Who is affected by the mandatory contribution for hazardous work?

The new obligation applies to employees whose work is classified under public health protection legislation as category three due to exposure to:

• Vibrations
• Cold
• Heat
• Total physical load during dynamic physical work performed by large muscle groups

What is work categorization?

To clarify – work categorization is a system for assessing health risks in the workplace in accordance with public health protection legislation. Jobs are divided into several categories based on the level of risk to employee health. The third category includes work with risk factors that may lead to health impairment. It is specifically for employees performing this work that the new law introduces the employer's obligation to contribute to retirement savings products.

How high is the contribution for hazardous work?

The employer is required to pay a contribution for employees performing category three hazardous work equal to 4% of the assessment base for the relevant period. A condition for the obligation to pay the contribution is that the employee worked at least three shifts of hazardous work.

What counts as a hazardous shift?

A hazardous shift is considered to be a shift during which the employee performed work involving the relevant risk for its the majority of.

Practical example: If an employee performs hazardous work for three hours of an eight-hour shift, this shift will not be counted. They must spend more than half of the shift performing hazardous work.

If a hazardous shift is shorter or longer than 8 hours, each hour started is considered one-eighth of a shift.

When is the employee contribution paid?

The contribution must be paid by the end of the first calendar month following the end of the relevant period – which is usually after the end of the previous calendar month.

Example: An employee worked five hazardous shifts in February 2026. You must pay the contribution for February by the end of March 2026.

New employer obligations for 2026: Information duty

The Mandatory Contribution Act imposes an information duty on the employer regarding the employee's entitlement to the mandatory contribution and how to claim it.

When provided electronically, the information must be accessible, storable, and printable.

Important deadline: January 15, 2026

A transitional provision requires employers to fulfill their information duty toward employees performing hazardous work within 15 days of the date the act comes into effect.

The act comes into effect on January 1, 2026, so you must fulfill the information duty no later than January 15, 2026.

This means that if you have employees in the third category of work, you must inform them of their entitlement to the mandatory savings contribution by mid-January.

Confirmation of the first contribution payment

The employer is also required to issue the employee a confirmation of the first contribution payment.

This confirmation serves as proof for the employee that the savings contribution has been paid on their behalf.

Sanctions for failure to pay the contribution

The law establishes offenses and administrative penalties for violating these obligations and expands the oversight powers of social security authorities. Sanctions may apply to both the failure to pay the contribution and the failure to fulfill the information obligation or issue the payment confirmation.

Early retirement within supplementary pension savings

At the same time, the law eases the conditions for drawing an early pension from supplementary pension savings for employees for whom the mandatory contribution has been paid.

How can we help you with the mandatory contribution for hazardous work?

Implementing this new obligation requires not only administrative preparation but also a legal analysis to determine which specific positions in your company fall under the third category of hazardous work according to work categorization.

We will help you with:

• analysisof which employees fall under the new obligation according to work categorization;
• preparation of templates for employee information;
• setting up processes for recording high-risk shifts;
• preparing internal guidelines;
• checking compliance with the new law on mandatory contributions.

Schedule a consultation with Ondřej Chlada,a partner in employment law and an internationally ranked expert in the field.