Nekolová, Markéta

Eurofound’s research on ‘Restructuring in recession and labour force participation’ explored the age management practices of companies in light of restructuring undergone during the recession. The study looked at policy in relation to the retention of older workers (aged 50 or more) in employment at national and establishment levels in nine European Union (EU) Member States. This is the report for the Czech Republic.

T-Mobile HR manager confirmed that age management is an emerging concept in the Czech Republic in general and in the company’s HR policy in particular. Czech firms have not developed age management measures in greater extent due to the excess of labour force supply over demand. In addition, early retirement has been consistently used in the Czech Republic as a way to manage the workforce. However, the concept of age management has gained prominence in recent times, due to the demographic development of Czech society and the expected age structure of companies’ employees.

According to the head of the HR department, age management is a relatively recent concept in the Czech Republic. However, although the concept is still developing, the majority of HR officers in Czech organisations have already introduced age management measures to some extent into their practices. In the private sector in general, age management practices are less prevalent, often due to an excess of labour force supply over demand. However, in the media sector including TV production and broadcasting there is a shortage of qualified and experienced workers. This is particularly the case in technical and non-technical positions such as cameramen, editors and technicians. These highly skilled and specialised roles are often filled by older workers over 50 years of age.

Current discussions in the Czech Republic – particularly among employers – point to the fact that the job market is too rigid and that it is necessary to relax the strict protection of jobs, thus making Czech companies more competitive. Yet international comparisons show that the Czech Republic ranks among those countries with the most flexible employment regulations. This raises the question as to whether the Czech job market is really as rigid as it is often deemed to be, or whether it can compete in terms of flexibility with countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands.

Measures regulating the labour market in the Czech Republic are targeted at three categories of young workers: