Employees and employment law · Czechia and Slovakia
Working with self-employed people and contractors
Working with self-employed people and contractors is lawful and the most sensible option for many teams, provided it is not employment disguised as an invoice. We structure both contracts and actual working arrangements to stand up to labour inspectorate or tax office checks, while protecting your know-how, data and clients. In Slovakia and Czechia.
- Lawyer registered with both ČAK and SAK
- Contracts and actual working arrangements
- Fees agreed in advance
What we'll do for you
Whether an arrangement is disguised employment depends on how it actually operates, not the contract's title. We therefore address more than paperwork. We review actual working practices with you and explain what to change.
Select an item to see the details.
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Risk assessment
We assess indicators of dependent work in your relationship — instructions, working time, tools, exclusivity — and identify what is acceptable and what needs changing.
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Cooperation agreement
A contract matching the actual relationship — subject matter, remuneration, liability and termination — without provisions that look like an employment contract during inspection.
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Protecting the business
Confidentiality, trade secret protection, prohibition of taking clients and a proportionate non-compete clause after the relationship ends.
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Rights to work product
Licences or the legally permitted exercise of economic rights in work products. We distinguish between software, designs and texts, as well as the rights you need to use and modify them.
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Audit of existing relationships
We review current contractor relationships, identify those at risk and propose transition to a safe regime — including employment where appropriate.
Deliverablecontractor documentation and working arrangements that reduce the risk of reclassification as employment
How it works
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- Consultationday 0
You describe how the relationship works; we explain where the risk lies and how to remove it.
- Proposed structure
We prepare the contract and recommendations for actual operations — what may remain and what to change.
- Implementation
Signing with contractors and adjusting internal processes; for larger groups, we prepare template documentation.
- Ongoing support
New roles, changes to working arrangements or questions during inspection — we remain available.
No-obligation enquiry
Ready to start?
Send us an enquiry. We reply within 24 hours with a price confirmation and next steps. The first 30-minute consultation is free and commits you to nothing.
- 1Send your enquiry via this form
- 2Within 24 h you get a price confirmation and plan
- 3We start work only after your approval
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Or email us about this matter.
What clients ask
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What is disguised employment and why is it a problem?
Disguised employment is dependent work performed by a self-employed person instead of under an employment relationship — employment hidden behind an invoice. In Slovakia and Czechia, it constitutes illegal employment, with high business fines, outstanding contribution liabilities and risks for the contractor too. The boundary lies in actual working practices, not the contract.
What fines can disguised employment actually attract?
In Slovakia, the labour inspectorate imposes a fine of 4 000 € to 200 000 € for breaching the prohibition of illegal employment; for two or more people simultaneously, at least 8 000 € (§ 19 of Act No. 125/2006 Z. z. on Labour Inspection). The fine is accompanied by back taxes and contributions and exclusion from public procurement or grants. Czech law also has its own sanctions for concealed employment relationships. Properly structuring cooperation costs a fraction of the minimum fine.
How is disguised employment assessed?
Inspectors examine indicators of dependent work: work under instructions and in the company's name, fixed working time and place, company tools, personal performance without substitution, or effective exclusivity. The more indicators present, the greater the risk — we assess your specific relationship.
The contractor works only for us. Is that automatically a problem?
Not automatically — exclusivity is only one indicator. The overall picture matters: who directs work, how remuneration works, and who bears responsibility and risk. We can tell you whether your model stands up and, if not, exactly what to change.
Who owns code or design created by a contractor?
It depends on the type of work and the applicable legal regime. In Slovakia, an author's economic rights cannot be assigned; use of a work is generally addressed through a licence. The law provides a special regime for exercising rights in commissioned software. We structure the documentation to cover the necessary use, modifications and further development, and assess the Czech regime separately.
We have dozens of contractors on the same online contract. What should we do?
Downloaded templates are often the riskiest — they frequently describe employment. We audit, prepare a safe template and help existing people move to new contracts without unnecessary unrest in the team.
How much does structuring the arrangement cost?
It depends on the number of relationships and the state of existing documentation. We confirm the fee after an initial consultation, in advance — and the agreed terms apply.
Legal Q&A
Common questions on this topic
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What limits apply to work agreements outside an employment relationship?
The Labour Code recognises three agreements outside an employment relationship. An agreement to perform a task is limited to 350 hours per calendar year, a work activity agreement to no more than 10 hours per week, and a student temporary work agreement to an average of 20 hours per week. Each must be in writing or is invalid. Ordinary agreements may be concluded for a maximum of 12 months; a special work activity agreement for seasonal work is limited to 520 hours per calendar year and may last no more than 8 months.
Read the answer -
Are we liable if our supplier employs people illegally?
You may be, in two ways. The law prohibits accepting work or services supplied through illegally employed people, for all supplies of labour and longer cross-border service provision; the customer faces a fine of up to EUR 200,000. If a statutory representative or managerial employee is proved to have known of the supplier's practices, a fine that could not be recovered from the supplier may also pass to the company. Protection comes from documents the supplier must provide by law and a properly drafted contract.
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As a self-employed contractor, I signed a three-year non-compete. Is it enforceable?
A three-year clause carries a serious risk of invalidity, but the outcome depends on the true nature of the cooperation, the restriction's scope and its proportionality. The two-year limit in Section 672a applies directly to commercial agency; courts have applied its criteria by analogy to other agreements in particular cases. It is therefore unsafe to claim that every three-year non-compete imposed on every self-employed contractor is automatically invalid. The securing penalty and whether the cooperation was actually dependent work must also be examined.
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Further reading
Non-compete clauses: different rules in Slovakia and Czechia
The governing law and type of contract are decisive for a non-compete clause. Slovak § 672a regulates commercial agency and imposes a two-year ceiling; in other commercial relationships, the proportionality of the restriction must be assessed separately. Czech § 2975 has a general five-year ceiling and does not require compensation, although commercial agency is subject to special rules in Czechia too.
Read more →
New social contributions for the self-employed: income test, contribution holidays and micro-contribution
From 1 July 2026, social insurance contributions for the self-employed follow new rules. Compulsory insurance arises only above the income threshold, EUR 2,876.90 for 2026; new businesses have a six-month holiday and low incomes attract a EUR 131.34 monthly micro-contribution. Acts No. 261/2025 and 122/2026 Z. z. introduced the reform.
Read more →
Disguised labour supply: why Czech labour inspectors impose multimillion-crown fines
In 2024, Czech labour inspectors identified 245 cases of disguised labour supply and imposed 161 fines totalling CZK 71.714 million. Another 81 fines totalling CZK 67.198 million went to clients enabling these arrangements. Calling labour hire a service can be a costly mistake, including for Slovak companies.
Read more →