Mandatory testing

• All employers (regardless of the number of employees or other criteria) are required to provide regular testing of all their employees no later than 29 November 2021
• Testing must be carried out at least once a week by rapid antigen test for self-testing (use by a layperson)
• For the purposes of testing, temporary agency workers are also considered employees

Obligations of employers

• All employees are required to take the test at a weekly frequency

• If an employee refuses to take the test:
  • The employer is obliged to report this fact to the locally competent regional hygiene station and to limit the employee's meetings with other persons to the necessary extent
  • The employee will be required to wear a respirator at all times while at the workplace
  • The employee must keep a distance of at least 1.5 m and eat separately from other persons

• If the test result is positive, the employee is obliged to inform their employer immediately, leave the workplace and, if the test was not performed by a doctor, inform their attending physician (or, under certain conditions, the company doctor or health station), who are obliged to immediately request a confirmatory RT-PCR test

• Absence from the workplace pending the outcome of the confirmatory test is considered an obstacle on the part of the employer, i.e. with wage compensation

Exceptions to testing

Mandatory testing does not apply to persons who

• are vaccinated against COVID-19 and at least 14 days have elapsed since the completion of the vaccination schedule according to the summary of product characteristics

• have recovered from a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection, the period of ordered isolation has elapsed and no more than 180 days have elapsed since the first positive test for SARS-CoV-2

• have undergone in the last 7 days a test for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus with a negative result, either an RT-PCR test or a rapid antigen test for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 antigen (performed by a healthcare professional)

Testing of sole traders

Recordkeeping

• Employers are required to keep a record of the persons tested, including the date of testing and the name of the person who took the test

• Although not explicitly stated in the emergency measure, it is recommended that the test result and, if applicable, the exception for which testing is not required also be recorded for auditing purposes

Download the PDF: Reintroduction of mandatory testing of all employees

For more information please contact

Radek Matouš, Partner, Eversheds Sutherland | Prague
Martina Vodičková, Junior Associate, Eversheds Sutherland | Prague