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Before hiring a staff member who has fled Ukraine, consider whether they should be employed as a teaching or non-teaching staff member.
1. Non-teaching staff
Here the situation is simple. Typically, Ukrainian refugees will be hired as building managers or cleaners, where they can do without knowledge of the Czech language.
- a visa sticker of a long-stay special visa for the purpose of staying in the territory marked D/VS/U (or its equivalent in the form of a stamp marked D/VS/U due to the lack of visa stickers), or
- a temporary protection visa sticker marked D/DO (or its equivalent in the form of a stamp marked D/DO due to the lack of visa stickers).
2. Teaching staff
Here the situation is more complicated. A Ukrainian refugee who is to be employed as a teaching worker must meet the conditions in the Teaching Workers Act. And this is a problem. Although the Law No. 67/2022 on measures in the field of education in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine caused by the invasion of the Russian Federation troops (Lex Ukraine) temporarily allows in some situations to bridge the lack of knowledge of the Czech language, but not always. Let us summarize the conditions.
The Teaching Personnel Act requires:
- Knowledge of the Czech language. Lex Ukraine allows for a pedagogical worker who does not speak Czech to be employed if he/she carries out education in classes, groups and departments where only children, pupils, students or participants who are foreigners or nationals of Ukraine are educated. If you would like to recruit an educator from Ukraine to work in a group where there will be only Ukrainian children, this is possible. However, being a teaching staff member without knowledge of Czech is only possible until 31 August 2022.
- professional qualifications. Ukrainian refugees must meet the professional qualification requirement. However, a teaching degree in Ukraine will not be sufficient and these job applicants will have to have their Ukrainian diploma nostrified. Fortunately, there is Section 22(7) of the Teaching Staff Act which allows you to employ a teaching staff member without a professional qualification for the period of time necessary when you do not have a teaching staff member with a professional qualification.
- Integrity. The foreigner you wish to employ will need to apply for a criminal record extract from the Criminal Records Office at the Registry of Criminal Records 988/1. 140 66 Prague 4.) Further information on the Office's office hours can be found here: http://portal.justice.cz/justice2/Soud/soud.aspx?o=203&j=213&k=2027
- medical capacity. The medical fitness of the job applicant will be assessed by your company doctor as part of the initial medical examination.
As with non-teaching staff, as an employer you will need the applicant to provide proof of the temporary protection granted, as indicated on the travel document, by:
- A visa sticker of a long-stay special visa for the purpose of toleration in the territory marked D/VS/U (or its equivalent in the form of a stamp with the D/VS/U marking due to the lack of visa stickers)), or
- a temporary protection visa sticker marked D/DO (or its equivalent in the form of a stamp with a D/DO stamp due to a shortage of visa stickers).
After the conclusion of the employment relationship, you will report the employee to the regional branch of the Labour Office on the form provided for this purpose no later than on the day of commencement of work. A sample of this form can be found here.
If your Ukrainian employees, students or their parents need legal assistance, refer them to the website ua.support, which connects refugees with lawyers around the world who can provide them with the free legal.
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Jasper Brinkman
Jasper Brinkman
"Following a devastating hotel fire in Prague, the law firm Holubová advokáti, led by attorney Klara Dvorakova, successfully represented our extended family as a group of victims. The firm navigated complex international insurance and compensation laws to defend our rights.
I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts the firm had to make to bring our case to a successful compensation under extremely difficult circumstances."
Stewarts
Stewarts
"A visit to her daughter in London turned Eva's life upside down when she says she stepped into a crossing on a green light but was hit by a car. Despite her remarkable bravery, she faced a long treatment due to fractures in her pelvis, and the associated limitations and pain are likely to persist for the rest of her life. Regular headaches and impaired concentration compound her challenges.
Eva contacted us through an organization temporarily helping her manage her difficult living situation. At that time, she was destitute, relying only on subsistence payments. We were able to assist her because we specialize in personal injury and have contacts with proven colleagues abroad.
We worked with Stewarts, a UK law firm, on this case. Attorneys Klára Dvořáková and Rebecca Huxford helped Eva with the documentation in her case, explaining her options and the differences between the Czech and British systems of healthcare and social benefits reimbursement. Within a few months, thanks to the professional cooperation between the two offices, an offer of compensation from the insurance company of approximately CZK seven million was achieved. The client accepted this settlement because she did not want to deal with courts in the United Kingdom.
Subsequently, we assisted the client with related tax issues and contacted Auditone, a tax consultancy firm, which arranged for the filing of a tax return. Compensation for lost income is taxable, unlike most personal injury compensation.
'No one has done as much for me as you,' Eva said.
The fact that we were able to help Eva gives our work meaning and brings us great joy. We are very happy that, thanks to our many years of active involvement in the international professional organization PEOPIL, we can cooperate on such cases."