Employee Misconduct Investigations in the Czech Republic: A Practical Guide for Employers

Key points

• Decide what the allegation is and who will make the final decision before anyone starts gathering material.
• Section 316 of the Czech Labour Code sets strict limits on monitoring employees, reading their email and recording their calls.
• Employee data is still personal data. GDPR applies to the investigation file, interviews and any monitoring.
• If the concern came through a whistleblowing channel, the reporter’s identity is protected and retaliation is prohibited.
• Dismissal deadlines run from when the employer learns of the reason, so a slow investigation can cost you options.
• An external investigator can help establish facts, but should never be used to do what the employer itself may not do.

Start by defining the allegation

Most internal investigations begin with something vague: a rumour about expense claims, a supplier who seems too close to a manager, a colleague who says they were harassed, missing stock. Before collecting anything, write down the specific allegation, the rule or duty it may breach and the facts that would prove or disprove it. Section 301 of the Labour Code lists core employee duties, including working properly, following lawful instructions and protecting the employer’s property. Your internal rules and the employment contract will usually add more detail.

Agree who owns the investigation and who decides the outcome. In smaller companies the same manager often does both, which makes the process harder to defend. Where the allegation involves a senior person, consider whether the board, an external lawyer or an independent investigator should lead.

What the Labour Code allows you to check

Section 316 is the starting point for any workplace monitoring in the Czech Republic. Employees may not use the employer’s computers, telephones and other equipment for personal purposes without consent, and the employer may check compliance in a reasonable way. That is a limited power to check use of equipment, not a general licence to read everything.

The same section says that, without a serious reason arising from the special nature of the employer’s activity, the employer may not intrude on employees’ privacy by open or hidden monitoring, by intercepting or recording their telephone calls, or by checking their email or post addressed to them. Where such a reason exists, the employer must inform employees directly of the scope and methods of the monitoring. Suspicion about one employee is not, on its own, the kind of reason the provision describes.

The European Court of Human Rights has set out a similar test. In Bărbulescu v. Romania (2017), the Grand Chamber looked at whether the employee had been told in advance, how far the monitoring went, whether there were legitimate reasons, whether less intrusive methods were available, the consequences for the employee and what safeguards existed. In López Ribalda v. Spain (2019), covert video was accepted only in the specific circumstances of serious, suspected theft. Neither judgment is a general permission for secret monitoring.

Handling personal data during the investigation

Interview notes, emails, access logs and camera footage all contain personal data, not only about the employee under investigation but about colleagues, witnesses and customers. Identify your legal basis, usually the employer’s legitimate interests or a legal obligation, and record why the processing is necessary. Collect what answers the allegation and leave the rest alone.

Article 88 GDPR allows national rules for the employment context, and in the Czech Republic Section 316 is one of them. Information about criminal offences has extra protection under Article 10, so be careful about recording suspicions of crime in general HR files. If you use or extend camera systems, the Czech data protection authority (ÚOOÚ) publishes guidance on necessity, proportionality, transparency and security. Restrict access to the investigation file and decide in advance how long it will be kept.

When the concern comes from a whistleblower

The Whistleblower Protection Act (No. 171/2023 Coll.) has applied since 1 August 2023. Most employers with at least 50 employees must run an internal reporting system. The law prohibits retaliation against protected persons and protects information that could identify the person who made the report.

This affects how you investigate. Do not reveal who raised the concern when you interview the employee concerned or other witnesses, and do not try to work out the reporter’s identity. Make sure any later decision about the reporter, such as a transfer or a bad review, can be justified on its own facts.

Interviews, documents and fairness

Plan interviews in a sensible order, usually witnesses first and the employee concerned later, once you know what to ask. Explain the purpose, keep a written record and give the employee a fair chance to respond to the specific allegations and evidence. A clear, calm interview is often more useful than any amount of covert work.

The Labour Code does not set out a general hearing procedure before dismissal, but it does have formal requirements for some grounds. Notice for persistent less serious breaches requires a written warning of possible dismissal within the previous six months. Notice for unsatisfactory results requires a written request to improve within the previous twelve months. If a trade union operates at the employer, Section 61 requires prior consultation. Getting these steps wrong can undo a well founded decision.

Keep documents in the form you found them. Note where each item came from, who retrieved it and when. For company owned devices and systems, work with your IT team or a forensic specialist so that copies are made in a way you can explain later.

Watch the deadlines

Under Section 58 of the Labour Code, as amended from 1 June 2025, an employer can generally give notice under Section 52(g) or terminate immediately within three months from the day it learned of the reason, and no later than fifteen months after the reason arose. If another body, such as the police, starts examining the conduct within that three month period, the employer can still act within three months of learning the outcome. For older conduct, check the transitional rules with your lawyer.

Three months passes quickly when interviews are delayed and documents sit unread. Record the date on which a person entitled to act for the employer first learned of the concern, and plan the investigation around it.

Where an external investigator helps, and where it does not

A licensed private investigator can add independence and capacity. Typical work includes reviewing public registers to find links between an employee and a supplier, researching open sources, documenting conduct in public places where it is lawful and proportionate, locating former employees as witnesses and preparing a clear factual report for HR, counsel or the board.

There are firm limits. An investigator cannot read an employee’s private messages, access their personal accounts or devices, intercept calls or enter private property. An employer also cannot hand an investigator a task the employer itself could not lawfully carry out under Section 316 or GDPR. If someone offers to do so, you are taking on risk, not reducing it.

Checklist for employers

1. Write down the specific allegation and the duty or rule it may breach.
2. Appoint an investigation owner and a separate decision maker where possible.
3. Record when the employer first learned of the concern and diarise the Section 58 deadline.
4. Check whether the report came through a whistleblowing channel and protect the reporter’s identity.
5. Review any monitoring against Section 316, GDPR and your internal notices before using it.
6. Preserve documents and data, noting their source and who handled them.
7. Interview witnesses, then give the employee a fair chance to answer the allegations.
8. Separate established facts from opinions and open questions in the final report.

Common questions

Can an employer in the Czech Republic read an employee’s work email?

Only within narrow limits. Section 316 of the Labour Code prohibits checking email addressed to employees unless there is a serious reason arising from the special nature of the employer’s activity, and employees must be told directly about the scope and method. Checking whether equipment is used for personal purposes is a more limited power.

Is covert video surveillance of employees allowed?

Rarely. Section 316 restricts hidden monitoring, and the European Court of Human Rights accepted covert video in López Ribalda only in specific circumstances of serious suspected theft. Take legal advice before considering it.

How long does an employer have to dismiss for misconduct?

Generally three months from learning of the reason and no later than fifteen months after it arose, under Section 58 of the Labour Code as amended from 1 June 2025. A separate rule applies when another body investigates the conduct.

Can we hire a private investigator to look into an employee?

Yes, for lawful fact finding such as public record research and proportionate observation in public places. The investigator must stay within the same privacy and data protection limits that apply to the employer.

Do we have to tell the employee who reported them?

No. Where the Whistleblower Protection Act applies, information identifying the reporter is protected, and retaliation against the reporter is prohibited.