Minimum annual vacation time in the Czech Republic may be extended from four to five weeks

Prague, Dec 3 (CTK) – The Czech Chamber of Deputies gave a chance to the prolongation of the basic length of holiday from at least four to five weeks, as proposed by the Communists (KSCM), since the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and TOP 09 were unable to have the legislation rejected today.

The legislation, which amends the Labour Code, was passed to the social and budget committee of the lower house.

The Communists argued that the employees whose remuneration depended on the state budget could already have five weeks of holiday annually. The amendment would eliminate the inequality, they added.

Social Democrat Roman Sklenak (CSSD) supported the legislation in the debate.

“We work 300 hours longer than the French and 400 hours longer than Germans annually. The CSSD has been insisting on the measure for years,” Sklenak said.

The chairman of the TOP 09 deputy group, Miroslav Kalousek, warned of the impact on the employers, saying that the longer holiday should stay just as a benefit.

Last December, the coalition government of Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s ANO and the CSSD did not agree on its position on the legislation. The Chamber of Commerce has protested against the prolongation of the holiday. It said the employers’ costs would grow by roughly 35 billion crowns.

On the other hand, the Chamber of Deputies rejected the proposal, raised by the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), to increase the pensions of women according to the number of their children or the widows’ and widowers’ pensions today.