Updated as of 25. 3. 2020
Employees who are in quarantine are entitled to a sickness benefit of 60 % of their wage, companies will be able to claim all this money from the state. The need to quarantine arises if a person returns from a risk country or if a person was in contact with a patient in whom the coronavirus infection was confirmed in a laboratory. This person must immediately notify their GP by phone or other remote means, without personal contact. Their doctor will issue a decision on quarantine and such person should also immediately inform their employer that they have been ordered to quarantine.
In cases where the closure of establishments was ordered directly by the government (restaurants, shops…), employees are entitled to 100 % of their wage and their employers will be able to claim 80 % of this money from the state. Employers will be able to claim this money after the end of the month for which the assistance is being claimed, so for March wages the 80 % assistance money can be claimed at the beginning of April, after the companies pay their employees.
For now, this assistance only concerns March wages and is a part of a government order that has already passed, with methodological details to be finalized this week. It is possible that in the future a similar arrangement will be set up for those who worked in the now-closed companies on agreements to complete a job or other agreements different than regular employment.
Due to the current state of emergency, it is sufficient to deliver all sickness insurance benefits applications to the employer by scanning them and sending via email, even without a verified electronic signature, they do not have to be delivered in person or send by post.
In relation to foreigners residing in the Czech Republic, the latest measures regarding sickness benefits and attendance benefits are subject to the same rules as regular sickness insurance benefits. They are co-ordinated within the EU or they may be subject to bilateral international agreements, where the states mutually recognize the documents issued by the other state, and the foreign document on sickness or attendance benefits serve as a basis for the decision on the entitlement to benefit in the Czech Republic.
