Unemployment Benefit in the Czech Republic

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Conditions
The conditions for claiming unemployment benefit are briefly as follows. You must hold either temporary residency as an EU Citizen, or, you must have held permanent residency as a non-EU Citizen for at least one year. In both cases, you must have worked and made social insurance contributions in the Czech Republic for at least twelve months over the last three years.

Where to go?
All claims for unemployment benefit are handled by the Úřad práce (labor office). They have a website at the following address:

http://portal.mpsv.cz/upcr

What to do?
In the Úřad práce, you should easily be able to find two forms which need to be completed. One is called Žádost o podporu v nezaměstnanosti – this is the claim for benefit, and the other is called Žádost o zprostředkování zaměstnání – this is a declaration that you are looking for work. On this form, you are also required to provide information on what type of work you seek specifically, so that you can be listed on the jobseekers’ register. Úřad práce cooperates with employers and keeps a database of open positions which you may apply for, but the responsibility to find work is ultimately yours. You must also take the following documents, and there are no exceptions made by the úřad here, so be diligent:

• Ukončení pracovního poměru – This document confirms the reason for, and the date of, your termination of employment.
• Potvrzení o zaměstnání – This is a confirmation of the period of time you worked in your previous position.
• Evidenční list duchodového pojištění – A statement of your pension contributions.
• Potvrzení o průměrném čistém výdělku – This confirms your previous monthly salary.

Your previous employer must provide you with all of these documents and they should be ready on or before the date you actually leave work. Once you have all of your paperwork in order, you may proceed to take a ‘nové evidence‘ ticket and sit down to wait your turn. You will then speak with a counselor, who will process your claim.

What are you entitled to?
This is defined in two ways: the period of support and the amount of support.

What is required of you?
You are obliged to look for new work and attend one meeting per month where you may be asked to give details of what you have done to find work, including any interviews, etc. You will also be required to sign a statement to declare that you have not been successful in your search for work and that none of your circumstances have changed. The first monthly meeting will be arranged at the end of your initial claim, and every subsequent meeting will be arranged at the end of the one previous.

Precautions
As many people who have dealt with Úřads will attest, there is often a certain amount of inconsistency in terms of what they require to deal with a request. Whilst they appear to be very process-driven, you can still expect to find a variation in requirements between different branches, or even between individual counselors. An example of this is that you may be able to get away with presenting only a rental contract instead of temporary residency in certain offices; other offices may require the official certificate of temporary residency.

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