorithm. This will give workers the right to appeal and understand the reasons for sanctions.
Haste and Unrealistic Expectations
Despite its ambition, the project did not meet the business's hopes for a "third work mode" – a status between employee and self-employed person (FOP). Czech law remains conservative, keeping a strict division.
The government plans to implement the changes as early as December of this year, leaving businesses very little time to adjust their systems. Platforms will be in a situation where they have to legalize thousands of workers in a very short time, which could cause temporary chaos in service provision.
