Minimum wage country profile for Czechia

Information for this page was compiled during December 2024 and January 2025. Most Member States had already transposed the EU minimum wage directive at this point, while others were still working towards it. Those that had not yet fully completed transposition or where the information was not yet publicly available include Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain. These profiles will be updated consecutively as the information becomes available. Users are invited to contact our experts on minimum wage if they are aware of changes.

This profile describes how minimum wages are regulated and set in EU countries and Norway.

In the Czechia, a national statutory minimum wage is set annually by Communication of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in the collection of laws. This regulation also establishes the so-called guaranteed wage. Since 2025, guaranteed wages in the private sector are abolished and only the statutory minimum wage rate applies. Guaranteed salaries in the public sector remain in force, where only four groups of guaranteed wages are applied since 1 January 2025 instead of the original eight. These groups are differentiated according to the complexity, responsibility, and effort required for the work performed. The lowest level of the guaranteed wage in the first job group corresponds to the basic level of the minimum wage.

Following the entry into force of the EU directive on adequate minimum wages, the government prepared an amendment of the Labour Code in 2024. This amendment introduces a mechanism for updating the minimum wage, considering the relationship between the minimum and average wages in the national economy. The amendment entered into force on 1 August 2024.

The amended Labour Code, Act No. 262/2006 Coll., states that the government, after consultation with the social partners, shall determine by regulation the coefficient(s) for calculating the minimum wage for the next two years  (§ 111).  The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shall, by 30 September, publish in the Collection of Laws the amount of the minimum wage calculated based on the prediction of the average gross monthly nominal wage in the coming year, carried out by the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic and multiplied by the mentioned coefficient. 

According to the statute of the Council of Economic and Social Agreements of the Czech Republic (Rada hospodářské a sociální dohody České republiky, RHSD ČR), the social partners are represented by the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic (Svaz průmyslu a dopravy ČR, SP ČR) and the Confederation of Employers' and Entrepreneurs' Unions of the Czech Republic (Konfederace zaměstnavatelských a podnikatelských svazů ČR, KZPS ČR) on behalf of the entrepreneurs, and by the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (Českomoravská konfederace odborových svazů, ČMKOS) and the Association of independent trade unions (Asociace samostatných odborů, ASO) on the trade union side. Seven ministers and the prime minister participate in the plenary meeting of the RHSD ČR on behalf of the government.

Besides social partners, the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs must also be mentioned among the relevant actors involved in determining the statutory minimum wage.

Finally, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is entitled to set the minimum wage level by Communication.

Based on the amended Section 111 of Act No. 262/2006 Coll. (Labor Code), the Ministry of Finance must issue the Communication by 23 August, predicting the average gross wage for the next calendar year. Subsequently, by regulation, after prior consultation with social partners and taking into account the adequacy analysis, the government set a coefficient for calculating the minimum wage for the next two years, by which the prediction of the average gross wage is multiplied. Finally, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shall, by 30 September, publish in the Collection of Laws the amount of the minimum wage calculated based on the mentioned prediction multiplied by the coefficient. In 2026, the government will use the same procedure to determine the coefficients for calculating the minimum wage for 2027 and 2028.

The current legal regulation mentions in Section 111 of Act No. 262/2006 Coll. (Labour Code) the objective of the adequacy of the calculated minimum wage. In particular,  it will be set concerning the cost of living, the general level of wages and their distribution, the rate of wage growth and the long-term rate of productivity. To assess the adequacy of the minimum wage, an indicative reference value of 47% of the average gross wage in the national economy was set.

Criterion How is this defined/operationalised? Regulation or practice
Indicators and trends of the national economy The resulting minimum wage should be adequate, in particular in relation to the purchasing power of the minimum wage with regard to the cost of living, to the general level of wages and their distribution, to the rate of wage growth and to the long-term rate of productivity. Section 111, paragraph 1, letter a 3 of the Labor Code.
Minimum wage/average wage ratio To assess the adequacy of the minimum wage, an indicative reference value of 47% of the average gross wage in the national economy shall be used. Section 111, paragraph 1, letter a 3 of the Labor Code.

The minimum wage applies to all employees. The Labour Code (§ 111) defines the minimum wage as the lowest permissible amount of pay for work in a standard employment relationship. Regardless of the term used for payment (wages, salary, or remuneration from an agreement), in both the private and public sectors, it cannot fall below the minimum wage. An agreement-based remuneration refers to specific employment arrangements like contracts for work or work activities.

Czechia has a concept called the guaranteed salary (Labour Code, § 112). By law, its lowest level (corresponding to the first job group) cannot be lower than the minimum wage. Higher guaranteed wage levels are determined based on the complexity, responsibility, and effort required for the work performed.

Since 1 January 2025, guaranteed wages in the private sector have been abolished. Therefore, only the minimum wage limit applies here. However, guaranteed salaries in the state sector remain in force, where only 4 groups of guaranteed wages have been applied instead of the original eight. Mentioned four groups of jobs with a graduated minimum wage are determined on the basis of Government Regulation No. 222/2010 Coll., on the Catalogue of Jobs in Public Services and Administration.

The relevant Communication of Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs sets the minimum wage as both a monthly and hourly rate. These rates apply to a standard working week of 40 hours.

The Labour Code (§ 111) clarifies that the minimum wage doesn't encompass pay for overtime, extra pay for working on holidays, nights, difficult work environments, or Saturdays and Sundays.

Similar to higher wages, employers can deduct the cost of meals and accommodation from the minimum wage, but only with the employee's consent.

Tax deductions are determined by the Income Tax Act (Act No. 586/1992 Coll.). This act doesn't differentiate between minimum wage earners and those receiving higher wages when it comes to deductions.

There is no regular report on the development of the minimum wage.

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