Ombudsman's recommendations on the treatment of EU workers

Last year, the Ombudsman conducted research on Citizens of the European Union in the Czech Republic. The results and the Ombudsman’s recommendations were published in November 2021[1]. The research found that almost a third (31%) of EU citizens working in the Czech Republic surveyed felt discriminated against in their working life because of their citizenship or nationality. EU citizens most often feel discriminated against in the areas of remuneration, job allocation and job search. The disadvantage in the work field is significantly higher for lower-skilled employees and for employees working for employment agencies.

The research also pointed out that the level of discrimination is connected to the level of knowledge of the Czech language. EU citizens who speak Czech fluently were less likely to experience discrimination in their working life, even in cases where knowledge of the Czech language was not required for the job position.

Based on the above findings, the Ombudsman issued recommendations responding to the identified deficiencies. The recommendations are divided into three areas: labour and employment recommendations, public administration recommendations and education, housing and integration recommendations.

Recommendations on labour and employment

The Ombudsman recommends, among other things, publishing comprehensible and up-to-date information on employees' rights and obligations in Czech and foreign languages, especially in English. This information should be published in particular on the website of the State Labour Inspection Office. The range of information published so far by the Office in English should be expanded and the language used should be simplified and supplemented, for example, with graphics.

Furthermore, the Ombudsman recommends continuing regular inspections of the illegal employment of foreigners – EU citizens, especially because of the vulnerable situation of employees working illegally in the Czech Republic. Such employees face a high level of insecurity, fear of being sanctioned for illegal work and difficulty in enforcing their rights against their employer.

Labour inspection authorities should also continue to inspect employment agencies that employ EU citizens, not only in relation to the specific obligations of the employment agency towards its employees, but also in relation to the other obligations of the employment agency as an employer.

In the area of labour and employment, the Ombudsman also recommends focusing on inspections on equal treatment of foreign workers – EU citizens. Equal treatment of EU workers and the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of citizenship is one of the fundamental principles underpinning the free movement of workers in the EU and one of the fundamental freedoms of the EU's internal market. These inspections should therefore focus on equal treatment on grounds of citizenship both in cases where the complainant himself/herself alleges it and in cases where the complainant alleges violations of the rights of foreign workers without directly mentioning unequal treatment.

The Ombudsman also recommends that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs considers introducing a mechanism for the out-of-court settlement of labour disputes. The research has shown that the majority of EU employees have not defended themselves against unlawful actions by their employer, mainly because of the length, financial complexity and formality of labour disputes. This situation should be remedied, and EU workers should be allowed to defend their rights more effectively.

The Ombudsman also recommends that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs establishes cooperation with the embassies of the EU countries in the area of information for foreign employees. This should include in particular the embassies of those EU Member States from which the Czech Republic receives most of its foreign workers. The aim of such cooperation should be the mutual transfer of information – the embassies would communicate information on the most common issues or questions they deal with their citizens and, in return, obtain information on useful resources to direct their citizens to.

Recommendations on public administration

In this area, the Ombudsman recommends that websites of authorities, local self-government units and other bodies or institutions be maintained in English as well as Czech. It is not necessary to translate all the information but translated information should include in particular:  information on the competences of the authority, basic information on procedures, filing requirements, contacts and information on agendas commonly used by foreigners (EU citizens).

Also, the language competences of staff dealing with foreigners – EU citizens, should be strengthened and should enable communication of administrative authorities in foreign language. According to the Ombudsman it is reasonable to expect greater knowledge of foreign languages especially at the workplaces of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior, the Foreign Police, the Labour Office of the Czech Republic and the Czech Social Security Administration, where officials come into contact with foreigners – EU citizens on a regular basis.  

In accordance with the principle of helpfulness, administrative authorities should respond to submissions in a foreign language to a basic extent. The minimum standard should be at least a request to correct the defects in the submission and an instruction to communicate in the official language with a reasonable time limit to correct the defects. If the authorised official understands the foreign language, there is no need to provide a (certified) translation. It will of course depend on the nature of the foreign language document submitted - e.g. a document with a large amount of specialized text will justify a translation requirement more than a form with just a few lines of simple text.

Recommendations on education, housing and integration

In this area, the Ombudsman recommends supporting the activities of integration centres or regional or municipal centres for foreigners that provide counselling and assistance to foreigners, possibly also non-profit organisations. The activities of these centres and organisations focus mainly on legal and social counselling, which contributes to the integration of foreigners – EU citizens into Czech society. The education of pupils with a different mother tongue should also be supported, which will enable the children of migrant workers to integrate into Czech society and receive a quality education.

Another important issue is the availability of municipal housing for EU citizens, where non-discriminatory conditions should be set for the allocation of flats and sufficient housing stock should be ensured in individual municipalities. In addition, support for Czech language courses and support for the integration of foreigners – EU citizens at the local level.

Conclusion

The above recommendations, which the Ombudsman formulated following extensive research among EU citizens living in the Czech Republic, are aimed primarily at ensuring that these citizens are treated equally with citizens of the Czech Republic. Given that, according to the research, the area of labour and employment appears to be the most problematic, most of the recommendations are aimed at this area. How the individual addressees of the recommendations will approach this issue and to what extent they will follow the Ombudsman's recommendations is, however, still a question.

Author: Martina Šumavská, Lucie Stržínková

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