Occupational Accident and Occupational Disease as an Obstacle to Work on the Employee’s Side – the Czech Perspective

Abstract

In the paper, the author deals with the issue of the current jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic regarding the employee’s right to wage compensation due to an obstacle to work on the employer’s side in the case the employer does not assign work to this employee according to the employment contract due to his or her common illness. She then assesses the relevance and applicability of these opinions in relation to occupational accidents and occupational diseases. At the same time, she bases her conclusions not only on the interpretation of the applicable Czech legislation, but also on a whole range of case law. In the conclusions, she also deals in detail with the employer’s obligation to transfer such an employee to another suitable job for him or her. The fact whether the employer has another suitable job available for the employee (and decides of his or her own free will not to transfer the employee to it) or, on the contrary, does not have another suitable job available for the employee is, in the opinion of the author, a key distinguishing criterion for considering whether the non-assignment of work by the employer should be assessed as an obstacle to work on the employer’s side (with the right to wage compensation) or as an obstacle to work on the employee’s side.