With effect from 1 January 2026, a new mandatory employer contribution to employees’ retirement savings products was introduced for employees performing dangerous work (Act No. 324/2025 Coll.). Dangerous work for these purposes means work which, under the legislation governing the protection of public health, is classified in the third category in respect of selected factors of working conditions, namely: vibration, exposure to cold, exposure to heat, or overall physical workload (where such workload consists of strain arising from dynamic physical work performed by large muscle groups).

The mandatory contribution to the employees’ retirement savings product amounts to 4% of the assessment base for the relevant calendar month (the „reference period”), provided that the employee performed at least three shifts of dangerous work during that reference period. The employer must satisfy this obligation by the end of the first calendar month following the end of the reference period.

The new act further imposes an information obligation on the employer towards employees, in particular in relation to the entitlement to the mandatory contribution and the manner of asserting such entitlement. The obligation to pay the contribution is conditional upon the employee asserting the entitlement: the employee has to notify the employer in writing (or by another method permitted by the employer) that the entitlement is being asserted and, at the same time, provide details of the employee’s pension company (i.e. the business name of the pension company and the pension company’s account number).

The employer must inform the employee of this entitlement and the procedure for asserting it before the employee commences dangerous work. In respect of employees who were already performing dangerous work on the effective date of the act, the employer must comply with this information obligation no later than 15 days from the effective date of the act, i.e. at the latest by 15 January 2026.

Compliance with employers’ obligations is supervised by the district social security administrations. Failure to pay the mandatory contribution may result in a fine of up to CZK 2.000.000. The employer is also required to keep records of these contributions and retain them for a period of 10 years.

Should you require any assistance in this matter or further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.