Since 2023, an agreement on social security concluded between the Czech Republic and Ukraine is valid, setting out that employees are liable to the legal regulations of the country in which they work. However, certain categories of employees, e.g. posted employees, are subject to special regulations. These persons are governed by legal regulations of the country where the headquarters of their employer are located, if the posting period does not exceed 24 months. This fact is to be proven by the so-called Certificate of Coverage – CZ/UA 101 form.
In relation to the military conflict in Ukraine, the Czech Republic decided to simplify the procedure for persons with temporary protection who work in the Czech Republic for Ukrainian employers. Originally, filing the CZ/UA 101 form was not required as it was assumed that those persons already had social security insurance in Ukraine. However, with regard to the length of the conflict and the probable excess of the 24-month work stay in the Czech Republic, the approach changes.
In a situation when the length of the work stay in the Czech Republic exceeds the period of 24 months, it is now necessary to do the following:
- The Ukrainian employer has to register at the Czech Social Security Administration in Prague. The employer also has to report the commencement of the employee’s employment in the Czech Republic, pay their social security contributions and meet other obligations in compliance with the Czech legal regulations on social security; or
- The employee may apply for an exemption from the application of the Czech legal regulations on social security. The exemption is applied for at the institution of the contracting state whose law the person wishes to be subject to, i.e. Ukraine in this case. The Czech Social Security Administration proposed a simplified process for filing a request for the exemption, but the statement of the Ukrainian authorities is pending. Possible exemption from the Czech legal regulations should be confirmed by the CZ/UA 101 form, which employees can then use to prove the exemption in the Czech Republic.
What about health insurance?
For the sake of completion, it should be added that the agreement on social security between the Czech Republic and Ukraine does not cover the field of health insurance. Thus, the health insurance of Ukrainian citizens in the territory of the Czech Republic is governed by Czech legal regulations. Special rules apply for persons with temporary protection. These persons, if they work in the Czech Republic for a Ukrainian employer, are in most cases obliged to pay contributions to the public health insurance and, simultaneously, meet other obligations, mainly obligations to report.
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